Call for Papers: Knowledge Worker Migration

A special issue of International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development

Attracting and retaining human capital is a high priority for economic development stakeholders in the knowledge economy. Given the internationalization of scientific endeavors in the new century, it has become obvious that one country cannot and will not retain a monopoly over human capital. In this new era of global competition for human capital, the traditional push and pull factors which might otherwise compel knowledge workers to migrate may not influence their migration decision making as before. To better understand this process, it is vital that social scientists and practitioners explore the multiple dimensions of the migration decision making process and its dynamics over the course of a knowledge worker’s career.

The goal of this special issue is to bring together papers for academic and practitioner audiences which focus on the economic, political and social issues which affect the migration of knowledge workers. The scale of migration covered may be either internal (within country) or international (between countries).

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Policies to attract/retain knowledge workers
• Theoretical or empirical work on the ways in-migrant knowledge workers affect their destination as well as how their leaving affects the origin
• Effects of knowledge worker migration on regional economic development
• Locational preferences of knowledge workers
• Theoretical or empirical work on the brain drain, reverse brain drain and/or brain gain
• Case studies on the efficacy of policies from different levels of government to attract and retain knowledge workers
• Human capital theory and migration investments by knowledge workers
• Costs and benefits of migration for knowledge workers
• Social dimensions of migration decision making for knowledge workers
• Locational extent of social networks vital to the career success of knowledge workers

Important Dates
Expression of interest: 15 September 2011
Submission of full paper: 15 December, 2011
Notification of review results: 1 March, 2012
Final paper submission: 1 April, 2012