Urban predictors of foreign-born PhD clusters

Abstract

ABSTRACT The skilled workforce has taken on increased importance in the modern economy, but mobility of highly skilled workers has largely been studied with a focus on their careers. Thus, less is known about what urban or regional qualities predict the location choices of scientists and researchers, particularly those who are foreign born. In this article, I analyzed the clustering of foreign-born PhDs using individual-level census data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) aggregated to metropolitan statistical areas. Using a model developed from the literature studying the location propensities of other groups of immigrants and highly skilled workers, I study what predicts both the size of the foreign-born PhD cluster as well as where they are overrepresented relative to native-born PhDs. The results indicate that foreign-born PhDs locate in areas with a suitable local economy, ethnically similar immigrants, and a welcoming political environment.