Alessandra Faggian & Philip McCann on Attracting Highly Educated People
Fast Moving Front Commentary, November 2010
|
Article: Human capital, graduate migration and innovation in British regions
Authors: Faggian, A;McCann, P |
Alessandra Faggian & Philip McCann talk with ScienceWatch.com and answer a few questions about this month's Fast Moving Fronts paper in the field of Economics & Business.
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
It is a very topical and original subject which is relevant to many countries and has profound policy implications. Specifically, moving forward from the economic crisis, regions are looking to ways to be prosperous. Regardless of their approach, a common theme is to attract knowledge workers and to be innovative.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?
It is not a new methodology but rather a novel way of applying a particular methodology to a unique dataset to synthesize different themes in several fields into a single set of observable outcomes.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?
The more highly educated people are and the better universities they attend, the more likely they are to relocate to different areas. In addition, they tend to select particular places. Attracting more talented people allows regions to become more innovative and economically dynamic. Moreover, we also demonstrate (unique to this paper) that this relationship is a two-way relationship and that the innovation capability of a region helps in attracting highly educated people, creating therefore a virtuous growth cycle.
How did you become involved in this research, and how would you describe the particular challenges, setbacks, and successes that you've encountered along the way?
Coauthor Philip McCann
We started being interested in this topic about 10 years ago while we worked in the Centre for Spatial and Real Estate Economics at the University of Reading. The UK has a unique data source (HESA) that collects data that had been relatively unexplored. The potential of these data for exploring student and graduate migration and their relationship with the innovation capability of regions is immense. We discussed with HESA the possibility to use the data and we were the first researchers to gain access to the database. Since then we both moved to different institutions (the University of Southampton and the University of Groningen) but we kept on working on this topic.
On a practical point, one of the challenges we encountered was due to the confidential nature of the data, which meant we had to use them in an appropriate and sometimes imaginative way not to breach confidentiality. Other challenges were posed by the large amount of data in the dataset, which was difficult with the computer and software capabilities of 10 years ago.
The major intellectual challenge was that this kind of analysis was new and we understood the potential of this line of research. Finalizing the work required endless hours of discussion to set up the appropriate analytical and empirical framework.
Where do you see your research leading in the future?
We are now linking this line of research to several topical issues such as:
1. social mobility
2. the creative economy
3. international geographical mobility
Few articles have already been published on these new issues.
Do you foresee any social or political implications for your research?
There are very significant implications for regional development and
educational policies. The mechanisms linking education, innovation, and
migration are much more complex than previously understood. It illustrates
that attracting the right kind of people is critical for regions to be
prosperous and innovative. Our research shows that one cannot treat these
issues in isolation and there is a need to design policies in
concert.
Dr. Alessandra Faggian
Reader (Associate Professor) in Economic Geography
University of Southampton School of Geography
Southampton, UK
and
Visiting Associate Professor
The Ohio State University
AED Economics
Columbus – Ohio
USA
Professor Philip McCann
Endowed Chair of Economic Geography
University of Groningen
Groningen, The Netherlands
and
Professor of Economics
Department of Economics
University of Waikato
Waikato, New Zealand
KEYWORDS: GRADUATES; MIGRATION; HIGH TECHNOLOGY; RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT; LABOR-MARKET; DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION; KNOWLEDGE SPILLOVERS; INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS; UNIVERSITY-RESEARCH; INCREASING RETURNS; GREAT-BRITAIN; TECHNOLOGY; MOBILITY.