The Brain Drain
Challenges and Opportunities for Development
By Anne-Christine Roisin, for the Chronicle
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Governments and international actors increasingly need an innovative approach to the increased rate in migration of skilled workers, known as “brain drain”. In 1990, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development listed 13 million skilled migrants from developing countries. Although the volume of skilled migration is relatively small compared to the migration of unqualified workers, its social and economic relevance is high. Two surveys of African returnees in the 1990s, carried out by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), have identified some of the driving forces of skilled migration.
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| UN photo |
First, the technological revolution has resulted in a huge growth of specific industries in developed countries, notably in the information technology sector. This trend has fostered a growing global demand for highly-skilled workers, and new communication technologies have increased their accessibility to the global labour market. The globalization process is also changing the pattern of labour relations, making advanced economies turn towards the developing countries for their workforce.
Second, a decline in population and skilled workers, partially due to the growing ageing population, has made developed countries increasingly dependent on some economic and social services sectors. The United Kingdom, for instance, encourages migration of nurses and medical professionals from developing countries; since 1999, the number has soared, with nurses coming mainly from former British colonies like Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.
Third, high unemployment among graduates in developing countries leads to increased migration. Additionally, skilled workers needed on the global market tend to move because their primary interest or affiliation is more geared to their scientific environment than to their employer or a particular location. “When we look at the international mobility of these persons, it is a means of retraining them and maintaining their educational investment, instead of losing them in their country”, according to Luca Dall’Oglio, Permanent Observer of IOM to the United Nations. However, a “brain waste” phenomenon is also present in developed countries, “where skilled workers move abroad and then find work that is totally different from their expectations”, he told the UN Chronicle.
Finally, during the last three decades a number of developing countries have experienced salary freezes, currency devaluation and rampant inflation, leading professionals to move to safer environments where remunerations match their qualifications, and currencies are less subject to devaluation. Also, an authoritarian political environment makes emigration an attractive alternative to domestic problems. Furthermore, the quality of education in developed economies and the presence of a transnational community in the host country contribute to the weight of brain outflow.
Benefits and losses from skilled migration are never one-sided but rather tend to be shared by both emigrant and host countries. The consequences on the countries of destination are twofold. On the one hand, additional qualified manpower clearly contributes to economic growth and development, and also brings in an unusual blend of background and experience that is often missing in the host countries. On the other, the IOM study points out that migration can lead to increased xenophobia, particularly in periods of recession, with skilled migrants being accused of taking jobs away from citizens, abusing public services and social welfare, and fuelling crime and insecurity.
On the emigrant nation’s side, lack of manpower in certain economic key sectors can create deterioration of certain vital social and economic areas in the country. For instance, Malawi is afflicted with one of Africa’s most severe nursing shortages, according to the Nurses and Midwives Council, with almost two thirds of the nursing jobs in the public health system vacant. More registered nurses have left to work abroad in the past four years than the 336 who remain in the country’s public hospitals and clinics that serve most of its 11.6 million people. In order to counter workers outflow, countries are often forced to recruit expatriates as replacements. Although in most cases this is part of the foreign aid package for developing countries, estimates show that recruiting 100,000 skilled foreigners has cost Africa $4 billion annually. Moreover, this general trend is often perceived by nationals as another type of foreign domination or even as a new form of colonization.
When interpreted as a sign of an uncertain political and economic future for the country, the migration of qualified labour may reflect negatively on its investment climate. Qualified persons earn high wages and therefore have a higher consumption and investment expenditure. Thus, the decrease of these two patterns restrains a country’s economic growth. A more subtle impact of the exodus of skilled workers can be registered on the quality of the internal labour market. The sharing of knowledge of qualified workers among their national peers enhances indirect upgrading of the level of efficiency and productivity. But a long-term effect of migration on development is the loss of future generations who are very likely to be educated and qualified in certain sectors. However, the possibility of emigration to developed countries may encourage nationals to prolong their education in the country of origin, consequently increasing the quality of human capital that, in turn, contributes to stimulating overall growth.
Although the permanent return of skilled emigrants assumes that the country of origin is in a position to offer salaries and infrastructure comparable to the host countries, which is not true in many developing countries, the temporal return of qualified labour, generally known as “brain circulation”, can still contribute to growth.
