BRAIN DRAIN vs.

BRAIN GAIN

DRAIN
VS.

GAIN

Kamil.Haniffa.Ainur.Arina.Nisa.Syazwi

A situation in which a countrys most intelligent people, especially scientists, go to another country in order to make more money or to improve their living or working condition
(McMillan Dictionary)

The emigration of highly trained or intelligent people from a particular country. (Dictionary.com)

In line with the approach taken by Carrington and Detragiache (1998), Docquier and Rapoport (2004), and Docquier and Rapoport (2011), brain drain is defined as the emigration of high-skill individuals, where a high-skill emigrant is a foreign-born individual, aged 25 or more, with an academic or professional degree beyond high school (i.e. postsecondary or tertiary educated) at the census or the survey date.

The human capital flight

The movement of a large group of people from their home country to other countries in the world

(McMillan Dictionary)

The movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland

CAUSES

Economic factors

-lack of employment and low salaries. Eg: Nutritionist/Dietrician not practical in Malaysia as many people seek the doctors

Political instability in home countries

-they lose confidence to their governments and future prospects for a better life.

Under-utilization of qualified

i) personnel- lack of satisfactory working ii)conditions- low prospect of professional development

Hope that a better life can be achieved elsewhere Those who seek asylum
-which deteriorates their lives and become `ashamed` of themselves to return home empty handed. Eg: Indonesian labour, maid

In response to wars, and political and social turmoil

Eg: Dictatorship, terrorism, orthodox attitude in Middle East Countries (Iran, Iraq)

Marrying with someone who is from other country -Follow husband/wife to their origin country

Lack of research and other facilities

-including support staff; inadequacy of research funds, lack of professional equipment and tools. Eg: Astronauts- must go to USA for better trainingNASA (University of Arizona, Tucson)

Depleting its natural supply of intellectual talent.

Losing thousands of highly educated workers for

the benefits of the rich countries.

Reduces the already low quantity of skilled

manpower and needed for the development. Reduces numbers of dynamic and innovative people. Eg: Migration of artists- Aaron Aziz

Increases dependence on foreign technical assistance. Eg: English private tuition centre usually hire overseas teacher

Slows the transfer of technology thus

widens the gap with other countries. Eg: industrialization and education field -do not have the experts to work on with the technologies.

 The domestic human capital base shrinks. The most direct effect of skilled emigration on the human capital base at origin is that those who migrate will no longer be there to actively contribute to domestic production.

10 countries facing the biggest

BRAIN DRAIN
Where are we? From: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2011/07/10-countriesfacing-the-biggest-brain-drain/

Ethiopia produces a large number of qualified professionals, especially in the medical field. A recent study presented at the National Symposium on Ethiopian Diasporas revealed some shocking numbers, with the country losing about 75% of its skilled professionals over the past ten years. This exodus of highly qualified professionals had a huge impact on the country, leaving it with too few physicians, engineers and scientists to fill positions the country desperately needs to thrive economically.

Since Nigerias brutal civil war in late 60s, the country has bounced between military governments and dictatorships, pushing out between 11 and 17 million people.

Today, over 2 million Nigerians live in the U.S. alone, and of these about 20,000 are doctors and over 10,000 are academics. Thats a heavy loss for a nation that so desperately needs qualified professionals to rebuild and improve its own resources.

High unemployment rates, lack of resources and other factors have made Kenya one of the top brain drain countries in Africa. With fewer than 30% of Kenyans who study overseas returning to work in Kenya, the nation is feeling the hurt of losing so many skilled professionals. As of 2002, the public sector medical field had only 600 doctors and 70 dentists available to treat over 28 million citizens. With somewhere between 500,000 and 1.8 million Kenyans working and living overseas, the country is trying desperately to find a way to lure some of these citizens back home where their skills are much needed.

Years of unrest, high crime rates, AIDS and lack of jobs have combined to make South Africas brain drain a serious problem. Over the past three years, the country has lost over 100,000 workers, with an additional 70% of skilled South Africans saying they are considering leaving the nation. Currently, the country is working to not only keep residents from leaving once theyve completed their training, but to also attract professionals from other nations to South African businesses.

In 2006, the IMF ranked Iran the highest in brain drain among 90 countries (both developed and less developed), with over 180,000 people leaving each year due to a poor job market and oppressive social conditions.
In fact, it is estimated that over 25% of Iranians with post-secondary degrees live and work abroad, adding up to a total of 4 million Iranians living overseas.

China has become a major player in global economics, but despite a rapidly growing job force, it is having trouble hanging on to qualified professionals.

70% of Chinese students who study overseas never return to their homeland.
Since 1978, over 1 million Chinese students have headed to universities located abroad to get their degrees, yet fewer than 275,000 have returned.

The biggest cause for this is unemployment, with hundreds of thousands of skilled workers unable to find work, though security issues also play a big role. The higher the level of education, the less likely workers are to stay in Mexico, with about 70% of Mexicans with a PhD coming to work in America. The brain drain is worst in the sciences, where 79% of students who come to study in America never return home.

Over 80% of Jamaicas citizens whove obtained higher education live abroad. Most of this migration is due to lack of jobs, as there simply arent enough to go around for young graduates from university programs.

The brain drain in Malaysia has been steadily worsening, with the World Bank projecting it to intensify over the next few years. Two out of every ten Malaysians with higher education seeks employment elsewhere, accounting for about 305,000 immigrants in 2009.
Factors: job opportunities, political corruption and lack of religious freedom.

Over the past few years, England has seen a large number of its skilled professionals leaving for work abroad, with over 1.1 million university graduates living and working outside of the country. This accounts for almost 1 in 10 skilled citizens choosing to emigrate. When compared to other developed nations, these numbers are especially high, with only Germany coming close in terms of losses (with 860,000 workers lost), making it clear that even top nations with good schools, public health and lots of resources can be subject to brain drain.

Remittances may compensate for the loss of talent. Remittances from the highly-skilled that left the

country may assist at origin in alleviating liquidity constraints, stimulating education investment, as well as reducing poverty.

Return migration may bring additional benefits. Brain drain may lead to brain gain if migrants who upgraded their skills abroad return to the home country. Return migration may also boost entrepreneurship and innovation, if returning migrants put to good use additional knowledge and financial capital gained abroad. A net benefit is more likely to be obtained if the fraction of time spent abroad is not too large.

High-skill diasporas could benefit in various ways. Migration may lead to a reduction in international transaction costs, facilitating the exchange of goods, factors and knowledge between origin and destination countries. Diasporas could contribute to better technology diffusion, by the creation of scientific and business networks, and stimulate trade .They could also contribute to improving institutions in the home country.

According to a recent parliamentary report, 140,000 left the country, probably for good, in 2007. Between March 2008 and August 2009, that figure more than doubled to

305,000. For every ten skilled Malaysians born in Malaysia, one of them elects to leave the country.

Less attractive salary / benefits than

overseas after adjustment for cost of living. For those who have the means to migrate, low salary levels and benefits provide a powerful incentive to do so Lack of career prospects / unavailability of opportunities in specific fields.

Sense of social injustice.

Quality of life factors. Access to high-quality education. Country size and diaspora network.

2007
Singapore 10 OECD (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States, Britain) Asian Countries (Brunei, Phillipines, Singapore) The rest of the world 30

20

40

ATTITUDE TOWARD MIGRATION

An increase in the number of highly trained, foreign-born professionals entering a country to live and work where greater opportunities are offered.

1. Emigrants due to economy

2. Political stability
3. hope that a better life can be achieved elsewhere