Rethinking International Migration of Human Capital and Brain Circulation: The Case of Chinese-Canadian Academics

This article examines the dynamics of brain circulation through a historical review of the debates over international migration of human capital and a case study on Chinese-Canadian academics. Interviews with 22 Chinese-Canadian professors who originally came from China provide rich data regarding the possibilities and problems of the contemporary global mobility. The findings indicate that brain circulation is possible in the case of Chinese-Canadian academics but that certain conditions and factors, especially some disparity issues associated with international migration of human capital, have prevented a more effective brain circulation from taking place. This article argues that addressing these disparity issues will be an indispensable step toward fostering an effective global human capital circulation and knowledge exchange.