It is by now well known that return migration of the highly skilled can have a significant impact on knowledge-based development in the regions to which they return. Whereas previous research has mainly focussed on developing and newly industrializing countries this paper looks at high-skilled...

The report is divided into two main parts. The first part adopts a long-term perspective, examining the changes in regional disparities in economic performance across the EU over the period since 1980 - or at least up to 2011, the latest year for which the relevant data are available. Its...