Gender bias and the female brain drain

This paper contributes to the emerging literature on gender differences in the causes and consequences of brain drain. Differentiating between gender bias in the access to economic opportunities and gender differentials in economic outcomes, we find that differences in access have a significant impact on the emigration of highly-skilled women relative to that of men. However, differentials in outcomes do not have a significant impact. Additionally, the structure of political institutions in the source countries does not have a significant impact on the difference in emigration rates.immigration, gender, brain drain

Brain Drain and Institutions of Governance: Educational Attainment of Immigrants to the US 1988-1998

We investigate the impact of home country institutions on the skill level of immigrants to the United States over 1988-1998. Specifically, we explore the hypothesis that institutions are multidimensional and that the different dimensions have conflicting impacts on the migration of skilled labor. Using an exploratory factor analysis on fifteen institutional variables, we identify the following dimensions of institutional character: credibility; transparency; democracy; and the security of civil society. We find that credibility and transparency increase the magnitude of brain drain; security reduces it; and democracy has no significant impact.immigration, institutions, political instability, brain drain

Brain Drain and Institutions of Governance: Educational Attainment of Immigrants to the US 1988-2000

We use a fixed effects panel data model to investigate the impact of institutions of governance on the educational attainment of immigrants to the United States over the period 1988 – 2000. Distinguishing between the quality and stability of political institutions in the countries of origin, we find that the two characteristics of institutional structure have conflicting impacts on the nature of brain drain. Immigrants from countries with a higher quality of political institutions tend to be better educated, on the average, than immigrants from countries with institutions of lower quality. However, immigrants from countries with greater political instability tend to be better educated than immigrants from countries with more stable governments.Immigration, institutions, political instability, brain drain

Civil War, Ethnicity, and the Migration of Skilled Labor

We investigate the impact of civil war on high skilled emigration rates to the OECD over the period 1985-2000. Controlling for economic and institutional characteristics of source countries, we find that civil war increases high skilled emigration by about 5 percent on the average. However, the nature of conflict matters: While brain drain from countries with ethnic conflict is about 6-8 percent greater on average than it is from countries without conflict, brain drain from countries with nonethnic conflict is less, and statistically insignificant. Duration also matters: Each additional year of ethnic conflict worsens the brain drain by between 0.4 and 1 percent, whereas the effect of an additional year of nonethnic conflict is small and insignificant.

Financial Liberalization and the Brain Drain: A Panel Data Analysis

This paper explores the impact of financial liberalization on the migration of high skilled labor from 46 countries to the OECD, taken at five year intervals over the period 1985-2000. Using an exploratory factor analysis, we are able to distinguish between two dimensions of financial liberalization, namely the robustness of the markets and their freedom from direct government control. We find that a standard deviation improvement in the robustness of the source country financial sector magnifies the extent of brain drain by a factor of about four percentage points on the average. However, a corresponding increase in the freedom of the source country financial sector from government control has a modest negative impact on the emigration of high skilled labor and the effect is not statistically significant. Further, the impact of improved financial sector robustness on selection is more pronounced for non-OECD economies than for OECD nations, which experience virtually no impact on skilled emigration.immigration, financial liberalization, brain drain, institutions

Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation Rate in Iron-Pnictide Superconductors

Nuclear magnetic relaxation rate 1/T_1 in iron-pnictide superconductors is calculated using the gap function obtained in a microscopic calculation. Based on the obtained results, we discuss the issues such as the rapid decrease of 1/T_1 just below the transition temperature and the difference between nodeless and nodal s-wave gap functions. We also investigate the effect of Coulomb interaction on 1/T_1 in the random phase approximation and show its importance in interpreting the experimental results.Comment: Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Materials and Mechanisms of Superconductivity. To be published in Physica

Optimization of the neutron yield in fusion plasmas produced by Coulomb explosions of deuterium clusters irradiated by a petawatt laser

The kinetic energy of hot (multi-keV) ions from the laser-driven Coulomb explosion of deuterium clusters and the resulting fusion yield in plasmas formed from these exploding clusters has been investigated under a variety of conditions using the Texas Petawatt laser. An optimum laser intensity was found for producing neutrons in these cluster fusion plasmas with corresponding average ion energies of 14 keV. The substantial volume (1-10 mm(3)) of the laser-cluster interaction produced by the petawatt peak power laser pulse led to a fusion yield of 1.6x10(7) neutrons in a single shot with a 120 J, 170 fs laser pulse. Possible effects of prepulses are discussed. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.87.023106Glenn Focht Memorial FellowshipNNSA DE-FC52-08NA28512DOE Office of Basic Energy SciencesPhysic