Talented in Rejecting TalentsTalented in Rejecting Talents

Tito Boeri(Fondazione RODOLFO DEBENEDETTI and Bocconi University )

“Brain Drain and Brain Gain”XI fRDB European Conference

May 23rd 2009

Skilled migration and growth Skilled migration and growth

• Migration increases incomes per capita in the destination country insofar as it increases in share of skilled workers in the workforce

• Effects not only on levels, but above all on rates of growth

• Human capital is the source of the externalities endogenously spurring growth

Ratio of share of high skilled in immigrant pop. Ratio of share of high skilled in immigrant pop. to the Share high skilled in home country pop.to the Share high skilled in home country pop.

Source: Brucker et al. “The Battle for Brains: How to Attract Talent”, fRDB (2009)

Human capital externalitiesHuman capital externalities

• Skilled migration like capital mobility.• Spillovers of human capital. Migrants can:

– transfer their human capital to natives– affect incentives of natives to accumulate human

capital– acquire themselves more human capital via

interactions with natives (e.g., on-the-job training) • These externalities depend on the degree of

assimilation/dessimilation of migrants

Talents and Long-term GrowthTalents and Long-term Growth

• Since the mid-1990s Europe has stopped catching up the US in income per capita levels….and has been consistently losing tertiary educated and PhDs to the US

• Since 1995 Italy has entered an economic stagnation … and has been losing talents not only to the US, but also to the rest of Europe

Exporting PhDs to the USExporting PhDs to the US

Large turnover in the UKLarge turnover in the UKLow inflows in ItalyLow inflows in Italy

Desperately seeking Desperately seeking a “classe dirigente”a “classe dirigente”

• Italy needs a more internationally minded, ruling class. A few international managers. Performance-related managerial style is minoritarian.

• Less and less politicians with tertiary education. A very very few having received tertiary education abroad.

• 2/3 of the Heads of State in 1990 had been studying abroad. Almost 1/3 of the current Heads of State has received education in the US.

A Survey of Foreign Ph.Ds in Italy A Survey of Foreign Ph.Ds in Italy • The survey was carried out between April and May

2009.• 41 Italian universities, accounting for about 91% of

PhD students in Italy.• Response rate: more than 18% (451 obs.). Mostly

non-EU (77%), average age 29, women represent about 44%, only 5% of them have Italian relatives.

• Additional interviews to a sample of BIEM students at Bocconi University (69 obs., 50% non-EU, 68% women )

• Questions concerning:– Individual characteristics– Compliance with immigration rules: costs, time invested, problems

faced.– Interactions with the university system

Where do they come from?Where do they come from?

Ph.D programsPh.D programs• 75% of the students are enrolled in scientific

programs of which 35% are pursuing PhDs in engineering.

• 61% of the respondents follow courses taught in English.

• The majority of the students have been granted a fellowship (85%) usually given by Italian public institutions (86%). Only 6% of the students receive scholarships from their own country’s institutions.

Why they cameWhy they came

• The main reason seems to be access to financial aid (47%) and the good reputation of the research institution (43%)

• Other factors, such as proximity to the home country and the knowledge of Italian are less relevant.

• The key factor in the decision to study abroad is careers prospects and quality of the research

ProblemsProblems

• Bureaucracy (“bureau-crazy”) is the main source of concerns

• Two thirds of the students (63%) experienced a delay in the release/renewal of residence permits. Some of them had it already expired!

• 2/3 complain about language skills of civil servants (do not speak English).

• 4 out of 10 complain about lack of information about administrative procedures

Non-EU students: permit of stayNon-EU students: permit of stay

• Procedures to obtain all the certificates are expensive in terms of money and time wasted.

• Questura Services seem to be inaccessible: 77% of the respondents had to wait more than one month to get an appointment. Once there, 63% of them had to wait for more than 3 hours.

Time costs of the residence permitTime costs of the residence permit

Conferences and Travels Conferences and Travels abroadabroad

• Due to delay in having permit of stay:– 26% of non-EU students experienced

problems to travel abroad for conference or job-market seminars.

– 39% of the respondents had troubles to leave Italy for vacation.

From the students’ interviews…From the students’ interviews…«the first time I received my permit in 9 months, the following time in 11 months and this

time it is going to be more than a year.»

«The most frequent expression I heard from Italians was “non lo so”… »

«Every person I’ve met at Questura had a different interpretation on what I was supposed to do to renew my permit of stay»

«I am now doing an internship in Singapore. I got the Stay permit within 3 hours of submission of my application. In Italy it took 22 months. […] I am too much desperate with Italian bureaucracy. After finishing my studies I will run away from Italy»

«When my studies finish I want to work in Italy, but the procedure to immigrate is very complicated and difficult, especially for my relatives, so I gave up this idea»

«I have studied in 4 universities before coming to Italy and worked in different parts of the world. I found Italy one of the places where a foreigner does not feel comfortable. I found that Italy is losing capacity to integrate foreigners to its culture and this will have a strong impact on the quality of students it will be able to attract»

Personal evaluationPersonal evaluation

• The quality of teaching is considered very good (63%), as well as the University system.

• However a large part of the respondents (39%) think that career opportunities are limited

• 88% of those who have decided what to do after the PhD (47%) plan to leave Italy after completing their studies

What can be done to attract What can be done to attract talents?talents?

1. The permit of stay should lasts as long as the study programme

2. Selective immigration policy (point system)

3. Foreign students with an Italian degree will gain more “points”…

4. Universities should be free to choose their foreign students based on cv and qualifications (why should administrative authories be better?)