ESRM 2004 Lisbon 2527 February 2004

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ESRM 2004Lisbon 25-27 February 2004

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• INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY OF SCIENTISTS AND
  ENGINEERS a study on brain drain, obstacles to
  mobility
• Sveva Avveduto

National Research Council Irpps-Via dei Taurini
19 Rome s.avveduto_at_irpps.cnr.it
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Mobility of skilled ST workers
Relative share of non-national HRST1 employment
in the European Union, 1998

• Labour shortages and skills mismatches remain
• High-technology sectors areas particularly
  affected.
• Mobility within OECD is mainly circulation.
• Migration from Asia to US, Canada, UK, and
  Australia

HRST(1) only ISCO-88 major groups 2 and 3
(professionals and associated professionals).
Source OECD, based on data from the Eurostat
Labour Force Survey, March 2001.
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Share of foreign-born highly skilled employment
(last year available)

• Bar share of non-nationals in highly skilled
  employment
• Dot share of non nationals in total employment
• Sources ABS Labour Force Survey, August 2001
  (Australia) 1996 Census (Canada) Current
  Population Survey, March 2000 (United States).

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The EC funded project on international mobility
of high skilled main objectives

• Examine current literature and measurement
  techniques
• Gather information and intelligence on the flow
  of researchers
• Identify push and pull factors
• Identify the brain drain trends
• Test and suggest new ways of gathering
  intelligence on internationally mobile scientists
  and engineers

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The research team

• A team at MERIT in Maastricht the Netherlands
  headed by Wendy Hansen
• A team at IKU in Budapest Hungary headed by
  Annamaria Inzelt
• A team at CNR in Rome Italy headed by Sveva
  Avveduto

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Developmental work pilot surveys on
international mobility of scientists and engineers

• MERIT designed a pilot e-survey to be carried out
  through an intermediary organization to reach a
  target group known to be as internationally
  mobile
• IKU designed a pilot survey to consider the
  carachteristics and challenges of East European
  Countries to investigate the relationship
  between direct foreign investments and foreign
  researchers and scientists in Hungary
• CNR designed a pilot survey to highlight the
  situation of foreign researchers in Italian
  public research institutions exploring push and
  pull factors

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With the international team of researchers we...

• Conducted investigation of research discussion of
  brain drain phenomenon
• Produced analysis describing immigration/emigratio
  n trends and related policy developments in EU
  countries and key receptor countries (USA,
  Australia, Canada)
• Conducted new and innovative surveys on
  international mobility of HRST
• Suggested directions for survey instruments and
  research to advance the measurement and
  discussion of international mobile HRST

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CNR survey

• 459 Research Institutions Contacted
• 28,5 with foreign researchers

• 33 coming from an European Union Country
• 36 from other European Countries

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CNR survey Researchers by Citizenship and Age
Percent
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Fields of specialisation of foreign researchers
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Most researchers were in Italy for less than one
year the majority of them (76,8) were in Italy
for less than six months.

• Total length of stay

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Indicate which difficulties you experienced
relocating in Italy 1/4
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Indicate which difficulties you experienced
relocating in Italy 2/4
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Difficulties due to visa work permit,
administrative/ bureaucratic paperwork in Italy
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Indicate which difficulties you experienced
relocating in Italy 3/4
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Indicate which difficulties you experienced
relocating in Italy 4/4
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Do you think that your staying abroad has
affected your country of origin?
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Merit survey Place of birth of respondents
Eligible respondents 1,137
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Merit survey Age of movers by place of birth
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Merit survey Field of specialisation of movers
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Merit survey Sector of employment of movers
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Merit survey Importance of barriers to working
abroad by birthplace percent citing each barrier
as somewhat or very problematic
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Problems in acquiring visa
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Merit survey Importance of barriers to working
abroad by gender percent citing each barrier as
somewhat or very problematic
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Problems in acquiring visa
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The foreign researchers in Italy believe that
brain drain is due to

• Lack of work and career opportunities
• Lack of funding
• Lack of national policies
• This analysis is common to Eastern European
  Developing Countries and to EU (mostly Spain
  Portugal and Greece)

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Conclusions 1/4

• Positive evaluation of their experience are
  prevailing because of
• Scientific level of hosting institution
• Work environment - Research experience
• RD resources - Scientific equipment
• Peoples hospitality and Italian way of life
• Culture, arts, natural environment and climate
• Negative evaluation of their experience due to
• Bureaucracies red tape and difficulties in
  obtaining work permits and residence visa (EU
  born mostly in Merit survey)
• Low salary levels compared to country of origin
  (US born only in Merit survey)

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Conclusions 2/4

• Italian Survey
• Bureaucratic impediments (work papers permits of
  stay) strongly felt by researchers (particularly
  the non EU ones)
• Strong correlation between length of stay and
  bureaucratic difficulties
• Less or no problems for very short periods (2-3
  months)
• The significance accorded to the buro problems
  is higher for 1-2 yrs period then declines
• The highest attention should be played to ease
  the mobility of people up to 2yrs which is the
  most critical point

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Conclusions 3/4

•  MERIT Survey
• Less men that women reported difficulties in the
  past (except visa problems)
• At present more men reporting problem
• In the past, the EU-born reported more problems
  than the US-Born, with significant differences
  for acquiring a visa
• Most EU-born have gone to the US
• Half of the US-born have gone to countries
  outside of the EU 

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Conclusions 4/4

• What helps and hinders HRST mobility?
• Reasons to move similarities in the two surveys
• Barriers and obstacles
• At Oecd level HRST
• Supply continues to increase
• Demand continues to expand and occupations
  projections show more employment will come from
  ST occupations
• Demand in both public and private sectors is
  changing more flexibility, mobility and openness
• Two challenges
• adapting training to constantly changing demand
• Fostering mobility -- through incentives not just
  schemes