Migration of inventors in closing the "knowledge gap" between countries. The case for Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary
Migration of inventors in closing the "knowledge gap" between countries. The case for Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary

Summary/Abstract: Using patent citations as a proxy for knowledge flows, we have investigated whether inventors from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary residing outside their home country contribute to reducing the gap between these countries and more innovative economies. In particular, have considered how much knowledge flows to Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary from host countries via inventors who have left these countries, and what underlies this phenomenon. We have found that although researchers from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary draw on the knowledge of their compatriot inventors who have left their home country, the observed knowledge flows are small enough not to compensate for the loss of valuable human capital. Our findings also showed that among the initially identified factors, patent cooperation between mobile inventors and their colleagues from the home economy had the greatest impact on the "reverse knowledge transfer," followed by the size of the inventors' diaspora and the value of the invention itself.

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