The increasing flux of international migration of highly qualified people points to the consolidation of the demand for a migrant labour force in the sectors of science and technology, R&D, IT, and financial services worldwide. In this process, to support the arguments of liberalization of the global labour market, developmental positions always come to the fore. For example, according to the World Bank, highly skilled migration and human capital both serve to expand democracy and increase economic freedom. The objective of this research is to analyse, from the perspective of Political Economy, the very significant role played by the migration of the highly qualified in the global development of the knowledge economy. We argue how the mechanisms of differential inclusion determine flows of talent that are unidirectional and never circular. Global social injustice is closely linked to global cognitive injustice: the migration of highly qualified persons is thus well placed within the neo-colonial movement of the capitalism of knowledge. © Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra 2017. All rights reserved.

Economy of knowledge Migrations International division of knowledge Qualified workers Cognitive justice

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