Conceptualizing STEM Workforce Migration in the Modern World Polity

Abstract:     
Focusing on highly-skilled labor populations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, we offer a conceptual schema and approach to capture the complex dimensions and dynamics of labor migration and mobility relative to processes of brain drain, brain gain, brain circulation, and brain waste in the world today. Combining insights from sociology and applied mathematics, we invoke a conception of the modern world polity that incorporates a predator-prey logic in a robust and flexible analytical framework that can be adapted as a tool for model development. Aimed at providing a better understanding of STEM workforce migration across and within different levels of analysis, the primary purpose of this approach is to enable policy analysts and decision-makers to simulate and explore various mechanisms and factors affecting the processes in question and to identify pivotal areas for further research.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: science and technology workforce, migration, brain drain, world polity

working papers series