Game of Brains: What Does the Movement of Scholars Tell Us?

• In Event: An International Examination of Pressing Policy Issues

Abstract

We investigate scientific migration and productivity in Taiwan using a 30-year bibliometric dataset on the affiliation and publication history of 21,051 researchers who served in Taiwanese universities from 1991 to 2020. Our analysis shows evidence of brain drain in Taiwan since the 2010s, with Asia being the top destination for outbound scholars. Our difference-in-differences estimation show that inbound scholars in physical and life sciences demonstrate greater productivity compared to non-migrant colleagues. We also study talent recruitment surrounding the 2005 excellence initiative and confirm the converging number of scholars recruited by World Class Universities (WCUs) and non-WCUs. WCUs are experiencing a dramatic decrease in new recruits, while non-WCUs continue recruiting highly active researchers.

Authors

• Yuan Chih Fu, National Taipei University of Technology

• Juan José Moradel Vásquez, National Taipei University of Technology

• Bea Treena Macasaet, National Taiwan Normal University

• Yung Chi Hou, National Chengchi University