World Talent Organization Alliance

Transnational movement of talent is not only a key component of a country’s economic development but also an increasingly salient feature of international relations. Globally, the demand for engineers in the fields of emerging technology is growing faster than the current human capital market could supply. In the information age, there is a global race for talent as countries scramble to formulate rules to recruit, monitor, and regulate the cross-border flows of high-end labor. While immigration has already become a wedge issue in national politics of many advanced economies, North-South circulation of scientists, engineers, professors, executives, startup entrepreneurs etc. is increasingly evolving into an area of contention in inter-state relations. A multilateral institution aimed to facilitate global talent mobility is poised to help channel international tensions and advance global governance. The World Talent Organization Alliance project seeks to build a platform for countries to coordinate talent recruitment policies, negotiate terms of visa and residency, and cooperate on issues such as cross-border credentialing. Talent-based migration forms an important pillar of human exchanges and a supranational regulatory mechanism is wanting. The project is poised to fill this lacuna in both global governance theory and practice.