Furthermore, transnational migrants may stimulate individually or through diaspora communities, trade, technological research, business association or cooperation between both countries. However, according to Mr. Dall’Oglio, the difficulty lies on “how to achieve this and in what circumstances that process can take place”. The recognition of the transnational nature of the international labour market or of some kind of international mobility for professionals, he said, “was not only desirable but should be considered as a natural process”.
The acknowledgment of mutual interdependence between countries plays a key role in promoting negotiations. Such arrangements, based on integrated policy approaches, can support the labour needs of the receiving countries and the sustainable development of the sending countries. Currently, immigration laws and visa regulations of the destination countries act as a major barrier to “brain circulation”. Therefore, Mr. Dall’Oglio pointed out, “what should be looked at is the free circulation of immigrants among countries”. Indeed, the commuting of skilled migrants has created some important financial poles in home countries; a good example is the new “Silicon Valleys” that have appeared in developing countries like India, with the help of expatriates living in the original “Silicon Valley” in the United States.
Regarding diaspora networks, destination nations would benefit from promoting their development by providing technical assistance. At the same time, Governments would need to sponsor links with their expatriates and provide assistance at different stages of the migration process, such as departure preparation, return, dual citizenship or foreign direct investment (FDI). Ensuring that migrants get familiarized with the culture of the other country before leaving their own by receiving training on their future jobs or learning the language to facilitate their integration in the society might “narrow the gap between the arrival in the society and the period where they become more self-reliant”, Mr. Dall’Oglio said.
A different way of contributing is by developing the transfer of knowledge capacity of diaspora communities, such as the Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriates Nationals (TOKTEN) Programme of the United Nations Development Programme. TOKTEN lists 41 diaspora networks and has facilitated their development in countries such as Lebanon and Pakistan, and also in the Palestinian territory.
Transnationalism and diaspora networks have also directly contributed to growth through investment and remittances. Indeed, the money transferred through remittances often constitutes more than 50 per cent of the household use for consumption. In the case of most African countries, these payments account for more financial inflows than FDI. For this reason, as incentive packages are often not enough to attract foreign investment to developing countries, remittance plays a major role in the development of their economy. “Remittance is an amount that reaches the bank account or the portfolio of the direct beneficiary and can immediately be invested in education, housing, health, living conditions and so on”, Mr. Dall’Oglio said. Therefore, developing countries should promote official transfers, thus increasing the efficient use of financial resources and mobilize these resources from migrants by providing a favourable exchange rate. The amount of remittance by immigrants through official channels is $100 billion per year. “If you count the remittances sent home by undocumented immigrants through informal channels, this amount will probably double”, he said.
Furthermore, remittances could be channeled to underdeveloped rural areas, as the development of infrastructure could facilitate additional financial resources and consequently generate supplementary demand. Also, economic programmes, such as local credit cooperatives and special investment schemes, can further enhance the impact of remittances on economic growth. The driving force present in diaspora communities has also proved helpful in cases of national reconciliation and the development of post-conflict countries. As Mr. Dall’Oglio pointed out: “In Afghanistan, the transitional government identified a number of qualified persons in the justice sector, because under the Taliban rule the country had lost most of its judges. IOM was called by the transitional government to rebuild the educational and justice sectors. Some 4,000 qualified nationals enrolled in the database, giving their availability, and 400 persons went to Afghanistan. Thus, there was a need to develop modalities that would use these skills in the best possible way and through projects that made sure they do not lose the possibility to return in the host country.” |
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A valuable initiative involving diaspora communities is the Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA). Initiated in 2001 by IOM in partnership with countries of origin and host countries, the programme supports Governments in their development goals through the transfer of vital skills and financial resources of the African diaspora. MIDA identifies the needs in the main economic sectors of participating countries and helps match them with the appropriate skills and resources available. Based on the notion of “brain circulation”, it offers flexible arrangements for virtual (through the Internet or other new technologies) or temporary return without jeopardizing the migrants’ legal status in the host countries. “The transfer of skills through virtual communication is a return that does not really happen in a physical way, but is a mechanism where knowledge is shared and is challenged in a way that supports the country of origin”, said Luca Dall’Oglio, Permanent Observer of IOM to the United Nations.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MIDA launched a pilot initiative in 2003 based on information and communication technologies that had an impact in the traditional higher education setting. This not only links the diaspora and the educational institution but also contributes to retaining trained professionals in their home country. The initiative, in cooperation with the Italian Government, has also set up a website for Ethiopian diaspora, which provides news and advice on investment relevant to them. It also lists an online questionnaire for members interested in participating in the development of the country. |
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