Seminar by Dr. Ernest Miguelez, University of Bordeaux
Event details
| Date | 02.03.2016 |
| Hour | 12:00 › 13:30 |
| Speaker | Dr. Ernest Miguelez, Groupe de recherche en économie théorique et appliquée, University of Bordeaux |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
"The New Huguenots: ethnic networks and the international diffusion of ideas"
Abstract
We assess the role of ethnic ties in the international diffusion of technical knowledge by means of a database of patents filed by US-resident inventors of foreign origin, which we identify through name analysis. We consider ten important countries of origin of highly skilled migration to the US, both Asian and European, and test whether foreign inventors’ patents are disproportionately cited by: (i) inventors residing in their country of origin (brain gain effect); (ii) co-ethnic migrants living in a third country (international diaspora effect). The underlying idea is to see whether migrant inventors from the same country of origin connect to each other and favor the diffusion of knowledge across countries more disproportionately than among inventors from different origins. Preliminary results indicate that brain gain exists for China, Russia, South Korea and France. For France, as well as Italy and Japan, brain gain effects occur mostly within multinational corporations. Interestingly, we do not see this effect for one of the most important inventor diasporas in the US, namely the Indian one. Interestingly, for India (as well as other Asian countries) we find an international diaspora effect, but not to the benefit of the home country – which presents some analogy with findings in the trade literature (Felbermayr et al., 2010). Both the brain gain and the international diaspora effects bear less weight than other knowledge transmission channels, such as co-invention networks and multinational companies.
Keywords: migration, diaspora, diffusion, inventors, patents
Authors: Stefano Breschi, Francesco Lissoni, Ernest Miguelez
Abstract
We assess the role of ethnic ties in the international diffusion of technical knowledge by means of a database of patents filed by US-resident inventors of foreign origin, which we identify through name analysis. We consider ten important countries of origin of highly skilled migration to the US, both Asian and European, and test whether foreign inventors’ patents are disproportionately cited by: (i) inventors residing in their country of origin (brain gain effect); (ii) co-ethnic migrants living in a third country (international diaspora effect). The underlying idea is to see whether migrant inventors from the same country of origin connect to each other and favor the diffusion of knowledge across countries more disproportionately than among inventors from different origins. Preliminary results indicate that brain gain exists for China, Russia, South Korea and France. For France, as well as Italy and Japan, brain gain effects occur mostly within multinational corporations. Interestingly, we do not see this effect for one of the most important inventor diasporas in the US, namely the Indian one. Interestingly, for India (as well as other Asian countries) we find an international diaspora effect, but not to the benefit of the home country – which presents some analogy with findings in the trade literature (Felbermayr et al., 2010). Both the brain gain and the international diaspora effects bear less weight than other knowledge transmission channels, such as co-invention networks and multinational companies.
Keywords: migration, diaspora, diffusion, inventors, patents
Authors: Stefano Breschi, Francesco Lissoni, Ernest Miguelez
Practical information
- General public
- Free