High-Skilled Migration

Abstract

This book explores and critically reviews the complex relationship between contemporary high-skilled migration processes and skill-specific migration policies. The analytical and methodological approach is multidisciplinary, offering a broad and comprehensive perspective on high-skilled migration in the twenty-first century. It provides a comparative perspective focusing mainly on Europe and North America, but also taking into account high-skilled migration within and from the Global South. The book contributes in particular to the growing literature on high-skilled migration policies, the ‘making’ and effectiveness of high-skilled migration policies, the role of gender in high-skilled migration, and the impact of the global economic crisis and other structural changes on high-skilled migration processes. This volume further addresses challenges of the so-called ‘medical brain drain’ and the mobility of health professionals, as well as the mobility of students and scientists. Its unique contribution is to link these largely separate literatures and to offer a comprehensive perspective on the interlinkages between high-skilled migration processes and skill-specific migration policies. Consequently, this volume gives a state-of-the-art overview on this vibrant and rapidly expanding field of social scientific inquiry and explores new avenues for future research.