Star Scientists, Innovation and Regional and National Immigration

Zucker, Lynne G.; Darby, Michael R.

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Star Scientists, Innovation and Regional and National Immigration

NBER Working Paper No. w13547

41 Pages Posted: 31 Oct 2007 Last revised: 9 Jul 2022

See all articles by Lynne G. Zucker

Lynne G. Zucker

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Michael R. Darby

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Global Economics and Management (GEM) Area; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 2007

Abstract

We follow the careers 1981-2004 of 5401 star scientists listed in ISI HighlyCitedSM as most highly cited by their peers. Their number in a US region or a top-25 science and technology (S&T) country significantly increases the probability of firm entry in the S&T field in which they are working. Stars rather than their disembodied discoveries are key for high-tech entry. Stars become more concentrated over time, moving disproportionately from areas with few peers in their discipline to many, except for a countercurrent of some foreign-born American stars returning home. High impact articles and university articles all tend to diffuse. America has 62 percent of the world's stars as residents, primarily because of its research universities which produce them. Migration plays a significant role in some developing countries.

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Zucker, Lynne G. and Darby, Michael R., Star Scientists, Innovation and Regional and National Immigration (October 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w13547, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1024964

Lynne G. Zucker

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) ( email )

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