FIGURE 3-6 Science and engineering doctorate production for selected countries, 1975-2001. US doctorate production in science and engineering is decreasing; European Union and Asian production are rising but are still well below US levels.

SOURCE: Based on National Science Board. Science and Engineering Indicators 2004. NSB 04-01. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation, 2004. Appendix Tables 2-38 and 2-39.

the proportion of doctoral-level employees in the science and engineering research labor force is about equivalent to the percentage of doctorates produced by US universities.

Many nations are seeking to reap the benefits of advanced education, including strong positive effects on GDP growth. They are working harder to attract international students and to encourage the movement of skilled personnel into their countries.³⁰

• China implemented an “opening-up” policy in 1978 and began to send large numbers of students and scholars abroad to gain the skills they need to bolster that country’s economic and social development.

• India liberalized its economy in 1991 and started encouraging students to go abroad for advanced education and training. Since 2001, the Indian government has been providing money ($5 billion in fiscal year 2005) for “soft loans,” which require no collateral, to students who wish to travel abroad for their education. In 2002, India surpassed China as the largest exporter of graduate students to the United States.³¹