3. 2
Introduction
Migration
Since
the
late
1990s,
when
the
technical
boom
began
to
expand,
more
and
more
governments
opened
their
doors
to
immigrants,
and
specifically,
highly
educated
immigrants.
This
has
resulted
in
an
even
bigger
movement
of
people
across
the
world,
than
the
start
of
globalization
had
already
caused
in
the
19th
century
with
the
industrial
revolution.
In
2008
it
was
estimated
that
the
world
exists
of
191
million
immigrants,
of
which
60%
lives
in
developed
countries
(20%
in
US
and
33%
in
Europe).
To
get
the
facts
straight,
it
is
necessary
to
define
what
migration
means
and
which
types
of
migration
exist.
According
to
the
UN
(1998)
a
migrant
is
defined
as
a
person
who
moves
to
a
country
(other
than
his/her
usual
residence)
for
a
period
of
at
least
12
months.
There
are
two
types
of
migration:
immigration
and
emigration.
Immigration
defines
people
who
migrate
into
a
country
and
emigration
defines
people
who
depart
from
a
country.
Motives
for
migration
Looking
at
migration
from
a
historical
point
of
view,
the
most
common
motive
for
migration
was
a
common
language
or
religion
in
a
different
country.
More
recent
examples
–
such
as
slave
trade
or
The
Irish
Famine
–
show
that
migrating
is
not
per
definition
a
choice,
but
that
there
are
different
reasons
for
migration.
In
this
context,
some
circumstances
can
force
people
to
move,
but
voluntary
migration
on
the
contrary,
has
become
more
widespread
over
the
past
decades.
The
current
trend
of
voluntary
migration
has
multiple
under
laying
causes:
the
emergence
of
a
global
labour
market,
the
development
of
knowledge
economies,
the
increase
in
foreign
investment
and
trade
and
the
tech
boom
of
the
late
1990’s
has
made
more
governments
open
their
doors
and
has
made
it
easier
for
human
movement
across
the
globe.
As
mentioned
above,
migration
has
become
a
very
important
aspect
of
the
modern
day
world.
Some
people
consider
migration
as
something
negative,
but
others
consider
it
to
be
positive.
So
can
migration
be
seen
as
“brain
drain”
or
“brain
gain”?
Content
essay
In
the
first
chapter,
the
term
brain
drain
will
be
discussed.
This
especially
focuses
on
the
negative
effects
of
migration.
In
the
second
chapter,
the
term
brain
gain
will
be
discussed.
This
especially
focuses
on
the
positive
effects
of
migration.
In
the
fourth
chapter,
all
the
gathered
information
and
knowledge
will
be
formed
into
a
conclusion.
4. 3
Brain
drain
Definition
To
begin
with,
this
worldwide
phenomenon,
brain
drain,
refers
to
the
significant
emigration
of
knowledgeable,
well-‐educated
and
skilled
professionals
from
their
home
country
to
another
country,
resulting
in
the
loss
of
the
skilled
people
–
the
so-‐called
“brains”
in
the
places
they
come
from.
As
a
starter
example
to
better
understand
brain
drain
is
Albert
Einstein
who
moved
from
Germany
to
the
U.S.
as
a
result
of
unwillingness
of
German
government
to
invest
into
research
&
development.
It
is
widely
known
that
he
ended
up
influencing
the
nuclear
era
and
becoming
very
famous.
From
this
example,
and
many
more,
it
can
be
see
that
the
effect
of
“brain
drain”
causes
countries
to
lose
valuable
professionals.
Furthermore,
this
term
is
usually
used
to
describe
the
departure
of
doctors,
scientists,
engineers
or
any
highly
educated
person
from
that
specific
country.
“Brain
drain”
effects
There
are
two
different
ways
a
country
is
being
harmed
when
people
decide
to
leave
it.
First,
the
supply
of
those
specific
professions
that
people
who
leave
the
country
possess
declines.
Second,
the
country's
economy
is
harmed
as
each
professional
represents
surplus
spending
units.
It
means
that
as
professionals
often
earn
large
salaries,
their
departure
removes
significant
consumer
spending
from
the
country.
There
are
several
factors
that
cause
this
effect.
The
most
obvious
ones
are
the
availability
of
better
job
opportunities,
better
salaries,
working
conditions
and
standard
of
living.
