Brain Drain

“Brain – Drain!” what do we understand by this? Does it mean that our knowledge and skills are drained out of our brains or what? Or does...

“Brain – Drain!” what do we understand by this? Does it mean that our knowledge and skills are drained out of our brains or what? Or does it mean that our brain itself has been separated from our body? Okay. Most people may have got it right. For those who didn’t, chill guys, we have got you covered here, just go through this article describing “Brain Drain”.

“Brain drain” is the phenomenon whereby nations lose their highly skilled and the most educated labor because there are better paid jobs elsewhere. These highly skilled and educated labor leave their country to settle permanently or temporarily in some other country not just for better paid jobs but also for other opportunities and comfortable life style for them and for their family. Brain drain is also referred to as ‘human capital flight’. In recent years, this has affected the poorer countries more, as some rich countries tempt workers away, and workers look to escape bleak situations in their poor home countries. The main flow of brain drain as a change of domicile starts from the underdeveloped countries towards the developed ones, due to social, cultural, and psychological factors.

In 1969, UNESCO defined brain drain “as an abnormal form of scientific exchange between countries, characterized by one-way flow in favor of the most highly developed countries”. UNESCO have provided us with the most comprehensive main characteristics of brain drain, as follows

• There are numerous flows of skilled and trained persons from developing to developed countries.

• They are characterized by large flows from a comparatively small number of developed countries and by small flows from a large number of developing countries.

• In these flows engineers, medical personnel and scientists usually tend to predominate.

• The above flows have grown with increasing rapidity in recent years.

• The higher the level of skill/training, the greater the susceptibility to migration tends to be.

• The flows respond increasingly to the changed economic complexity of world societies and to legislation which reflects the demands of a new era.

• The migratory trends are stimulated both by the character of national education systems as by lack and inadequate planning for the training of students from developing countries, in developed states as well as the proper utilization of their skills in their home country.

• Except possibly for South America, there are no signs that the migration of talents is decreasing and there are fairly definite signs that its increase will, under present conditions, continue to accelerate.

In short brain drain is the migration of the highly skilled and educated professionals in search of better standard of living and quality of life, higher salaries, access to advanced technologies and for more stable political conditions in some other country as compared to their own country.

Brain drain is of great concern as the more underdeveloped a country is economically, the more it loses by brain drain while only developed countries profit from the process. Brain drain has negative impact on the sending countries economic prospects and competitiveness. It reduces the number of dynamic and creative people who can contribute to the development of their country. Likewise, with more entrepreneurs taking their investments abroad, developing countries are missing an opportunity of wealth creation. This has also negative consequences on tax revenue and employment.

Brain drain occurs through a complicated interplay of direct and indirect economic ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. It is stimulated by the lack of an educational system as well as the absence of a manpower policy in most of the underdeveloped countries, there deficiencies normally hindering the really efficient use of those qualified as well as those having talent. As against this, there are higher living standards and better research and working opportunities of the more developed country, which provides thousands of possibilities for developing human potential. In addition to these objectives economic factors, brain drain is also stimulated by the actually realized intention of the developed countries to acquire intellectual capital free, and as quick as possible.

For an example is India. 1960's onward a large number of skilled labors and professionals, involving engineers, doctors, scientists, architects, professors and nurses started migrating to western countries for better opportunities from India. Later years IT professionals and entrepreneurs joined them. Many of these professionals were trained in the publicly subsidized elite institutions of India. The main destinations were UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, which are still predominant destinations for Indians.

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For more information, click on Diaspora, Brain Gain, Brain Drain in Indian Context, Brain Exchange, Brain Waste,  Brain Gain in Indian Context, Brain Circulation, Indian Diaspora, New Indian Diaspora, Old Indian Diaspora

Reference:

• Ajaya Kumar Sahoo and Laxmi Narayan Kadekar (edited), Global Indian Diaspora: History, Culture and Identity.

• IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University), MSOE-002 Diaspora and Transnational Communities.

• Various.

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Related Questions:

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