Nesta Working Paper 12/07
Issued: April 2012
JEL Classification: O38
Keywords: Employment protection, migration policies, skill, innovation

Abstract

This paper is part of the Compendium of Evidence on the Effectiveness of Innovation Policy Intervention. It offers a very preliminary consideration of the role of high skill international migration policies and employment protection (EPL) legislation on innovation. There is, increasing interest in understanding the impact of EPL to innovation processes and how such understanding might illuminate specific and general innovation policy instruments. In the case of migration although the migration-innovation linkage is not yet clearly understood, and consequently is not yet embedded in innovation policy instruments, we are seeing the emergence of competitive immigration regimes as tools to enhance national competitiveness in the global economy. At the heart of both areas are people – human resources - and social equity and welfare issues that may not be easily reconciled with policies aimed at ensuring the smooth operation of innovation processes at the firm level.

Author

Barbara Jones

The Nesta Working Paper Series is intended to make available early results of research undertaken or supported by Nesta and its partners in order to elicit comments and suggestions for revisions and to encourage discussion and further debate prior to publication (ISSN 2050-9820). The views expressed in this working paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of Nesta.