Many countries say their diasporas are valuable. But is this fact or flattery? One measure comes from the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Before September 2012 scientific and technical patents recorded not just where an inventor was working but also where he or she was born. It is thus possible to measure expats’ brain power. By this yardstick Britain, Canada, China, Germany and India have the most talented diasporas. Relative to their home populations, though, expats of African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria are the most accomplished. Between 2007 and 2012 more than nine-tenths of patents filed by people born in those countries were registered by expatriates. Surprisingly, a higher proportion of Brits who register patents are working abroad than is the case for Chinese people (20% v 17%). China’s liberal patenting system is one reason; another, perhaps, is the British talent for melting into other countries and thriving there.
from The Economist: International http://ift.tt/1BDGteI
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