2018-2019 Academic Catalog

Dec 04, 2024

2018-2019 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

IDCE 30261 - Immigration and Knowledge-Driven Industries

Deepening economic and cultural globalization has transformed the dynamics of migration. In 1990, there were 120 million international migrants and by 2000 there were 180 million. Among the migrants we find both highly skilled and not so skilled ones. They move for numerous reasons, but undeniably the global demand for their labor and services (mainly in rich countries) is a fundamental one. For poor countries, the growing share of their skilled moving to and residing in rich countries (brain drain) represents a staggering loss, and the outflows may entrap countries into further pauperization. In the receiving countries, immigrants find employment in practically all segments of the labor market yet we see a strong bifurcation. Large numbers are going into the lower echelons of the labor market as menial service and manual laborers but also more educated immigrants are increasingly fitting into the upper echelons of the knowledge-based economy. In the receiving countries, we listen to arguments about critical occupational shortages, labor displacement and replacement, and competition between domestic and foreign born workers. In addition, we also hear stories of distorted incorporation, doctors from poor countries unable to practice in the receiving country because of certification problems, or mathematicians working as cab drivers because they lack language skills. With globalization, we are also witnessing the creation of transnational communities of professionals connected to global value chains, processes of offshoring, and the diffusion of know-how. This course will be divided into three sections. First, we will learn about general theories of migration, especially to explain global flows of labor with multiple kinds of human capital attributes (selectivity), and to understand the complex political economy of the current global distribution and circulation of talent, and regulatory regimes. Secondly, we will learn about the processes of incorporation that both professionals and proletarians experience in the labor market of receiving countries. We will address both supply-side factors (human capital, demography, entrepreneurship, etc.) and supply-side factors (economic restructuring, technology, industrial organization, geographic division of labor, deskilling, labor flexibility, internal labor markets, etc.) In this section, even though we will consider some material from the European experience, the emphasis will be on the incorporation of immigrants in three critical sectors of the US national and regional economies: high-tech, bio-tech and health. Finally, we will examine the workforce development practices and strategies needed to meet the current and future development needs of these industrial sectors, and how such strategies are considering the incorporation of foreign born workers (career ladders, sectorial strategies, public-private partnerships between “ed’s and med’s” and communities, labor market intermediaries, regional economic development strategies, workforce development networks, and transnational networks).

Anticipated Terms Offered: varied