Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals. In terms of countries, the reasons may be social environment (in source countries: lack of opportunities, political instability, economic depression, health risks, etc.; in host countries: rich opportunities, political stability and freedom, developed economy, better living conditions, etc.). In terms of individual reasons, there are family influence (overseas relatives), and personal preference: preference for exploring, ambition for an improved career, etc. Although the term originally referred to technology workers leaving a nation, the meaning has broadened into: "the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic sector, or field for another, usually for better pay or living conditions".[1] Brain drain is usually regarded as an economic cost, since emigrants usually take with them the fraction of value of their training sponsored by the government or other organizations. It is a parallel of capital flight, which refers to the same movement of financial capital. Brain drain is often associated with de-skilling of emigrants in their country of destination, while their country of emigration experiences the draining of skilled individuals.
The term brain drain was coined by the Royal Society to describe the emigration of "scientists and technologists" to North America from post-war Europe.[2] Another source indicates that this term was first used in the United Kingdom to describe the influx of Indian scientist and engineers.[3] The converse phenomenon is "brain gain", which occurs when there is a large-scale immigration of technically qualified persons. There are also relevant phrases called "brain circulation" and "brain waste".
Brain drain is common amongst developing nations, such as the former colonies of Africa,[4] the island nations of the Caribbean,[5] and particularly in centralized economies such as former East Germany and the Soviet Union, where marketable skills were not financially rewarded.
After Justinian closed Academy in AD 529, according to the historian Agathias, its remaining members looked for protection under the rule of Sassanid king Khosrau I, carrying with them precious scrolls of literature and philosophy, and to a lesser degree of science. After a peace treaty between the Persian and the Byzantine empire in 532 guaranteed their personal security, some members of it found sanctuary in the pagan stronghold of Harran, near Edessa. One of the last leading figures of this group was Simplicius, a pupil of Damascius, the last head of the Athenian school. From there, the students of an Academy-in-exile could have survived into the 9th century, long enough to facilitate the Arabic revival of the Neoplatonist commentary tradition in Baghdad.[6]
After the end of the Catholic reconquest of Spain, the Catholic Monarchs pursued a religiously uniform kingdom. Jews were expelled from the country in 1492. As they dominated financial services in the country, their expulsion was instrumental in causing future economic problems, such as the need of foreign bankers such as the Fugger family and from Genoa. On 7 January 1492 the King ordered the expulsion of all the Jews from Spain-from the kingdoms of Castile, Catalonia, Aragon, Galicia, Majorca, Minorca, the Basque provinces, the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, and the kingdom of Valencia. Before that the Queen had expelled them from the kingdom of Andalusia[7] More information is available in Jewish History Sourcebook.
The war against Turks and North African Moors affected internal policy in the uprising of the Alpujarras (1568–1571) and motivated the Expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609. Despite being demographically a minority they were a key part of the farming sector and trained artisans. Their departure contributed to economic decline in some regions of Spain. This way, the conservative aristocracy increased its power over economically developed provinces.
In 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and declared Protestantism to be illegal in the Edict of Fontainebleau. After this, Huguenots (with estimates ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000[8]) fled to surrounding Protestant countries: England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Prussia — whose Calvinist Great Elector Frederick William welcomed them to help rebuild his war-ravaged and underpopulated country. Many went to the Dutch colony at the Cape (South Africa) where they were instrumental in establishing a wine industry.[9] At least 10,000 went to Ireland where they assimilated into the Protestant minority during the plantations.
Many Huguenots and their decedents prospered. Henri Basnage de Beauval fled France and settled in the Netherlands, where he became an influential writer and historian. Abel Boyer, another noted writer, settled in London and became a tutor to the British Royal Family. Henry Fourdrinier, the descendant of Huguenot settlers in England, founded the modern paper industry. Augustin Courtauld fled to England settling in Essex and established a dynasty that founded the British silk industry. Notes Swiss mathematician Gabriel Cramer was born in Geneva to Huguenot refugees. Sir John Houblon, the first Governor of the Bank of England, was born into a Huguenot family in London. Isaac Barré, the son of Huguenots settlers in Ireland, became an influential British soldier and politician. Future British Field Marshal John Ligonier, born Jean Louis Ligonier, was a child when his family fled France for England. Gustav and Peter Carl Fabergé, the descendants of Huguenot refugees, founded the world famous Fabergé company in Russia.
