Brexit has made it harder for UK universities to attract and retain talented academics, particularly younger ones, according to new research.
A paper published in the International Journal of Higher Education Research, which used salaries as a measure of researchers’ quality, finds that since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016 the country has on average attracted scholars of lower quality and has found it harder to retain the best ones.
“This happens especially among younger cohorts, and if they come from countries that perform better in GDP per capita, R&D investment, but also national ranking in tolerance and creative class scores,” writes author Giulio Marini, senior assistant professor in the University of Catania’s department of economics and business.
“Overall, Brexit is detrimental to the UK in relation to attraction of talents, cutting through a long-term pattern of success.”
