Jaume Vives. PhD student in Economics and Statistics at MIT. Experience as a Data Scientist at Google and Quantco.
What can we learn in attracting scientific talent to Boston?
Boston and Cambridge are home to some of the most important research centers in the world. These centers have remained pioneers over time thanks to their great potential for attracting talent. Part of the appeal is that Boston is at the center of the academic world: researchers from all over come to give seminars and participate in conferences and conferences. For example, in the field of economics, the National Bureau of Economic Research Summer Institute is held every summer in Cambridge, where the most recent cutting-edge research is presented.
These events are important because, beyond promoting the city's economy, they consolidate its research centers and universities on the international scene and allow local researchers to interact with leaders in their field. Therefore, investing in attracting large academic conferences can be very beneficial for a city in the long term. In the case of Boston, it has been achieved thanks to collaboration between academic centers and the private sector, and a willingness by the Government to attract scientific conferences and facilitate the immigration of scientists.
How could this experience be transferred and applied in Barcelona?
Barcelona is very well positioned to become an international research hub. Apart from having good universities and research centers, it is a city where people want to come to live, but also to attend congresses and conferences. An example is the joint annual meeting of the European Economic Association and the Econometric Society in early September, which I was able to attend to present my research. Nearly 1,400 economists from around the world gathered for the occasion. But not all the invited economists were able to attend. This was the case of two doctoral students from Harvard and MIT who did not receive the visa on time despite starting the process well in advance. At the same time, foreign researchers who move to Barcelona to live complain about the bureaucratic obstacles they encounter.
Bureaucratic complexity is a common problem in many countries, not only in Spain, but it is one of the axes of competition to attract foreign talent. If we want to concentrate talent in Barcelona, we have to reduce these barriers and make it easier for international scientists to establish themselves in Barcelona and come to their conferences.
