The Mobility Pattern and Evolution Characteristics of Mobile Researchers Between Global Cities:Research Based on the Data of Scopus'Centennial Papers
With the increasingly frequent scientific and technological exchanges between global cities,international mobility of researchers has become an important way to promote knowledge diffusion and regional innovation and development.Researchers with high mobility have become the focus of talent competition strategies in various countries.However,the complexity and dynamics of international mobility behavior of researchers pose challenges to the formula-tion and implementation of talent strategies.Existing literature has yielded rich results in exploring the behavioral charac-teristics,driving factors,and economic and social impacts of international mobility of researchers,but there are still two limitations.On the one hand,Studies have explored the international mobility behavior and patterns of researchers at the country level,with less attention paid to the international mobility behavior of at the urban level.On the other hand,due to the availability of data and the limitations of methods,existing studies have mostly examined the international mobility of researchers in specific projects and disciplinary fields in a short historical period.This study attempts to scientifically depict the international behavior of global researchers at the urban level,revealing the characteristics and patterns of interna-tional mobility of researchers in a larger spatial and temporal range and a longer historical cycle,and systematically analyzing the relationship between international mobility of researchers and the evolution of scientific centers at the urban level.Based on the data of 80 749 758 papers from 1920 to 2020 provided by Scopus dataset,we identify the international mobility behavior of researchers and then construct the international mobility network of researchers among 36 global cities using social network analysis method.We further discuss the mobility characteristics of researchers among those global cities from three aspects:macro trend,mobility pattern and evolution of science centers.To begin with,we attempt to construct a method for identifying international mobility of researchers based on long-term massive paper data,and track their international mobility behavior.Secondly,we analyze the basic characteris-tics of international mobility of researchers from macro thrend involving mobility scale,mobility mode,and disciplinary distribution.We also explore the urban distribution and talent structure characteristics of researchers by constructing a mobility network at the urban level.Thirdly,we identify scientific centers at the urban(and disciplinary)level through weighted scientific outputs,and then investigate the relationship and mechanism between the international mobility of re-searchers and the formation and development of urban scientific centers.We get the following research conclusions:(1)From the perspective of macro trend,the scale of internationally mobile researchers has been expanding acceleratedly from 1920 to 2020.The flow pattern of internationally mobile researchers has shifted from migration-oriented to returning and weak flow.The disciplines of internationally mobile researchers are mainly concentrated in the fields of medicine,biochemistry,genetics and molecular biology and chemical engineering.(2)From the perspective of mobility pattern,the world has experienced a transformation from the"Europe,North-America"bipolar flow in the 20th century to the"Europe,North America and Asia Pacific"tripolar flow in the 21st century.Besides,international mobility of researchers shows significant regional agglomeration effect,and they are mainly distributed in cities with high comprehensive influence,such as London,New York,Tokyo,Paris,Beijing,Singapore and so on.Chinese cities represented by Beijing,Shanghai,Guangzhou and Shenzhen has shown increasingly attraction to international mobile researchers since the beginning of 21st century.(3)From the perspective of the evolution of science centers,international mobility of researchers is conducive to the formation and development of science centers.On the one hand,the science centers in Europe and America represented by New York and London have mainly experienced the cumulative effect of advantages in scientific activities in their development.On the other hand,for Asian cities such as Beijing and Tokyo,they have mainly experienced late-mover advantage of learning in the process of catching up European and American countries so as to improve their scientific strength.Our findings help to understand the law of international mobility of researchers as well as formulate regional talent strategy.China needs to leverage its abundant resources,strategic location,and institutional strengths in the process of building international science and technology innovation centers and comprehensive national science centers.Besides,it is necessary to proactively engage in global science and technology collaboration,harness both domestic and foreign advanta-geous scientific and technological resources,and attract exceptional scientific and technological talents around the world.These efforts are essential to effectively enhance urban science and technology innovation capabilities,expedite the estab-lishment of international scientific and technological competitive advantages,and foster the creation of a global science center and innovation hub.
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