Some
other
factors
are
wars,
health
issues,
and
political
instability.
Downsides
and
upsides
There
are
downsides
and
upsides
when
discussing
the
brain
drain
phenomenon.
The
first
one
to
be
looked
at
is
the
upsides.
One
of
the
most
important
sides
of
brain
drain
is
the
money
the
emigrants
send
back
to
their
home
country.
Due
to
this,
emigrants
helped
in
alleviating
poverty
in
their
homes,
reducing
both
the
level
and
severity
of
poverty.
The
money
remittances
send
back
are
spent
more
in
investments
such
as
education,
health
and
housing,
rather
than
on
food
and
other
goods.
This
has
resulted
in
greater
child
schooling,
therefore
higher
literacy
rate,
less
child
labour,
more
hours
worked
in
self-‐employment
and
a
higher
rate
of
people
starting
capital
intensive
enterprises.
Moreover,
there
is
one
more
aspect
of
“brain
drain”
gain
and
that
is
if
the
professionals
decide
to
return
to
their
home
country
after
some
time
spent
abroad.
That’s
when
the
country
that
was
once
losing
can
now
start
benefiting.
Unfortunately,
this
happens
rarely,
for
the
reason
that
only
one
side
truly
sees
the
benefit
from
this,
which
is
a
less
developed
country.
This
is
due
to
the
clear
difference
in
higher
job
opportunities
between
less
developed
countries
and
more
developed
countries.
Despite
this
way,
a
country
can
gain
in
one
more
way,
that
is,
if
an
international
network
is
established.
This
involves
networking
between
people
that
went
5. 4
abroad
with
people
that
remained
in
the
home
country.
For
instance,
swiss-‐list.com
is
a
networking
website
that
was
created
to
generate
a
relationship
between
Swiss
scientists
abroad
and
those
in
Switzerland.
On
the
other
hand,
the
country
that
experiences
brain
drain
suffers
a
loss.
Due
to
its
influence,
the
investment
in
higher
education
is
lost
as
the
highly
educated
people
leave
the
country
and
become
an
asset
to
some
other
country.
That
raises
the
question
as
to
whether
the
skills
are
being
put
to
good
use
in
the
destination
country,
since
many
college
graduates
are
leaving
their
homelands,
which
all
leads
to
a
shortage
of
skilled
and
competent
people,
and
vast
increase
in
wages
of
high-‐skilled
labour.
“Brain
drain”
loss
seems
to
be
much
more
common
than
a
“brain
drain”
gain
and
loss
in
that
manner
is
much
more
substantial.
Why?
To
add
to
what
was
mentioned
above,
less
developed
countries
do
not
have
the
ability,
both
monetary
and
intellectual
to
support
a
developing
industry,
therefore
different
types
of
losses
arise
–
economic
loss
in
the
potential
capital
the
well-‐educated
people
could
have
brought,
a
loss
of
education,
since
educated
people
leave
and
there
is
no
one
to
teach
the
next
generation
and
improve
them,
and
lastly,
loss
in
research
and
development
and
advancement,
since
the
knowledge
of
professionals
is
not
going
into
the
home
country,
but
the
other
country.
That
is
the
answer
to
why
the
losses
are
much
more
persistent
and
common.
Examples
In
order
to
better
understand
the
whole
concept
of
“brain
drain”
there
are
several
examples
to
be
shown.
For
instance,
in
Russia,
brain
drain
has
been
an
issue
for
quite
some
time
now.
During
the
Soviet
Union
and
after
its
collapse,
brain
drain
has
been
increasing,
due
to
talented
people
movements
to
the
West
or
other
countries
to
seek
better
opportunities.
The
Russian
government
introduced
many
programs
and
still
does
in
order
to
return
the
professionals
that
once
left
Russia,
and
to
encourage
future
professionals
to
remain
in
Russia
and
contribute
to
the
development.
Another
example
is
India,
whose
education
system
is
one
of
the
top
in
the
world,
although
the
problem
is,
when
an
Indian
graduates,
one
tends
to
leave
India
and
move
to
other,
better
developed
countries.
However,
in
past
few
years,
this
trend
has
started
to
reverse
itself.
