Abstract

In this paper we analyse the human capital endowment of migration flows across Italian regions during the period from 1980 to 2002. Our aim it to quantify the human capital embodied into migrants in order to assess how much of it has been moving from one region to another. Among the main results we have found that interregional mobility slowed down up to 1995 but has been increasing from then onwards, in addition we have also discovered that during the whole time period emigration rates are higher for graduate students, followed by higher secondary school and lower secondary school students. The main finding, however, is that we have detected evidence of human capital losses for almost all southern regions. Putting it differently these regions have suffered from a brain drain that, presumably, has reduced their growth potentials.