BRAIN DRAIN OR BRAIN GAIN MIGRATION OF ELITES

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• BRAIN DRAIN OR BRAIN GAIN? MIGRATION OF ELITES

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What is Brain Drain?

• Mass departure of skilled labour, usually
  from developing or transition countries into
  industrial ones
• (Martin)

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What is skilled labour International Standard
Classification of Education (ISCED97)

• ISCED 0 pre-primary education
• ISCED 1 primary education (or the first stage of
  basic education)
• ISCED 2 lower secondary education (or the second
  stage of basic education)
• ISCED 3 upper secondary education
• ISCED 4 post-secondary non-tertiary education
• ISCED 5 first stage of tertiary education
• ISCED 6 second stage of tertiary education
  (advanced research qualifications)

Source SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA regional report
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
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Gross Tertiary School Enrollment 1996-99

• Tansania, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Afghanistan
  1-3
• Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo, Bangladesh
  4-5
• China 7
• Mexiko 18
• Romania 22
• Poland 24
• Kazahstan 26
• Philippines 28
• Chile 34
• Germany 46
• France, Spain 56
• USA 77

Source Earth Trends (Based on UNESCO Statistics)
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Foreign students in higher education in seleted
countries
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Total gratuated per year

• Germany, Poland ca. 200.000
• South Africa 103.000
• Uganda 10.200
• Ethiopia 8.500
• Tansania 3.900
• Togo 4.450
• Liberia 1.200

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(No Transcript)
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Effects in countries of destination

• filling of lacking human resources
• receiving of highly skilled workers without
  having costs of education
• wages gains for companies

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Effects in countries of origin

• loss of innovative and educated community members
• loss of public investments of education
• (if at public extence)
• slower or even declining economic growth (in some
  countries)

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Effects in countries of origin benefits of return

• workers return with knowledge that is more
  advanced, or with better skills than they would
  have acquired at home
• the knowledge and skills acquired abroad are
  relevant to the needs of the home country
  economy

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Effects in countries of origin

• remittances
• creation of jobs and spur development in the
• transfer of technologies
• more dynamic in origin economies after return of
  skilled workers
• benefits when workers return with enhanced skills
  and contacts in the international business
  community
• decrease of un- and under-employment

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Dealing with the brain drain

• better regulate the recruitment of skills that
  are rare and needed in these countries
• create incentives to promote return migration
• maximize the development contribution of migrant
  communities, including via remittances
• brain drain tax

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