Namely,
Indians
that
go
abroad,
for
example
in
the
United
States,
they
tend
to
feel
that
they
are
missing
the
cultural
experiences
of
their
home
country
and
want
to
go
back
to
seek
better
economic
opportunities.
How
to
prevent
immigration?
From
examples
mentioned
above,
it
can
be
seen
that
brain
drain
is
more
common
in
developing
countries.
Every
developing
country
tends
to
become
developed,
and
in
order
for
one
country
to
do
so,
one
has
to
have
talented
people
that
will
contribute
to
that
development.
A
country
that
has
many
professionals
is
most
probably
more
innovative
and
growing
in
comparison
of
those
that
do
not.
As
a
result
of
this,
in
different
countries,
different
rules
and
policies
apply
when
it
comes
to
retaining
skilled
workers.
There
are
many
6. 5
examples
of
which
African
countries
dominate,
and
in
several
various
measures
have
been
introduced
in
order
to
try
and
limit
the
migration
of
workers
to
richer
countries.
On
the
other
hand,
there
is
an
example
of
Kuwait,
where
people
have
argued
that
the
country
should
develop
a
sense
of
security
and
hope
among
the
nation,
since
the
reason
of
leaving
the
country
is
uncertainty
about
a
country’s
future.
Furthermore,
China
does
not
have
any
mechanisms
to
protect
this
phenomenon,
but
rather
tries
to
create
a
free
atmosphere
that
would
help
talents
develop
and
in
the
long
run,
stay
in
the
country.
Another
example
is
India,
a
country
that
has
suffered
severe
brain
drains
over
years,
and
their
government
has
not
adopted
any
strict
policies
since
they
believe
that
the
talent
that
goes
abroad
will
come
back
and
eventually
contribute
to
the
nation.
This
graph
shows
that
the
programs
invented
to
prevent
the
migration
(both
emigration
and
immigration)
in
Russia
works
very
well.
This
map
shows
the
parts
of
the
world
that
receive
remittances
from
migrants
who
work
outside
the
country
and
region.
It
is
a
reflection
of
the
"brain
drain"
of
the
impoverished
world,
and
the
compensatory
flow
of
wealth
back
to
the
home
countries.
7. 6
Brain
gain
Definition
In
the
previous
chapter,
the
issue
of
“brain
drain”
has
been
defined
as
significant
emigration
of
educated
or
talented
individuals;
this
can
result
from
turmoil
within
a
nation,
from
there
being
better
professional
opportunities
in
other
countries
or
from
people
seeking
a
better
standard
of
living.
This
chapter
will
now
focus
on
“brain
gain”,
which
can
be
seen
as
the
opposite
of
brain
drain.
“Brain
gain”
can
be
defined
as
an
increase
in
the
number
of
highly
trained,
professionals
departing
a
country
to
live
and
work
where
greater
opportunities
are
offered,
with
the
prospect
of
returning
to
their
home
country.
According
to
the
Economist
(The
Economist,
2011)
several
economists
reckon
that
the
brain
drain
hypothesis
fails
to
account
for
the
beneficial
effects
for
the
home
country
such
as
remittances,
return
migration,
the
possibility
that
being
able
to
migrate
to
greener
pastures
induces
people
to
get
more
education.
If
these
aspects
are
taken
into
account,
some
argue
that
these
highly
skilled
people
could
turn
out
to
be
a
net
benefit
to
the
countries
they
leave.
Increase
in
migration
Due
to
the
technological
boom
from
the
1990s
onwards,
connections
all
over
the
world
have
rapidly
improved
and
have
become
indispensable
to
us.
This
has
created
a
world
that
is
now
perceived
as
smaller,
but
yet
bigger
at
the
same
time.
Globalization
has
also
played
a
part
in
this,
creating
a
more
complex
world,
but
opening
many
doors
along
side
that.
Due
to
globalization,
it
has
increasingly
become
easier
to
enter
a
different
labour
market.
This
has
resulted
in
the
fact
that
migration
has
increased
rapidly
and
is
still
increasing,
with
people
seeking
to
work
in
different
countries.
Migrants
accounted
for
47%
of
the
increase
in
the
workforce
in
the
United
States
and
70%
in
Europe
over
the
past
ten
years.
Many
people
argue
that
(highly
educated)
migration
“drains”
the
native
country,
leaving
behind
the
unskilled
and
lower
educated
population.
