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:	eng
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