Work

Scoping review about well-being in the ‘brain migration’ studies

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: • To cover drain, gain and brain circulation, calling it brain migration, contributing to comprehensive studies on this migratory phenomenon. • Focus on the relationship between advanced human capital and well-being considering behavioral aspects beyond migration motivations. • To identify as factors of subjective well-being in brain migrants, rootedness and ethical and moral dilemmas for those left behind in the origin. • To relate the return decision of brain migrants to contextual factors that influence their objective individual well-being in the host country. • Establishes the predictive role of well-being in brain migration processes, based on the personality and positive predisposition of migrants. Research on advanced human capital migration has focused on the constructs: brain drain, brain gain and brain circulation (grouped as brain migration). The behavior of brain drainers and their migration flow is affected by perceived well-being. Our study comprehensively reviews research on the well-being of highly skilled migrants in search of the constructs and classes with which well-being in brain migration is studied. Research published in the WoSCC and Scopus databases was reviewed. Subsequently, a scoping review of the literature with the PRISMA – ScR guidelines, reporting information sources and search strategy, eligibility criteria (PICOS tool), mode of study selection and data extraction, and ways to assess quality, control bias, and synthesize results. Finally, nine papers were selected, with three types of populations analyzed and two epistemic-methodological approaches: 1) the effects of roots at origin, the ethical and moral dilemmas of the brain drain and the possibilities of return on the well-being of highly qualified emigrants, and 2) identification of the business, economic and political aspects of the destination country that condition individual well-being, adaptation and permanence. Future lines of research will focus on both categories and evaluate their effects on brain migration, and on the origin and destination countries.

Source: MethodsX

DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2024.103068

Authors: Alejandro Vega-Muñoz, Paloma González-Gómez-del-Miño, Guido Salazar-Sepúlveda

Institutions: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Arturo Prat University, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, University of the Americas

Language: English

Topic: Migration and Labor Dynamics

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $850