Globalization has resulted in a notable rise in the flow of high-skilled talent from emerging countries to developed nations. Current research on transnational talent flow mainly focuses on the destination countries, ...Globalization has resulted in a notable rise in the flow of high-skilled talent from emerging countries to developed nations. Current research on transnational talent flow mainly focuses on the destination countries, with less attention given to the perspective of the sending countries, particularly lacking a dynamic discussion on its impact on technological evolution in the origin countries. Based on the OECD REGPAT database, this paper aims to explore how talent groups migrating to developed countries facilitate the return of knowledge and technology to emerging countries and achieve breakthroughs in their technological evolution paths, while further discussing the potential mechanisms involved. The findings of this paper are as follows:(1) The technological development of emerging countries is a path-dependent process, where countries often branch into new technologies related to their preexisting knowledge base. Consequently, knowledge feedback from high-skilled talents increases the likelihood of sending countries developing unrelated technologies.(2) The mobility of talents across borders fosters more international collaborations and citations for patents that are unrelated to the local knowledge base, thus enriching the technological paths of sending countries.(3) The mobility of high-skilled talents primarily affects complex technologies, which have significant economic effects that encourage imitation by other countries.However, the effect on novel technologies is less significant due to their strong geographical stickiness. In general, this paper addresses the gaps in existing research on talent outflow and the technological evolution of origin countries, providing empirical evidence for the positive role of transnational talent mobility in the technological catch-up of emerging nations.Besides, it offers recommendations for talent export, import, and innovation policy formulation in these countries.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.42122006, No.41971154, No.42271201Key Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41731278。
文摘Globalization has resulted in a notable rise in the flow of high-skilled talent from emerging countries to developed nations. Current research on transnational talent flow mainly focuses on the destination countries, with less attention given to the perspective of the sending countries, particularly lacking a dynamic discussion on its impact on technological evolution in the origin countries. Based on the OECD REGPAT database, this paper aims to explore how talent groups migrating to developed countries facilitate the return of knowledge and technology to emerging countries and achieve breakthroughs in their technological evolution paths, while further discussing the potential mechanisms involved. The findings of this paper are as follows:(1) The technological development of emerging countries is a path-dependent process, where countries often branch into new technologies related to their preexisting knowledge base. Consequently, knowledge feedback from high-skilled talents increases the likelihood of sending countries developing unrelated technologies.(2) The mobility of talents across borders fosters more international collaborations and citations for patents that are unrelated to the local knowledge base, thus enriching the technological paths of sending countries.(3) The mobility of high-skilled talents primarily affects complex technologies, which have significant economic effects that encourage imitation by other countries.However, the effect on novel technologies is less significant due to their strong geographical stickiness. In general, this paper addresses the gaps in existing research on talent outflow and the technological evolution of origin countries, providing empirical evidence for the positive role of transnational talent mobility in the technological catch-up of emerging nations.Besides, it offers recommendations for talent export, import, and innovation policy formulation in these countries.
