Science policy and the geographic preferences of stem cell scientists: understanding the appeal of China and Singapore

As scientific advances increasingly pose ethical questions, policymakers must decide how, if at all, to integrate controversial lines of inquiry into existing national innovation systems. This study examines human embryonic stem cell science, a controversial but promising field characterized by an unusually heterogeneous policy environment. This study first assesses this policy environment's impact on stem cell scientists' geographic preferences and finds that permissive policies are a statistically significant predictor of stem cell scientists' preferred countries. Next, China and Singapore, two "emerging leaders" in the field, are examined in greater detail. China appeals to US scientists across biomedical research fields, but this appeal is largely limited to members of the Chinese disapora. In contrast, Singapore's appeal is more specific to stem cell scientists.