The technological catch-up effect of latecomer countries in the global talent mobility network

Based on cross-national data on scientific talent mobility from 2006 to 2021, this study constructs a global talent mobility network using complex network analysis. It examines how integration into this network affects technological catch-up in latecomer countries and the mechanisms underlying this process. This study finds that integration into the global talent mobility network significantly facilitates technological catch-up in latecomer countries, with multinational cooperation in knowledge production serving as a key channel through which this effect occurs. Moreover, when latecomer countries have a greater technological gap than frontier countries, a larger economic scale, or a higher internet coverage rate, integration into the global talent mobility network exerts a stronger promoting effect on technological catch-up.