Other settlers went to the newly established British colonies in North America. They established communities in places such as New Rochelle and New Paltz in New York. The Huguenot Church in Charleston, South Carolina was originally founded in 1687 by a group of refugees from France. The Huguenots and their descendants were instrumental in the growth of the United States. Revolutionary leaders John Sevier, Francis Marion and Paul Revere were descendants of Huguenot refugees. Seven other US presidents have documented Huguenot ancestors: George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Lyndon Johnson.[10]
The exodus of Huguenots from France created a brain drain as Huguenots accounted for a disproportionate number of entrepreneurial, artisan, and technical occupations in the country. The loss of this technical expertise was a blow from which the kingdom did not fully recover for many years.[citation needed]
Antisemitic feelings and laws in Europe through the 1930s and 1940s, culminating in the Holocaust, caused the emigration of many scientists to the United States. Notable examples are:
and many others.
In addition to the anti-Semitic conditions, Nazi political persecution against liberals and socialists in Germany contributed to another kind of emigration. The Bauhaus, perhaps the most important arts and design school of the 20th century, was forced to close down during the Nazi regime because of their liberal and socialist leanings, which the Nazis considered degenerate.[citation needed] The school had already been shut down in Weimar because of its political stance but moved to Dessau prior to the closing. Following this abandonment, two of the three pioneers of Modern architecture, Mies Van Der Rohe and Walter Gropius, left Germany for America (while Le Corbusier stayed in France). Along with them, they brought the European modern movement to the American public and fostered the international style in architecture and design.[citation needed] They helped to transform design education at American universities and thus influenced a generation of up and coming architects.[citation needed]
By 1922, the Soviet Union had issued restrictions making emigration of its citizens to other countries almost impossible.[11] Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev later stated "We were scared, really scared. We were afraid the thaw might unleash a flood, which we wouldn't be able to control and which could drown us. How could it drown us? It could have overflowed the banks of the Soviet riverbed and formed a tidal wave which would have washed away all the barriers and retaining walls of our society."[12] After Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, the majority of those living in the newly acquired areas of the Eastern Bloc aspired to independence and wanted the Soviets to leave.[13] By the early 1950s, the approach of the Soviet Union to restricting emigration was emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc, including East Germany.[14]
Even with the closing of the Inner German border officially in 1952,[15] the border between the sectors of East Berlin and West Berlin remained considerably more accessible than the rest of the border because it was administered by all four occupying powers.[16] The Berlin sector border was essentially a "loophole" through which East Bloc citizens could still emigrate.[15] The 3.5 million East Germans, called Republikflüchtlinge, that had left by 1961 totaled approximately 20% of the entire East German population.[17] The emigrants tended to be young and well educated, leading to the brain drain feared by officials in East Germany.[13] Yuri Andropov, then the CPSU Director on Relations with Communist and Workers Parties of Socialist Countries, to write an urgent letter to the Central Committee on 28 August 1958 about the significant 50% increase in the number of East German intelligentsia among the refugees.[18] Andropov reported that, while the East German leadership stated that they were leaving for economic reasons, testimony from refugees indicated that the reasons were more political than material.[18] He stated "the flight of the intelligentsia has reached a particularly critical phase."[18] The direct cost of labour force losses has been estimated at $7 billion to $9 billion, with East German party leader Walter Ulbricht later claiming that West Germany owed him $17 billion in compensation, including reparations as well as labour force losses.[17] In addition, the drain of East Germany's young population potentially cost it over 22.5 billion marks in lost educational investment.[19] In August 1961, East Germany erected a barbed-wire barrier that would eventually be expanded by construction into the Berlin Wall, effectively closing the loophole.[20]
Brain drain phenomena in Europe fall into two distinct trends. The first is an outflow of highly qualified scientists from 'Western Europe' mostly to the United States.[21] The second is a migration of skilled workers from 'Central' and 'Southeastern Europe' into 'Western Europe', within the EU,[22] although there is evidence that the trend is slowing.[23][24] The European Union has noted a net loss of highly skilled workers and introduced a "blue card" policy – much like the American green card – which "seeks to draw an additional 20 million workers from Asia, Africa and Latin America in the next two decades".[25]
