Why is it bad for the home country ?
Brain Drain simply refers to the emigration of individuals with technical skills, good educational qualifications and knowledge, to other countries. Although residing in a country other than the home country may seem harmless, brain drain is a much debated serious issue. Otherwise known as 'human capital flight', prime reasons such as political unrest, lack of good opportunities, health risks and poor living conditions are the most common reasons for emigrating to another country. An influx of highly skilled individuals may be great news for the country of emigration, but the same can not be said for the home country.
Brain Drain is actually a very high economic cost for the home country to bear, since it is unable to capitalize on the knowledge of its own citizens. If one was to analyze the trend over the past few years, it would become evident that in Brain Drain, skilled individuals move away from poor or developing countries to other richer countries. In very poor countries like Ethiopia, Brain Drain only worsens the existing conditions of the state, since thousands of its people prefer to reside elsewhere and implement their knowledge there. Such families are unlikely to return to their home country again and many of them apply for citizenship in their new home country.
Brain Drain in History
Throughout history and even today in the modern world, political unrests and policies have also contributed to many instances of forced Brain Drain, where emigrating to another country was often the only means of survival. For instance, in the early 1930's; many educated Jews left Europe due to a huge surge in anti Semitic emotions and protests. This resulted in famous personalities and thinkers like Einstein and Niels Bohr emigrating to the United States, in an attempt to continue their research and save their lives. Similarly, Saddam Hussein's reign in Iraq for years not only sparked off mass violence, but also forced many ethnic Iraqis to flee their motherland.
For many years, the United States and the United Kingdom were hot destinations for emigrants from all over the world; mainly due to the fact that immigrants in both countries form a considerable size of the population. However, in what is now being called 'reverse brain drain', these countries are actually losing highly skilled people to competitive jobs and better opportunities overseas; especially in sectors like science, research, technology and IT.
Best tactics to tackle Brain Drain
What are the different measures that a country can adopt to tackle this growing concern?
- Good governance, peaceful conditions and good living conditions directly contribute to the economy itself, which could prevent people from relocating permanently.
- Recognizing talent and educational qualifications by offering better pay is a strong reason for citizens to stay on in a home country. China, for instance, is taking many steps to ensure that citizens, who go abroad to study, come back and work in their home country.
- Giving citizens first preference according to their qualifications and favoring them over expatriates and foreigners, is also an effective tactic. It makes a citizen feel more valued in his own country.
- Establishing a world class education system empowers people to explore job opportunities at home itself.
- Delaying the emigration of highly skilled individuals by asking them to contribute to society for a few years may not only help reduce Brain Drain but may also encourage them to earn more certifications.
Poor countries in continents like Africa need to devise a more challenging set of emigration procedures which will make citizens think twice about leaving the home country. If countries like India and China have succeeded in building a thriving economy for their people, it may not be long before poor states in Africa follow in their footsteps.