Immigration and Innovation: Chinese Graduate Students in U.S. Universities

CERGE-EI Working Paper Series No. 529

35 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2015

See all articles by Patrick Gaulé

Patrick Gaulé

Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Mario Piacentini

University of Geneva - Department of Political Economics

Date Written: February 1, 2015

Abstract

Immigration is rapidly changing the composition of the R&D workforce in the United States. We study here Chinese chemists and chemical engineers who migrate to the United States for their graduate studies. We analyze productivity at the individual researcher level, thus bypassing the identification issues that earlier studies had to confront when analyzing the relationship between immigration and innovation at the university or firm level. Using new data and measurement techniques, we find robust evidence that Chinese students make disproportionate contributions to the scientific output of their advisors and departments. We attribute this result to a selection effect as it is relatively more difficult for Chinese students to gain admission to U.S. PhD programs. Our results strengthen the case for liberal student migration policies.

Keywords: High-skilled migration, students, universities, China

JEL Classification: F22, I23, O15, O33, J61

Suggested Citation

Gaulé, Patrick and Piacentini, Mario, Immigration and Innovation: Chinese Graduate Students in U.S. Universities (February 1, 2015). CERGE-EI Working Paper Series No. 529, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2564667 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2564667

Patrick Gaulé (Contact Author)

Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences ( email )

Politickych veznu 7
Prague, 111 21
Czech Republic

Mario Piacentini

University of Geneva - Department of Political Economics ( email )

40, boulevard du Pont-d'Arve
Geneva 4, CH-1211
Switzerland

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