Interregional mobility of talent in Spain: The role of job opportunities and qualities of places during the recent economic crisis

Abstract

This paper seeks to extend our knowledge of the drivers behind talented workers’ mobility within the Spanish urban system and the patterns they may follow. For this purpose, the stock and flows of creative workers (selected on the basis of either the industry-based or occupational approaches) are studied at different spatial scales while also considering the influence of local characteristics as a source of attracting and retaining forces. The study is based on the analysis of a quite novel longitudinal micro-database from the Spanish Social Security office. Under the conditions of lower mobility of creative workers compared with other geographical contexts –a trend worsened by the economic crisis– we show that job opportunities, especially in connection with workers’ social networks, emerge as the most influential attracting factor. Thus, beyond the classic idea that agglomeration economies benefit all residents, we found evidence that the biggest cities, and Madrid in particular, had become “escalator regions”, propelling the careers of young creative workers that had been attracted to them. On the contrary, the influence of urban amenities seems limited to the retention of talent. This research aims to contribute to dealing with the challenge of upgrading local productive forces after the economic crisis and to develop tailor-made talent attraction and retention strategies.