Migration, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Contemporary World

Migration shape continuously our contemporary world. Scholars in social sciences and politicians constantly raise the question of how migration drives economic growth and, widely speaking, the development of our societies. Particularly, innovation in low-tech and hi-tech domains, as well as in the entrepreneurship domain (Bernstein et al., 2018), are viewed as essential drivers of new jobs and new market creation. Sari Pekkala Kerr and William Kerr pointed out that immigrants create 25% of all new business in the US, while first-generation immigrants compose roughly 14% of the US population (Kerr&Kerr, 2016). Each immigrant, on average, is more entrepreneurial than the typical native. As Petra Moser and Shmuel San show, there is also historical evidence that immigrants revolutionized US science during the 20th century (Moser&San, 2020). At the same time, political rhetoric and arguments fuel the debate about how immigrants are “taking” (instead of “making”) jobs. Given that context, scholars are encouraged to propose presentations discussing the influence of migration on innovation and entrepreneurship in the contemporary world. Innovation is defined broadly, from scientific steps forwards to low-tech & hi-tech inventions and business creation.

We encourage empirical and methodological studies, as well as quantitative and qualitative estimations of the migration’s effects on innovation and entrepreneurship, to be presented in this session. Works focussing on causal mechanisms pushing migrants to innovate, on “talent clusters” and geographic and sectorial “hotspots of innovation” by migrants are particularly welcome.