Although the EU recognizes a need for extensive immigration in order to mitigate the effects of an aging population,[26] nationalist political parties have gained support in many European countries by calling for stronger laws restricting immigration.[27] Immigrants are perceived as a burden on the state and cause of social problems like increased crime rates, and major culture differences.[28]
In 2006, over 250,000 Europeans emigrated to the United States (164,285),[29] Australia (40,455),[30] Canada (37,946)[31] and New Zealand (30,262).[32] Germany alone saw 155,290 people leave the country (though mostly to destinations within Europe). This is the highest rate of worker emigration since reunification, which itself was equal to the rate in the aftermath of World War II.[33] Portugal is suffering the largest drain in Western Europe. The country has lost 19.5% of its qualified population and is struggling to absorb sufficient skilled immigrants to cater for losses to Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Germany and Austria.[34]
More than 500,000 Russian scientists and computer programmers have left the country since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.[35] Central and Eastern European countries have expressed concerns about extensive migration of skilled labourers to Ireland and the United Kingdom. Lithuania, for example, has lost about 100,000 citizens since 2003, many of them young and well-educated, to emigration to Ireland in particular.[citation needed] (Ireland itself used to suffer serious brain drain to America, Britain and Canada before the Celtic Tiger economic programmes.) A similar phenomenon occurred in Poland after its entry into the European Union. In the first year of its EU membership, 100,000 Poles registered to work in England, joining an estimated 750,000 residents of Polish descent.[36] Research conducted by PKO Bank Polski, Poland's largest retail bank, shows that 63% of Polish immigrants to the UK are aged between 24 and 35 with 40% possessing a university degree.[37] However, with the rapid growth of salaries in Poland, booming economy, strong value of the złoty, and decreasing unemployment (which fell from 14.2% in May 2006 to 8% in March 2008[38]), the flight of Polish workers is slowing.[39] In 2008 and early 2009 people who came back outnumbered those leaving the country. The exodus is likely to continue.[40]
Albania is also one of the countries that has experienced brain drain from the fall of communist regime. Since 1991, people started emigrating in the closest countries, Italy and Greece and with the passing of years going further to the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. In the last 10 years, educated people and professionals have been leaving the country and going in other countries where they feel they can have better possibilities, better and secure lives. This is a concern for Albania as it is losing its skilled-workers and professionals.
The rapid and small-scale departure of highly skilled workers from Southeastern Europe has caused concern about those nations developing towards inclusion in the European Union.[41] This has sparked programmes to curb the outflow by encouraging skilled technicians and scientists to remain in the region to work on international projects.[42]
Citizens of countries mostly stricken by the crisis in Europe head towards Australia, Brasil, Angola and Argentina[43][44]
There are a considerable number of people leaving the UK for Australia[45].
Conservatively speaking, "Brain drain has cost the African continent over $4 billion in the employment of 150,000 expatriate professionals annually."[46] According to UNDP, "Ethiopia lost 75 per cent of its skilled workforce between 1980 and 1991," which harms the ability of such nations to get out of poverty. Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia are believed to be the most affected. In the case of Ethiopia, the country produces many excellent doctors, but there are more Ethiopian doctors in Chicago than there are in Ethiopia.[47] South African President Thabo Mbeki said in his 1998 'African Renaissance' speech:
"In our world in which the generation of new knowledge and its application to change the human condition is the engine which moves human society further away from barbarism, do we not have need to recall Africa's hundreds of thousands of intellectuals back from their places of emigration in Western Europe and North America, to rejoin those who remain still within our shores! I dream of the day when these, the African mathematicians and computer specialists in Washington and New York, the African physicists, engineers, doctors, business managers and economists, will return from London and Manchester and Paris and Brussels to add to the African pool of brain power, to enquire into and find solutions to Africa's problems and challenges, to open the African door to the world of knowledge, to elevate Africa's place within the universe of research the information of new knowledge, education and information."
Africarecruit is a joint initiative by NEPAD and the Commonwealth Business Council to recruit professional expatriate Africans to take employment back in Africa after working overseas.[48]
In response to growing debate over brain drain of health care professionals, especially from lower income countries to some higher income countries, in 2010 the World Health Organization adopted the Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, a policy framework for all countries for the ethical international recruitment of doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
The trend for young doctors and nurses to seek higher salaries and better working conditions, mainly in higher income countries of the West, is having serious impacts on the health care sector in Ghana. Ghana currently has about 3600 doctors—one for every 6700 inhabitants. This compares with one doctor per 430 people in the United States.[49] Many of the country's trained doctors and nurses leave to work in countries such as Britain, the United States, Jamaica and Canada, in what many refer to as the brain drain. It is estimated that up to 68% of the country's trained medical staff left between 1993 and 2000 and according to Ghana's official statistics institute, in the period 1999 to 2004, 448 doctors, or 54% of those trained in the period, left to work abroad.[50]
Along with many African nations, South Africa has been experiencing a "brain drain" in the past 20 years. This is believed to be potentially damaging for the regional economy,[51] and is almost certainly detrimental for the wellbeing of regional poor majority desperately reliant on the health care infrastructure given the HIV/AIDS epidemic.[52] The skills drain in South Africa tends to demonstrate racial contours (naturally given the skills distribution legacy of South Africa) exacerbated by Black Economic Empowerment policies, and has thus resulted in large White South African communities abroad.[53] The problem is further highlighted by South Africa's request in 2001 of Canada to stop recruiting its doctors and other highly skilled medical personnel.[54]
For the medical sector, the loss of returns from investment for all doctors emigrating is $1.41bn for South Africa. The benefit to destination countries is huge: $2.7bn for the United Kingdom only, without compensation.[55]
The lack of basic services and security is feeding an outflow of professionals from Iraq that began under Saddam Hussein, under whose rule 4 million Iraqis are believed to have left the country.[56] The exodus is fuelled by invasion of Iraq by U.S.A and subsequent violence, which, as of 2006, has seen 89 university professors and senior lecturers killed.[57]
In 2006, the International Monetary Fund ranked Iran highest in brain drain among 90 measured countries.[58] The estimated exodus of 180,000 people per year is thought to be due to a poor job market, and tense domestic social conditions.[59][60]
There has been a serious brain drain from Malaysia. Major pull factors have included better career opportunities abroad, compensation while major push factors included corruption, social inequality, lack of religious freedom and educational opportunities, and the government's Bumiputera affirmative action policies. As of 2011, Bernama has reported that there are a million talented Malaysians working overseas.[61] Recently the brain drain has increased in pace: 305,000 Malaysians migrated overseas between March 2008 and August 2009 compared to 140,000 in 2007.[62] Non-Bumiputeras particularly Malaysian Chinese were over-represented in these statistics. Popular destinations included Singapore, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.[63] This has caused Malaysia's economic growth rate to fall to an average of 4.6% per annum in 2000s compared to 7.2% in the 1990s.[64]
Philippine professionals commonly seek better income opportunities in other more developed countries, even if employment is available in their home country.[65][citation needed]
The UNDP estimates that India loses $2 billion a year because of the emigration of computer experts to the U.S.[66] Indian students going abroad for their higher studies costs India a foreign exchange outflow of $10 billion annually.[67]
Every year 250,000 youth are reported to leave Nepal for various reasons. They seek opportunities in its various manifestation — higher living standards, employment, better income, education, a luring western lifestyle, stability and security. The list entails everything Nepal is incapable of providing to the youth for the obvious reasons.[68]
The ever-increasing Pakistani diaspora through the migration of skilled labour from Pakistan to industrialised nations in Europe, North America and oil-rich Middle East has contributed to a professional brain drain in the country.[citation needed] In recent years, the uncertain political situation and better job opportunities abroad has allowed many Pakistanis to seek prospective interests outside the country.
While Pakistan is a semi-industrialised country that has not overtly been affected by a brain drain, a continuous emigration of professionals is thought to be an impediment in its long-term economic growth.[69] Each year, thousands of highly qualified doctors, engineers and scientists are said to move abroad, the most visible effect being an overall loss of skilled human resources.[70]
Sri Lanka is losing a significant proportion of its intellectuals (almost all are educated by government money through the free education system of Sri Lanka.) Majority migrated to USA, UK or Australia.
China is now a rising star in the world stage. With the rapid growth of GDP and the higher degree of openness towards the rest of the world, however, the brain drain is increasingly serious. A popular Internet writer recently caused a stir when he asserted that “all Chinese who earn more than 120,000 yuan ($17,650) a year want to immigrate.” While this view is exaggerated, there is no denying the upsurge in Chinese emigration to Western countries—particularly the United States, Canada and Australia—since the mid-first decade of the 21st century.[71] China became the biggest worldwide contributor of emigrants in 2007. According to the official Chinese media, 65,000 Chinese last year secured immigration or permanent resident status in the United States, 25,000 in Canada and 15,000 in Australia.[71] The largest group of emigrants consists of professionals and experts with a middle-class background,[71] who are the backbone for the development of China. As the biggest contributor of emigrants, China also suffers the worst brain drain in the world, according to a new study that found seven out of every 10 students who enroll in an overseas university never return to live in their homeland.[72]
The brain drain usually happens in two ways, including that the skilled intellectuals migrate to other countries, and students study overseas and then stay abroad. In China, both ways exist, but the second one is more popular and common.
Since the beginning of last century, international students were sent to different countries to learn advanced skills and knowledge, and they were expected to return to save the nation from invasion and poverty. While most of these students came back to make a living, there were still those who chose to stay abroad. From 1950s to 1970s, China was in a period of widespread upheaval due to political instability. As a result, many Chinese felt upset and disappointed about the situation. The situation did not improve after the gradual liberalization of China during the 80s; just as many people chose to go abroad since there were more opportunities overseas. More social upheavals happened with the Tiananmen Square Massacre - the result of which was an increasing Chinese diaspora. As steady economic growth boost GDP per capita, more families in China are able to support their children to go abroad for studying or living. All of these factors contribute to the current brain drain in China. In this day and age, most students do not go back to China if they are able to find a good job abroad. Wealthy Chinese people tend to settle down abroad to enjoy high quality of life.
Statistics of Brain Drain in China
Chart 1: the return rate of Chinese international students
| Year |
The number of Chinese international students |
The number of returned international students |
Rate of return（%） |
| 1978 |
860 |
248 |
28.84 |
| 1979 |
1777 |
231 |
18.16 |
| 1980 |
2124 |
162 |
13.46 |
| 1981 |
2922 |
1143 |
23.22 |
| 1982 |
2326 |
2116 |
38.96 |
| 1983 |
2633 |
2303 |
49.07 |
| 1984 |
3073 |
2290 |
54.04 |
| 1985 |
4888 |
1424 |
48.13 |
| 1986 |
4676 |
1388 |
44.72 |
| 1987 |
4703 |
1605 |
43.06 |
| 1988 |
3786 |
3000 |
47.12 |
| 1989 |
3329 |
1753 |
47.61 |
| 1990 |
2950 |
1593 |
48.08 |
| 1991 |
2900 |
2069 |
49.65 |
| 1992 |
6540 |
3611 |
50.39 |
| 1993 |
10742 |
5128 |
49.92 |
| 1994 |
19071 |
4230 |
43.25 |
| 1995 |
20381 |
5750 |
40.17 |
| 1996 |
20905 |
6570 |
38.66 |
| 1997 |
22410 |
7130 |
37.58 |
| 1998 |
17622 |
7379 |
38.05 |
| 1999 |
23749 |
7748 |
37.36 |
| 2000 |
38989 |
9121 |
34.92 |
| 2001 |
83973 |
12243 |
29.36 |
| 2002 |
125179 |
17945 |
25.01 |
| 2003 |
117307 |
20152 |
23.34 |
| 2004 |
114682 |
24726 |
23.03 |
| 2005 |
118515 |
34987 |
24.02 |
| 2006 |
134000 |
42000 |
25.09 |
The statistics from this chart shows an increasing trend of Chinese international students from 1978 to 2006, while the number of people returned to China also increased. However, the return rate fluctuated in those years.
Chart 2: Chinese students and scholars in US
| Year |
Chinese Students（Rank in the number of international students in US） |
percentage of all the international students in US（%） |
Chinese scholars |
Percentage of foreign scholars in US（%） |
| 1990/91 |
39600 (1) |
9.7 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
| 1991/92 |
42910 (1) |
10.2 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
| 1992/93 |
45130 (1) |
10.3 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
| 1993/94 |
44380 (1) |
9.9 |
11156 |
18.6 |
| 1994/95 |
39403 (2) |
8.7 |
9866 |
17.0 |
| 1995/96 |
39613 (2) |
8.7 |
9228 |
15.5 |
| 1996/97 |
42503 (2) |
7.8 |
9724 |
15.6 |
| 1997/98 |
46958 (2) |
9.8 |
10709 |
16.4 |
| 1998/99 |
51001 (1) |
10.4 |
11854 |
16.8 |
| 1999/00 |
54466 (1) |
10.6 |
13229 |
17.7 |
| 2000/01 |
59939 (1) |
10.9 |
14772 |
18.5 |
| 2001/02 |
63211 (2) |
10.8 |
15624 |
18.2 |
| 2002/03 |
64757 (2) |
11.0 |
15171 |
18.0 |
| 2003/04 |
61765 (2) |
10.8 |
14923 |
18.0 |
| 2004/05 |
62523 (2) |
11.1 |
17035 |
19.0 |
| 2005/06 |
62582 (2) |
11.1 |
19017 |
19.6 |
| 2006/07 |
67723 (2) |
11.6 |
20149 |
20.5 |
Statistics sources[73]
The post-WWII migration trends in the Pacific Islands has essentially followed these trends
- Most Pacific island nations that were formerly under UK mandate have had migration outflows to Australia and New Zealand since the de-colonialization of the region from the 1960s to the 1990s. There has only been a limited outflow from these islands to Canada and the UK since de-colonialization.
- Most Pacific islands administered by France (like Tahiti) have had an outflow into France.
- Most Pacific islands under some kind of US administration have had inflows into the US, and to a lesser extent Canada.
During the 1990s, 30,000 New Zealanders were emigrating each year. An OECD report released in 2005 revealed that 24.2% of New Zealanders with a tertiary education were living outside of New Zealand, predominantly in Australia.[74] In 2007, around 24,000 New Zealanders settled in Australia.[75]
It has been noted that New Zealand also enjoys immigration of qualified foreigners, potentially leaving a net gain of skills.[76]
Colonial administrators in Canada observed the trend of human capital flight to the United States as early as the 1860s, when it was already clear that a majority of immigrants arriving at Quebec City were en route to destinations in the United States. Alexander C. Buchanan, government agent at Quebec, argued that prospective emigrants should be offered free land to remain in Canada. The problem of attracting and keeping the right immigrants has been a constant in Canadian immigration history.[77]
In the 1920s, over 20% of university graduating classes in engineering and science were emigrating to the United States. When governments displayed no interest, concerned industrials formed the Technical Service Council in 1927 to combat the brain drain. As a practical means of doing so, the Council operated a placement service that was free to graduates.
By 1976, the Council had placed over 16,000 men and women. Between 1960 and 1979 over 17,000 engineers and scientists emigrated to the United States. But the exodus of technically trained Canadians leaving dropped from 27% of the graduating classes in 1927 to under 10% in 1951 and 5% in 1967.
In Canada today, the idea of a brain drain to the United States is occasionally a domestic political issue. At times, 'brain drain' is used as a justification for income tax cuts. During the 1990s, some alleged a brain drain from Canada to the United States, especially in the software, aerospace, health care and entertainment industries, due to the perception of higher wages and lower income taxes in the US.[78] Some also suggest that engineers and scientists were also attracted by the greater diversity of jobs and a perceived lack of research funding in Canada.
The evidence suggests that, in the 1990s, Canada did indeed lose some of its homegrown talent to the US.[79] Nonetheless, Canada hedged against these losses by attracting more highly skilled workers from abroad. This allowed the country to realize a net brain gain as more professionals entered Canada than left (even today, Canada still enjoys a net brain gain).[79] Sometimes, the qualifications of these migrants are given no standing in Canada (see credentialism), resulting in some - though not all - highly skilled professionals being forced into lower paying service sector jobs.
Brain drain is still a significant issue in Atlantic provinces such as New Brunswick, where a relative lack of jobs results in many of the fully educated to move to other provinces such as Nova Scotia, Alberta, or British Columbia. Brain gain also occurs here, however, through immigration. This often causes controversy among the working class as to whether or not enough jobs are available for born Canadians.
More recently however, Canada's resilient economy, strong domestic market, enviable standard of living, and considerable wage growth across a number of sectors, have effectively ended the brain drain debate in Canada.[80][81] Canada's economic success has also prompted some top US talent to migrate to Canada.[80][81][82][83][84] In the first decade of the 21st century, Canadian productivity grew while US productivity evened out.[80] Anecdotal evidence also suggests that stringent US security measures put in place after September 11th, 2001 have helped to end the brain drain debate in Canada.[85]
The 2000 United States Census Bureau published a special report on domestic worker migration, with a focus on the movement of young, single, college-educated migrants.[86] The data shows a trend of such people moving away from the Rust Belt and northern Great Plains region towards the West Coast and Southeast. The area with the largest net influx of young, single, college-educated persons was the San Francisco Bay Area.
The US (like other countries) has been experiencing widespread rural depopulation in the past few decades, which have seen many young rural graduates moving to urban/suburban areas. This has negatively impacted rural communities in the US[citation needed]
There is a surge of intellectuals leaving Latin America who are usually doctors, architects, and engineers. They often choose the US as their destination. However, after migrating, most of them work in jobs that have nothing to do with their original majors. Therefore, it is not only brain drain for their own countries, but also brain waste for the whole world.[87]
In some Latin American nations, where enrollment at local medical schools is very high, there is a chronic shortage of doctors.
A 2000 study revealed that a number of Latin American countries had, over the years, suffered a considerable loss of professionals. As a percentage of each country's corps of university graduates, the following percentages lived overseas:
The same study revealed that during the 1990s, a significant number of those who emigrated from Latin America were specialized professionals, constituting the following proportions as a percent of each country's volume of emigrants:
| Country |
Loss of professionals |
| Argentina |
19.1% |
| Chile |
15.6% |
| Mexico |
2.6% |
| Peru |
10.0%[89] |
In 2007, Cuban officials claimed that 31,000 Cuban doctors were deployed in 61 countries.[90] A large number practice in South America. 20,000 are employed in Venezuela in exchange for nearly 100,000 barrels (16,000 m3) of oil per day.[91] However, state employees serving at assigned foreign posts that earn money or resources for their government do not exactly fall under the definition of brain drain. From Venezuela and Bolivia, where another 1,700 doctors work, it is thought that as many as 500 doctors may have fled the missions into countries nearby; these would constitute brain drain.[90] Figures are dubious, since the defections are rarely made public.
Most of the Caribbean Islands endure a substantial emigration of qualified workers. Approximately 30% of the labour forces of many islands have left, and more than 80% of college graduates from Suriname, Haiti, Grenada and Guyana have emigrated, mostly to the United States.[92] Over 80% of Jamaicans with higher education live abroad.[93] However, it is noted that these nationals pay valuable remittances. In Jamaica, the money sent back amounts to 18% of GNP.[94] This calls into question whether this trend can be described as a true brain drain.
Talents play important roles in helping a country develop. The economy of a country that has a large number of world-class scientists and technicians can be more innovative than the others that don't.[95] Different areas and nations have distinct policies to retain skilled workers due to the different national or regional situation. For instance, in African countries, the health systems have been severely affected by brain drain, so various measures have been suggested and tried to limit the migration of health workers to rich countries.[96] In Kuwait, people have argued the country should cultivate a sense of security and hope among the elite to curb brain drain because people are not so confident of their countries' future.[97] China tries to create a normal and free atmosphere and mechanism that would help talents flourish.[95] And in India, although suffering severe brain drain every year, the Indian government has not to adopted strict policies because they believe that the overseas talent will eventually contribute to the nation in the future.[98] Germany established a government funded initiative called GAIN to assist Germans working abroad to return to their home country. Other countries (Switzerland, Austria, France) have similar initiatives.
An opposite situation, in which many trained and talented individuals seek entrance into a country, is called a brain gain; this may create a brain drain in the nations that the individuals are leaving. A Canadian symposium in the late 1990s gave circulation to the new term, in response to Canada luring more skilled professionals to the country than it lost.[citation needed]
In 2000, the US Congress announced that it was raising the annual cap on the number of temporary work visas granted to highly skilled professionals under its H1B visa program, from 115,000 to 195,000 per year, effective through 2003. That suggests a rough figure for the influx of talent into the United States at that time. A significant portion of this program was initiated by lobbyists from the computer industry, including Bill Gates.[99] In the same year the government of the United Kingdom, in cooperation with the Wolfson Foundation, a research charity, launched a £20 million, five-year research award scheme aimed at drawing the return of the UK's leading expatriate scientists and sparking the migration of top young researchers to the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
In general most developing countries suffer brain drain because emigrant intellectuals refuse to return. Some migrants do return to their home countries or become transnational with homes in different countries.[100]
Sometimes migrants to other countries or urban areas are not able to obtain employment commensurate with their educational qualifications. This is called brain waste.[100] An example would be a Nigerian doctor who immigrates to Europe but works in the service industry.
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- ^ Ofw
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