Global talent has never been more mobile or sought after. A complex phenomenon that takes many forms, the movement of people with skills includes migrants crossing borders for temporary stays abroad as well as settlement, students moving for degrees and temporary and permanent stays, and even tourists and refugees who decide to stay abroad and use their skills. Countries attracting global talent increase their stock of human and technological skills, and in the past decade many have welcomed foreign professionals and students to redress domestic skill shortages and to quicken economic growth.

This book includes general and theoretical papers on skilled migration and also papers on the country experiences of Australia, India, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and the United States. It addresses the socio-economic and cultural challenges created by increased mobility in a world where globalizing and localizing forces are at work simultaneously. Developing a deeper understanding of the indirect ways in which talent crosses borders is one objective of this book. Another objective is to understand the factors that contribute to the effective design and implementation of policies and programmes to attract global talent. Just as skilled foreigners can end up in a country via a variety of routes, there are also different successful ways to attract foreign talent and maximize their contributions to a country’s development.