Relationship between intellectual capital and migratory flows: An international study

In this paper we propose a model to measure the intellectual capital of nations that takes into account aspects not contemplated by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is based on the observation of hidden capital as implicit generators of long term wealth, considering intangible such as human development, foreign image, innovation and social and environmental responsability. In addition, we have applied this model to several countries grouped in clusters according to their efficiency of knowledge capital. This empirical study reveals the importance of immigration in the nation’s wealth measure through intellectual capital. Concretely, countries rich in intangibles receive more migrations and reach even better levels in terms of intellectual capital with the attraction of human capital.