The returns obtained from international mobility by doctorate holders. Some evidence from Spain

Abstract

Given the important role played by science and knowledge in current patterns of economic growth, the economic and labour behaviour of doctorate holders merits attention, since they are at the centre of the most fundamental strategic processes on which human capital, productivity, innovation and economic well-being are founded. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to analyse the benefits derived from the international mobility of Spanish doctorate holders from several different perspectives, including academic, labour and economic effects. To this end, a set of probabilistic models were estimated, using information from the 2009 edition of the Spanish Survey on Human Resources in Science and Technology. Our results indicate that international mobility is associated with significant and positive academic and labour effects, whereas returns in terms of income are much less marked. We also found that most of the positive effects were limited to the higher education sector and did not filter through to the private sector. The large number of Spanish doctorate holders working within higher education could be the key factor which explains these results.