Zieht es die besten fort?

The article tackles the question whether or not the emigration of German researchers and highly skilled professionals to the US has increased over the last decades. We analyze German emigration data, US and German (micro-) census data, and US immigration data in order to assess the scope and development of the phenomenon since the early 1990s. Results show that the emigration of highly skilled Germans to the US increased, especially since the mid-1990s. Besides, the rise in the skill level of the German born living in the US was more substantial than the according change in Germany. However, more detailed analyses show that these findings need to be qualified in two important regards. On the one hand, the absolute numbers of Germans moving to the US for work related purposes are small. On the other hand, the increase in the number of highly skilled Germans who settle in the US permanently is mostly a consequence of the substantial increase in the number of highly skilled temporary visitors from Germany. There is little evidence that the “risk” of these temporary visitors to become permanent resident aliens increased substantially over time.