If there were a ‘Highly Skilled Red Octopus’? The Case of Italian Highly Skilled Mobility at Times of Crisis

The aim of the present paper is to provide an analysis of the recent growth in emigration of highly skilled workers from Italy and to put it in the context of the overall crisis influencing Southern European countries. In doing so, a comparison of two recent studies on the phenomenon will be presented, highlighting the fact that nowadays highly skilled flows tend to have distinctive features, both in terms of forms and trajectories. Attention will be given to under-studied determinants surrounding the decision to move to urban centres that are not traditional poles of attraction for highly skilled people. This paper aims to warn of the need to revise, or at least complement, existing studies on the phenomenon with more updated theoretical paradigms.