Return on capital? Determinants of counter-migration among early career Israeli STEM researchers

Migration studies emphasize the role of economic, social and cultural capital in shaping out-migration decisions. Yet, little attention is paid to the effect of capital endowment on return migration, particularly among the highly educated. This article examines the extent to which different forms of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2019-08, Vol.14 (8), p.e0220609-e0220609
Main Authors: Israel, Emil, Cohen, Nir, Czamanski, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biology and Life Sciences
Brain drain
Capital
Careers
Cohen, Daniel
Cultural capital
Decision making
Decisions
Economic aspects
Education
Emigration and Immigration
Endowments
Families & family life
Family
Female
Geography
Higher education
Humans
Male
Migration
People and Places
Questionnaires
Regression analysis
Repatriation
Research methodology
Research Personnel
Researchers
Retirement benefits
Return migration
Return on investment
Scholars
Science and technology
Scientists
Social aspects
Social Capital
Social classes
Social networks
Social Sciences
Socioeconomic Factors
Sociology
Standard of living
STEM education
Stock offerings
Students
Studies
Technology
Transnationalism
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Summary:Migration studies emphasize the role of economic, social and cultural capital in shaping out-migration decisions. Yet, little attention is paid to the effect of capital endowment on return migration, particularly among the highly educated. This article examines the extent to which different forms of capital determine return decisions of early-career researchers (ECRs). We hypothesized that individuals from more privileged backgrounds would repatriate at higher rates, due to the benefits that their capital stock might offer them upon homeland re-integration at home. Drawing on a sample of 223 early career Israeli scholars in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines, we used logistic regressions to analyze the effects of material wealth, social ties, and family-oriented cultural capital on their return propensities. No significant differences were found between repatriating and non-repatriating scholars with respect to cultural capital. However, accumulating social and economic capital was positively correlated with the decision to repatriate as was marrying into academic families.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0220609