But
on
the
contrary,
many
studies
have
shown
the
benefits
of
migration.
“Reverse
Brain
Drain”
The
International
Organization
for
Migration
is
trying
to
encourage
more
emigrants
to
come
home
on
a
permanent
or
temporary
basis,
to
give
back
some
of
what
they
have
learnt
and
achieved
abroad.
One
of
the
programmes
they
support
is
called
“Reverse
Brain
Drain”.
Dr.
Noppawan
Tanpipat
(Vice
President
of
the
International
Relations
and
Organization
Communications,
National
Science
and
Technology
Development
Agency)
says:
“But
what
we
are
really
seeing
is
the
exchange
of
ideas,
of
attitudes,
of
different
ways
of
doing
things.
We
have
become
used
to
the
phenomena
of
ideas
flying
across
borders
through
cyberspace
but
we
don't
recognize
the
human
hard
drives
that
physically
bring
their
entrepreneurism
and
experience
to
host
countries,
and
back
home”,
stressing
the
positive
effect
migration
has,
but
the
lack
of
recognition
for
this.
No
higher
mathematics
is
needed
to
understand
that
highly
educated
migrants
moving
to
another
country
with
better
prospects
will
bring
back
a
vast
amount
of
knowledge
on
their
return.
This
knowledge
can
be
gained
from
for
example
8. 7
the
high
quality
of
education
abroad,
working
in
(international)
companies
abroad
or
setting
up
businesses
abroad.
Besides
that,
many
observers
claim
that
the
newly
acquired
knowledge
or
technology
by
migrants
to
developing
countries
can
increase
productivity
and
economic
development.
Remittances
Another
argument
that
supports
“brain
gain”
is
that
a
lot
of
the
migrants
send
back
remittances
to
their
relatives
in
their
native
country
after
having
moved
abroad.
In
its
annual
report,
Western
Union
stated
that
almost
84%
of
its
annual
revenue
was
derived
from
consumer-‐to-‐consumer
(C2C)
money
transfer
services
(Market
Line
Western
Union
Case
Study,
2012).
Also,
an
important
demand
driver
in
this
market
segment
is
an
increase
in
global
net
migration
(immigration
minus
emigration)
over
the
period
from
1990
tot
2010,
see
figure
5
below.
It
shows
that
migration
has
come
from
Africa,
Asia-‐Pacific
and
the
non-‐
US
Americas
towards
the
US
and
Western
Europe.
The
Case
Study
gives
the
increase
from
lower
to
higher
income
countries
in
search
of
better
wage
levels
and
living
standards
as
an
explanation
for
this
phenomenon.
In
contrast
to
figure
5,
figure
6
shows
the
net
flow
of
funds
(remittances
received
minus
remittances
sent)
for
the
major
geographical
regions.
The
graph
substantiates
the
idea
that
remittances
are
sent
out
of
more
developed
regions
such
as
US
and
Western
Europe
and
are
sent
to
the
less
developed
economies.
In
the
Western
Union
Case
Study
it
explains:
“According
to
the
International
Monetary
Fund,
for
poorer
recipients
remittances
may
help
pay
for
basic
needs
such
as
food,
housing,
healthcare,
and
education;
for
higher
income
recipients,
they
can
help
support
new
business
ventures.”
(Market
Line
Western
Union
Case
Study,
2012).
In
2012
the
value
of
the
remittances
of
the
migrant
population
had
increased
to
around
$400
billion.
In
Lebanon,
Lesotho,
Nepal,
Taikistand
and
a
few
other
places,
9. 8
remittances
are
more
that
20%
of
GDP
(The
Economist,
2011),
this
is
due
to
the
fact
that
the
skilled
migrants
may
earn
several
multiples
of
what
their
income
would
have
been
at
home.
Education
and
economic
growth
The
economic
growth
and
average
workforce
skill
in
the
native
country
can
also
be
increased
by
another
factor.
The
possibility
of
emigration
for
higher
wages
-‐
which
other
inhabitants
have
successfully
achieved
-‐
could
stimulate
individuals
to
pursue
education,
which
may
also
cause
domestic
enrolments
to
increase.
As
a
result,
the
educated
population
will
increase
and
contribute
to
the
economic
growth
of
a
country.
