Assessing the relation between academic talent mobility and academic output.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Economics
• Higher Education Studies

Background:

• Debate exists regarding the relationship between academic talent mobility and academic output.
• Understanding this relationship is crucial for optimizing talent attraction and retention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of academic talent mobility on the quantity and quality of academic output in China.
• To determine if mobility is a critical factor influencing scholarly productivity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a quasi-experimental research design for the first time in this context.
• Identified a group of mobile academic talents (experimental group) from NSF data.
• Matched mobile talents with a control group based on institutional, departmental, research, temporal, and funding indicators.
• Conducted a seven-year follow-up survey on publication output (quantity and quality).

Main Results:

• Academic output among Chinese scholars is highly stable and not critically affected by mobility.
• Mobility is not the primary driver of academic output; research habits and abilities are more influential.
• Scholars returning from overseas demonstrate consistent academic output, maintaining high quantity and quality even with subsequent mobility.

Conclusions:

• Academic talent mobility does not significantly alter academic output, highlighting the intrinsic stability of scholarly quality.
• Research capabilities and habits are the primary determinants of academic productivity.
• Findings offer valuable insights for China's strategies in attracting international academic talent.