Chapter 3. An Empirical Study of the Italian Academic “brain drain”: Effects and Determinants in Brain Drain

Brain drain is an increasingly widespread and studied phenomenon. In the literature, however, less attention is devoted to academic brain drain. It represents a phenomenon of particular economic and statistical interest, both for the aspects of public governance and for investments in research and development. This chapter aims to identify the characteristics of the phenomenon of academic brain drain in Italy and provides economic evaluations of the phenomenon. Through empirical analysis, the authors identify a number of causes and factors affecting the phenomenon. Particularly, we have been used two surveys, "Italians researchers Abroad" (IRA) and "Italian Researchers in Italy" (IRI), in order to know the causes of migration, the propensity to return to Italy and the well-being job satisfaction. The questionnaire responses are in line with the literature regarding the tendency of Italian researchers to leave Italy, but while, the prevalent literature considers migration as a temporary phenomenon, the analysis results show that in Italy it is permanent . This conclusion is reached by evaluating the propensity of migrants to return: when researchers move abroad are no longer willing to return. The analysis provided substantial and important information to clarify the profile of Italian academics and to define the potential government policies. As is evident from the survey conducted, the Italian research system is inefficient and leads the most qualified academic to leave Italy and move to countries that offer a higher quality of life and more job opportunities. The loss of these people, and their low propensity to return to Italy, have a negative economic effect on the growth of the country. Indeed, the greatest differences emerged among Italians at home and those living abroad are the organization of work, the integration of the administrative system with the research system, wage levels and the facilities offered by the host country. The chapter considers various aspects of the academic brain drain and highlights existing: the Italian research system, the empirical results obtained, the relation between academic brain drain and work well-being, some suggestions for economic policy .