A
study
on
this
topic
looks
at
Cape
Verdeans,
showing
that:
“An
increase
of
ten
percentage
points
in
young
people’s
perceived
probability
of
emigrating
raises
the
probability
of
their
completing
secondary
school
by
around
eight
points.”
(The
Economist,
2011).
Even
if
they
don’t
all
end
up
emigrating,
this
will
increase
the
rate
of
educated
people
in
their
home
country,
benefiting
their
national
economy.
The
culture
and
knowledge
an
emigrant
brings
to
a
foreign
country
will
make
local
people
more
acquainted
with
products
from
the
migrants
native
country,
which
in
return
will
increase
the
export
of
the
migrants
native
country.
So
the
increased
export
will
also
stimulate
the
overall
economic
growth
of
the
country.
Africa
According
to
a
new
paper
from
the
World
Bank:
“Does
Migration
Foster
Exports?”,
migration
does
indeed
foster
exports
in
Africa.
It
suggests
“one
additional
migrant
creates
about
$2.100
a
year
in
additional
exports
for
his
country
of
origin.”
(World
Bank,
2014).
An
estimation
tells
us
that
a
half-‐million
more
African
migrants
moving
around
the
world
(accounting
for
1/100th
of
the
world’s
population)
would
create
more
than
$1
billion
in
additional
exports
for
Africa,
per
year.
“Looking
at
Africa’s
expected
population
boom
in
the
10. 9
next
decades,
the
impact
Africans
have
from
a
distance
on
their
home-‐country
is
only
set
to
grow.”
(The
Atlantic,
2014)
11. 10
Conclusion
In
assessing
the
usefulness
of
brain
drain,
it
is
important
to
understand
that
for
some
of
the
world’s
developing
countries
"the
gains
from
migration
accrue
neither
from
migrant
remittances
nor
do
they
return
home
with
amplified
skills
acquired
abroad”.
This
shows
that
the
highly-‐educated
migrants
not
returning
home,
will
cause
a
loss
of
knowledge
for
the
home
country,
which
in
turn
will
also
have
a
negative
effect
on
the
economy
of
the
home
country.
Looking
at
the
phenomenon
from
this
point
of
view,
brain
drain
only
seems
to
benefit
the
host-‐country.
On
the
other
hand,
it
can
be
argued
that
the
gains
for
the
home
country
come
from
the
increase
in
promotion
of
education
of
highly
skilled
labour
in
developing
countries,
as
well
as
investment
in
infrastructure.
Nonetheless
there
does
exist
a
vast
"remittance
economy
worldwide
worth
$400
billion
in
2012".
This
goes
to
show
that
globalization
has
made
labour
markets
in
different
countries
more
accessible,
increasing
migration
all
over
the
world.
Highly
educated
people
are
receiving
more
opportunities
for
mobility.
As
a
result,
we
can
conclude,
that
migrants
have
been
moving
to
countries
with
better
opportunities,
sending
remittances
back,
stimulating
education
on
return
and
increasing
export
and
the
economic
growth
of
the
native
country.
12. 11
References
Ehrhart,
H.
&
Goff,
Le
M.
&
Rocher,
E.
&
Singh,
R.J.
(2014).
Does
migration
foster
exports?
Evidence
from
Africa.
The
World
Bank.
Lowell,
B.L.
&
Findlay,
A.
(2001).
International
migration
papers:
Migration
of
highly
skilled
developing
countries:
impact
and
policy
responses.
International
Labour
Office,
Geneva,
Switzerland.
Organisation
as
the
author
Market
Line
Case
Study:
Western
Union:
Globalization
benefits
a
money
transfer
market
leader.
Market
Line
Advantage
(2012).
Organisation
as
the
author
The
Economist
Economic
focus.
(May
26,
2011)
Drain
or
gain?
Poor
countries
can
end
up
benefiting
when
their
brightest
citizens
emigrate.
http://www.economist.com/node/18741763
Parle,
De
J.
(August
20,
2007).
Border
crossings:
Rising
breed
of
migrant:
skilled
and
welcome.
The
New
York
Times,
New
York,
USA.
Raviv,
S.
(February
12,
2014).
Why
‘Brain
Drain’
can
actually
benefit
African
countries:
A
new
study
reveals
that
the
farther
African
migrants
move,
the
more
they
increase
exports
in
their
home
countries.
The
Atlantic.
