This article investigates the strategies that governments use to attract foreign talent. Skilled migration is commonly assumed to be a panacea for demographic changes, labour shortages and market competitiveness. Yet there will be different configurations of winners and losers depending on the strategy applied. The article takes as a point of departure that skilled migration is rooted in several complex regulatory regimes that may have difficult-to-reconcile sectoral objectives (e.g. border control rationale vs. human rights obligations in migration sector). The sectoral origin and composition of skilled migration policies could thus affect the framing of the legislation, their attractiveness and implementation methods. Navigating across policy sectors constitutes a key strategy that governments have for attracting global talent.
Governments are also embedded in the international regime of nation-states. Growing interdependence has led to increased cross-border collaboration in the form of regional integration. Moving between different regulatory levels (supranational, international, national) is therefore another strategy. But ceding competence to any authority beyond the nation-state is dangerous; it threatens the notion of democratic self-determination. We ask: How do governments caught between globalisation forces and the democratic duties to defend regulatory prerogative compete for foreign talent? What strategies do they devise and apply? The article will offer the first in-depth analysis of skilled migration regulation in several advanced economies. The findings will reveal how contemporary nation-states are transforming and inform immediate public policy debates whilst shaping future decision-making.
