What moves highly skilled migrants?

The labour market for highly skilled personnel is not restricted by international borders. In order to strengthen the Dutch knowledge economy and its level of innovation, the Netherlands must look abroad for talented personnel. Yet, the Netherlands is not alone in this search for talented foreign nationals. Other Western countries have a similar need for highly skilled migrants. More and more, industrialised countries are amending admission policies to attract the highly skilled. Conscious of these international developments the Dutch government has asked SEO Economic Research to analyse the behaviour of the highly skilled immigrant. What moves highly skilled migrants? How attractive is the Netherlands in comparison to other Western countries?