Researchers without Borders
Research is becoming internationalized with the acceleration of scientific communication between researchers (on-line journals, virtual communities, co-publications, international conferences) and the increased migration of skilled workers, particularly in the sectors of education, health, and computer science. The exodus of researchers from countries of the South toward developed countries was long considered a catastrophe (brain drain), but today is being partly reassessed in the light of the knowledge and skills transfers taking place when migrants return home occasionally or permanently (brain gain), together with the possibility of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the global skills market operates to the disadvantage of the poorest societies in the South and to the benefit of large global corporations.
The volume of scientific publications doubled between 2000 and 2015, reaching 1.8 million per year. This bibliometric inflation has disrupted the ranking of countries as much as the intrinsic evolution of disciplines. Only three countries with a history of intensive research have maintained their position (United States, United Kingdom, and Germany), while many others have lost ground (Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Spain, Australia, Russia, and the Netherlands) to emerging countries (China, India, South Korea, Brazil, Turkey, and Iran).
The number of co-publications between researchers in different institutions tripled between 2000 and 2015, while the number of publications produced by a single institution tended to stagnate, or even diminish.
International co-publications have also shown evidence of a strong increase, going from 15% to 23% of all publications between 2000 and 2015. International scientific collaboration is most highly developed in physics (particularly particle physics), sciences of the universe, medical research, and fundamental biology because of access to shared research equipment (especially in Europe).
Academic publications in the top 20 countries, 2010-2015
Comment: The number of academic publications is considered to be an indicator of the dynamism of research among different actors (universities, laboratories, companies, etc.). The curves show the top 20 countries between 2000 and 2015. The United States published the most throughout the period, but China is catching up, increasing its total by 10 in 15 years, so that it is approaching 300,000. The following countries produce substantially less; while the emerging countries (India, Brazil, Iran, etc.) are demonstrating growth that is higher than that of the so-called Northern states.
- migration > Migration
- Movement of people leaving their country of origin permanently (emigration) to relocate to another country (immigration), which might be voluntary or forced (war, poverty, unemployment, human rights violations, climate factors, etc.), and which often involves temporary stays of varying duration in several transit countries. Migratory flows, which are an integral component of humanity’s history, give rise to a range of public policy measures linked to specific political, economic and cultural contexts and understandings of nationality. Host states seek to organize immigration, sometimes to attract it (need for labor, exploitation of specific territories, naturalizations, etc.), and most often to restrict it (border controls, quotas, residence permits, etc.). In most cases the states of origin seek to maintain relations with their nationals and diaspora communities living abroad.
- developed countries > Developed Country
- At point 4 of his Inaugural Address of 1949, American President Harry S. Truman outlined a program of aid for “underdeveloped areas. This phrase refers to all the countries regarded as “lagging behind” in progress toward what thus becomes the model set by the developed, industrialized countries, which at that time had stronger growth and higher standards of living. The evolution of the terminology from underdeveloped to developing and developed countries has not altered the linear, evolutionist aspect of the overall vision. Nor has it in any way nuanced the homogenization and reification of the groups so described.
- brain drain > Brain drain
- The deterioration of state universities in Southern countries, resulting from weak public policies, high numbers of new generations coming through, and the attractiveness of universities in the North, is causing Southern students to travel abroad to study. They are then able to enter the labor market of the country where they have studied, or that of another Northern country. However, the brain drain of doctors, teachers, researchers, engineers, technicians, and so on, long considered as harmful and even disastrous for their countries of origin, needs to be reconsidered. Now set against it is the notion of brain gain (skills gain), based on the idea that well-educated individuals contribute to the spread of knowledge when they return, definitively or intermittently, to their country of origin; furthermore, they generate sizeable remittances.
- FDI > Foreign direct investment
- Any investment motivated by a company’s aim of acquiring a lasting interest (shareholding exceeding 10% of voting rights) and significant influence in the management of a company based in another country. The transaction, implying a long-term relationship (unlike speculative investments), can involve the creation of a new company or, more usually, the takeover of all or part of an existing company via acquisition or merger. FDI, which mostly concerns flows between countries of the Global North, underpins multinational corporations’ globalization strategies.
- global corporations > Multinational corporation
- Company that has undertaken foreign direct investment (FDI) giving it access to facilities that it owns fully or in part (subsidiaries). The first MNCs date from the late 19th century; corporations of this kind have become widespread in the early 21st century. The majority of FDI takes place between industrialized nations. Such companies are now transnational rather than multinational, the largest among them tending to evolve into global corporate networks.