2020
Chapter
Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 20

The Gift of Global Talent: Innovation Policy and the Economy

Format:Print

Abstract

Talent is the most precious resource for today’s knowledge-based economy, and a significant share of the U.S. skilled workforce in technology fields is foreign born. The United States has long held a leading position in attracting global talent, but the gap to other countries is shrinking. Immigration policies like the H-1B visa program shape the admissions of foreign workers to the country and grant a particularly strong gatekeeping role to sponsoring firms and universities. This chapter explores the data around global talent flows and some of the economic implications of an employer-driven immigration approach.

Keywords

Global Talent Flows; Talent and Talent Management; Global Range; Immigration; Policy; Economy

Citation

Kerr, William R. "The Gift of Global Talent: Innovation Policy and the Economy." Chap. 1 in Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 20, edited by Josh Lerner and Scott Stern, 1–37. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2020.