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Glocalizing cures for China’s brain drain ills: The Thousand Talents Plan in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong

Hanna Kim (Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)
Ryan Michael Allen (Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA)

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development

ISSN: 2396-7404

Article publication date: 13 March 2018

1043

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Chinese Central Government’s plan to alleviate brain drain, called the Thousand Talents Plan, has been glocalized by three major local governments: Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong.

Design/methodology/approach

The lens of glocalization pays special attention to the impact of local reactions to global forces. Materials from the Recruitment Program of Global Experts for three major cases were examined for glocal characteristics. An analysis of each case was carried out to compare the strategies and implementations to explore the individual glocalizations and larger national similarities.

Findings

The findings show that each of the localities has distinct regional variations in their strategies: Shanghai utilized its economic prowess, Tianjin focused on clustering experts, and Guangdong maximized its geographic proximity to Hong Kong. At the same time, all three policies were still rooted in human capital development theory, with a keen emphasis to attracting migrants with greater propensity for staying long term in China.

Originality/value

The study of brain drain is important because it is a problem that plagues communities around the world, especially non-western societies. While China’s tactics to combat brain drain have been examined, the consideration of glocalization in the cases of Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong have not been carried out.

Keywords

Citation

Kim, H. and Allen, R.M. (2018), "Glocalizing cures for China’s brain drain ills: The Thousand Talents Plan in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong", International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 16-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-10-2017-0028

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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