Skip to main content
Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit

The Role of Migration Policies in the Attraction and Retention of International Talent: The Case of Indian Researchers

Abstract

Governments are increasingly implementing policies aimed at attracting or retaining highly skilled migrants. While a growing number of studies examine the effectiveness of these efforts, the actual mechanisms through which migration policies may operate have not been questioned. Drawing on an aspirations-capability framework for mobility, this article explores the role of migration policies in the geographic mobility decisions of researchers, a highly skilled group that has been specifically targeted by such policies. Focusing on Indian researchers and using qualitative methodology (N = 40), we examine their decisions to study and/or work abroad, to stay or move elsewhere. The article shows that while migration policies do not seem to be influential in the attraction of students and researchers, they do play a role in the retention and subsequent moves of international talent.

You might also be interested in :

Brexit and the Classed Politics of Bordering: The British in France and European Belongings
This article considers what Brexit means for British citizens living in France. Drawing on empirical research I examine the emotional and material impacts that uncertainties about their futures have had on their lives. The article documents the measures they take (or anticipate)…
Migrant Capitals: Proposing a Multi-Level Spatio-Temporal Analytical Framework
This article explores how migrants utilize and access different forms of capital. Using a Bourdieusian approach to capital, we focus on how migrants' temporal and spatial journeys are shaped by and in turn shape their opportunities to mobilize resources and convert them into capitals.
Mobility for Me but Not for Others: The Contradictory Cosmopolitan Practices of Contemporary White British Youth
This article seeks to problematise the perception that young people are committed cosmopolitans by highlighting some of the contradictory and contingent practices that young White British youth engage in. To do so…
Uncanny Europe and Protective Europeanness: When European Identity Becomes a Queerly Viable Option
Europe has recently become closely associated with LGBTQ rights. It remains unclear, however, what is the role of this association in everyday European imaginations and identifications. Empirical research on European identity hardly ever discusses the role of LGBTQ rights.

Journal

Sociology - The Journal of the British Sociological Association

Authors

Sorana Toma (France)
Maria Villares-Varela (United Kingdom)

Article meta

Population studied

Year of Publication

Source type

Keywords