Three Essays on the Mobility of Human Capital and Knowledge Transfer

Both economics and strategic management literature illuminate the impacts of human capital and knowledge on the growth of regional economies and firms. Despite their different characteristics as factors of production, human capital and knowledge often move (or stay) together, as knowledge is embedded in the human brain. Also, human capital and knowledge have shared characteristics; a region or firm cannot be free from the risk of unintended leakage because human capital can move deliberately and knowledge can spill over through various channels. Therefore, it is in the best interests of firms and regions to foster (or retain) human capital and knowledge. The three papers constituting this thesis all address what affects mobility decision of human capital across regions or firms, address what are the antecedents of firms and regions attracting (or poaching) human capital, and also address how knowledge transfer is affected by such human capital mobility.