Research

World class teaching requires a linkage with leading edge research. The Levin Institute is a research center, and a collector and disseminator of information on the consequences of the integration of the global economy. One of our key interests is focused on the globalization of the innovation process and the utilization of the world's increasingly integrated pool for high-end talent.

Rapid changes are occurring in the availability, mobility, and utilization of what has now become a truly “global pool of talent,” particularly at the high value, highly educated end of the labor spectrum. Universities in emerging markets and new centers of innovation are turning out growing numbers of graduates in engineering, information technology, science and management, who are increasingly competitive with the skill sets of their peers in the industrialized world.

The implications of this sudden shift in available skills (and cost) are significant. Multinational corporations are in the process of changing dramatically the worldwide distribution of their research and development work, with China and India attracting the greatest increase in new projects and investments. The Levin Institute, through its research effort, publications and conferences, helps business leaders, educators and policymakers address the challenges of the new global environment.

The Institute has completed the first phase of a study of China’s scientific, engineering and management talent pool. The study examines the supply and demand of high end talent through the use of a statistical forecasting model that ties together the impact of economic and technology change with the growing requirements for high quality talent in China. The study also covers the impact of geographic and demographic trends on the supply of talent with projections ranging up to 2020.

Building on the China study, The Levin Institute will conduct research in other countries around the globe. This global talent index will then serve as a resource for understanding the evolving talent pools in emerging as well as developed markets.