Brain Drain Or Brain Gain What Do The Data Say

"Based on static partial equilibrium analysis, the "new brain drain" literature argues that, by raising the return to education, a brain drain generates a brain gain that is, under certain conditions, larger than the brain drain itself, and that such a net brain gain results in an increase in welfare and growth due to education's positive externalities. This paper argues that these claims are exaggerated. In the static case, and based on both partial and general equilibrium considerations, the paper shows that (1) the size of the brain gain is smaller than suggested in that literature; (2) the impact on welfare and growth is smaller as well (for any brain gain size); (3) a positive brain gain is likely to result in a smaller, possibly negative human capital gain; (4) an increase in the stock of human capital may have a negative impact on welfare and growth; and (5) in a dynamic framework, the paper shows that the steady-state brain gain is equal to the brain drain so that a "beneficial brain drain" cannot take place, and a net brain loss is likely during the transition.

The worldwide race to attract talents is getting tougher. The US has been leading the race, with its ability to attract PhD candidates and graduates not only from emerging countries, but also from the European Union. However, a growing number of countries have adopted immigration policies specifically aimed at selecting and attracting skilled workers. This book describes the global competition to attract talents. It focuses in particular on two phenomena: the brain gain and brain drain associated with high-skilled migration. Part I provides an overview of immigration policies designed to draw in skilled workers. It describes the economic gains associated with skilled immigration in the destination countries and the main determinants of the inflows of skilled immigrants (such as wage premia on education and R&D spending). It also discusses why skill-selective immigration policies do not find more support in receiving countries and shows that interest groups are actively engaged in affecting policies towards skilled migrants. Part II examines the consequences of brain drain for the sending countries. It reviews the channels through which skilled emigration can affect the source countries and looks at remittances, return migration, diaspora externalities, and network effects that may compensate the sending countries for their loss of human capital. Contrary to traditional wisdom, the results indicate that most developing countries experience a net gain from skilled emigration.

Die gesellschaftstheoretisch orientierte Debatte über Merkmale und Entwicklungstendenzen von Wissensgesellschaften wird seit langem und in vielen Facetten geführt. Große Bedeutung haben dabei die Veränderungen der Erwerbsarbeit und die Verwissenschaftlichung des ökonomischen Systems. Indem Arbeitsprozesse in Daten und Informationen als wissenstechnische Prozeduren übersetzt werden, gewinnt Wissen an Bedeutung in der industriellen und Dienstleistungsproduktion und führt zu neuen Organisationsstrukturen von Ökonomien. Dieser Band greift - angelehnt an aktuelle empirisch ausgerichtete Forschungsarbeiten im europäischen Kontext - zahlreiche Aspekte dieses Wandels auf. Die Beiträge reflektieren ihn übergreifend sowie anhand dreier spezifischer Untersuchungsfelder: Industrie, neue berufliche Qualifikationen sowie Geschlechtergerechtigkeit. Hierbei wird deutlich, dass diese Bereiche durch die technologische und organisatorische Dynamik selbst stark unter Veränderungsdruck geraten sind. Die Schaffung neuer Wissensprozesse ruft komplexe und vielschichtige soziale Prozesse hervor, die nicht generalisierend bewertet werden können, sondern in ihrem jeweiligen Kontext betrachtet werden müssen.

People passionately disagree about the nature of the globalization process. The failure of both the 1999 and 2003 World Trade Organization's (WTO) ministerial conferences in Seattle and Cancun, respectively, have highlighted the tensions among official, international organizations like the WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, nongovernmental and private sector organizations, and some developing country governments. These tensions are commonly attributed to longstanding disagreements over such issues as labor rights, environmental standards, and tariff-cutting rules. In addition, developing countries are increasingly resentful of the burdens of adjustment placed on them that they argue are not matched by commensurate commitments from developed countries. Challenges to Globalization evaluates the arguments of pro-globalists and anti-globalists regarding issues such as globalization's relationship to democracy, its impact on the environment and on labor markets including the brain drain, sweat shop labor, wage levels, and changes in production processes, and the associated expansion of trade and its effects on prices. Baldwin, Winters, and the contributors to this volume look at multinational firms, foreign investment, and mergers and acquisitions and present surprising findings that often run counter to the claim that multinational firms primarily seek countries with low wage labor. The book closes with papers on financial opening and on the relationship between international economic policies and national economic growth rates.

This title was first publiished in 2000: A hierarchy is an organization system that is structured in a treelike manner, with levels of status or authority stacked one above the other. The classical and best known example of a hierarchy is probably the typical diagram that describes the structure of a company or business, also known as the corporate ladder. This text argues that hierarchies are one of the most important concepts we have in order to understand the world around us, and looks at hierarchies in a wide variety of areas of interest to everybody, such as companies, educational systems, transport systems, retail stores, corporations, communities, population migrations, medical systems, and many other real-world phenomena. From a Canadian perspective, the text examines these hierarchies and their effects at a variety of scales. It discusses how to understand the system around us and the ones in which we are immersed every day. The central theme is that it is possible to get a better grip on the past, present and future of the world, if it is viewed through an understanding of hierarchies.

The brain drain from developing countries has been lamented for many years, but knowledge of the empirical magnitude of the phenomenon is scant owing to the lack of systematic data sources. This paper presents estimates of emigration rates from 61 developing countries to OECD countries for three educational categories constructed using 1990 U.S. Census data, Barro and Lee’s data set on educational attainment, and OECD migration data. Although still tentative in many respects, these estimates reveal a substantial brain drain from the Caribbean, Central America, and some African and Asian countries.

Based on static partial equilibrium analysis, the "new brain drain" literature argues that, by raising the return to education, a brain drain generates a brain gain that is, under certain conditions, larger than the brain drain itself, and that such a net brain gain results in an increase in welfare and growth due to education's positive externalities. This paper argues that these claims are exaggerated. In the static case, and based on both partial and general equilibrium considerations, the paper shows that (1) the size of the brain gain is smaller than suggested in that literature; (2) the impact on welfare and growth is smaller as well (for any brain gain size); (3) a positive brain gain is likely to result in a smaller, possibly negative, human capital gain; (4) an increase in the stock of human capital may have a negative impact on welfare and growth; and (5) in a dynamic framework, the paper shows that the steady-state brain gain is equal to the brain drain so that a 'beneficial brain drain' cannot take place, and a net brain loss is likely during the transition.