What's in a research agenda? An evaluation of research developments in the arena of skilled international migration

Abstract

What' s in a research agenda? An evaluation of research developments in the arena of skilled international migrationResearch o n skille d in te rn a tio n a l m ig ra tio n has d e v e lo p e d s ig n ific a n tly in th e last 2 5 years. This p a p e r review s pro g re ss in u n d e rs ta n d in g th e stru ctu rin g p o w e r o f tra n s n a tio n a l c o m p a n ie s a n d in te rn a tio n a l re c ru itm e n t a g e n cie s in sh a p in g g lo b a l ta le n t flo w s. It a rg u e s th a t fo u r m a in stran d s in th e research lite ra tu re flo w fro m th is: w o rk in in te rn a tio n a l h u m a n reso u rce m a n a g e m e n t; a n a lysis o f th e m ig ra tio n -d e v e l o p m e n t nexus; studies o f city d e v e lo p m e n t a sso cia te d w ith cre a tiv e k n o w le d g e w o rk e rs ; a n d c u ltu ra l g e o g ra p h ie s o f e x p a tria te id e n titie s. This p a p e r in te rp re ts tre n d s in research o n these to p ic s in re la tio n to th e w id e r issue o f h o w so m e s o cia l scientists ha ve b e c o m e m o re reflexive a b o u t th e ir e n g a g e m e n t w ith research a n d thus have re -p o s itio n e d th e n a tu re o f w h a t is co n s id e re d to be th e c o n te m p o ra ry research a g e n d a o n skille d m ig ra tio n . This re -p o s itio n in g is re c o g n is e d to ha ve strengths b u t a ls o d iffic u ltie s fro m a p o lic y p e rspective.K e yw ords: skille d in te rn a tio n a l m ig ra tio n , g lo b a l ta le n t, m ig ra tio n -d e v e lo p m e n t nexus, e x p a tria te p ra c tice s, im m ig ra tio n p o lic ie s Allan M. Findlay is Professor in the

Highly skilled migration between the Global North and South: gender, life courses and institutions

“…This process is also referred to as IntraCompany Transfers. Findlay and Cranston (2015) use the term 'brain exchange' for such transfers in transnational corporations. The recent shift of Research and Development (R&D) facilities outside the EU to countries such as India signals the movement of jobs to people rather than people to jobs (Patra and Krishna 2015).…”

Temporary skilled international migration of young professional cricketers: ‘Going Down-Under’ to move-up the career path

“…Although such highly-skilled migrants have previously been considered 'invisible migrants' (Koser and Salt 1997;Findlay and Cranston 2015), our findings suggest that moving internationally at formative and early stages of a career is enriching, yet may have many unintentional consequences. It is plausible, for instance, that the rise of these temporary forms of skilled international migration will mean that these migrant groups and processes are more fully 'visible' in future research, policy and society.…”

Intermediaries and destination reputations: explaining flows of skilled migration

“…The focus on skilled migration in the literature has been matched by a growth of coverage in the media, government and supranational policies and reports as well as in the business press (Boxell, 2010;Chaloff, and Lemaître, 2009;The Economist, 2010;PwC, 2010). There are many definitions of skilled migrant and it is not our intention to problematise existing definitions (see Boucher and Cerna, 2014;Findlay and Cranston, 2015). Instead, we follow Andresen et al (2014Andresen et al ( : 2307, and use the term skilled migration broadly to encompass a wide spectrum of workers, including intra selfinitiated expatriates (e.g.…”