1. Understanding ‘brain flows’ as different problems in regions. Frans Coenen University of Twente Arnoud Lagendijk Radboud University Nijmegen Alexandra David Institute for Work and Technology, Gelsenkirchen

2. Introduction Material is taken from INTERREG IVC Brain flow mini program subproject Button Thematic of the project and whole mini-program. Flows of brains are natural phenomenon with positive and negative consequences depending on the perspective Defining a problem is not solving it.

3. Regions Detmold (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) Hedmark (Norway) Navarra (Spain) Twente (Overijssel, Netherlands) Arnhem-Nijmegen (Gelderland Netherlands) Nordwestschweiz/ Basel (Switzerland).

4. How and why can we categorize ‘brain flow’ as a problem in a specific region?’ -What are the flows? -What are the brains that flows? -What area the consequences? -What are the causes?

5. What are the flows? Brain drain (Brain drain retention) Brain attraction Brain circulation Brain gain

6. What are the ‘brains’ that flow? Three perspectives: Finished education level Skills needed in the region Contribution to economic welfare

7. Problem perception: social, economic and environmental consequences of brain flow 1.As a demographic problem; brain drain leads to depopulation or disturbance of demographic structure (because the young educated go), 2.As a labour market demand problem of job fulfilment, a negative balance of graduates; people leave that are needed in the region; 3.As a shortage of human capital problem, operationalized as the percentage of high educated persons in the population. which has consequences for the social and economic development of a region 4.As a fiscal problem, as invested government money in education is lost

8. Causes of brain flows; push and pull factors Clustering of economic activities Employment and career possibilities Settlement factors Relative independent occurrences

9. Demographic perspective

10. Labour market

11. Human capital

12. Human capital needed

13. Ideal-typical categories Classical brain drain region Shortage region Brain attraction region Commuter region

14. Use and problems No ‘one size fit all solutions’ (f.i. founding an university) Potential measures are linked with causes and consequences Not all factors are manipulable We are not sure about mechanisms (for instance jobs follow people) Time dimension