KEY ISSUES AND CAUSES OF THE ITALIAN BRAIN DRAIN

Abstract

Scientific migration is a highly debated issue in Italy. Evidence of its actuality can be found in newspaper articles, television programmes as well as academic essays. There is a clear-cut use of the expression 'brain drain' rather than of the more modern terms 'brain circulation' or 'brain exchange', generally adopted to describe scientific flows in other European economies. To assess the causes of the Italian exodus of talent, this article uses a comparative approach to research key issues characterizing Italian scientific migration. More specifically, it aligns media descriptions of the phenomenon with the voices echoed by respondents interviewed in a study on mobility and excellence in science careers (the MOBEX project). This makes possible the systematic extraction of key issues of Italian scientific migration. A comparison between media accounts and migrant scientists' narratives gives a clear picture of the nature of such outflow. Similarities and differences between these two social agents further enrich the analysis.