I ricercatori stranieri in Italia: fattori di push e pull

We present the analysis of the data gathered by a survey of the foreign presence in the Italian public research institutions, trying to understand the actual push and pull factors that originate such a flow from abroad. Our analysis demonstrates that these institutes are securely connected to the international circuit of scientists. The Italian scientific institutes are chosen as a place for the completion of research training by many young academics from EU countries, particularly from France, Germany and Spain, all of which have a long history of strong cultural links with Italy. In addition, the Italian institutes absorb a significant inflow of mature academics from East European countries and from a number of countries outside Europe, Even so, since the number of foreign researchers intending to settle down on a permanent basis or for a long period in Italy is low, we cannot claim that Italy has yet become a country that attracts a significant brain drain flux, not even from less economically developed countries. On a more general level, our analysis shows that the professional pull factors (i.e. the scientific prestige of the host institution and the availability of high level scientific facilities), when a reasonable salary level is guaranteed, is the most important reason of the mobility of scientists, while the possibility of career development seem to be less attractive. This is a key difference with respect to the general case of skilled migrations. Furthermore, we found that the migrations of the researchers are mainly driven by the presence of international scientific networks, while in general the skilled migrations are usually channelled by intermediation agencies