Global Migration of the Highly Skilled: A Tentative and Quantitative Approach
Theo Dunnewijk
#2008-070
Migration in a globalising world is on the increase, especially
migration of the highly skilled. It is quite natural that given certain
possibilities, people look for opportunities and chances to improve
their lives. Especially when the better educated leave their country in
large quantities to try their chances abroad it was labelled in the
1960’s as ‘brain drain’ stressing the negative welfare impact on the
countries of origin (European at that time). However not always is the
impact of migration negative for the country of origin and therefore
‘brain drain’ turned into ‘brain gain’ when it was seen from another
perspective. Indeed destination as well as origin countries may profit
from migrating highly skilled people. The road in the middle is called
‘brain strain’ emphasising that out migration can be either positive or
negative for the origin countries. A synthesis has been found in
perceiving migration of the highly skilled in the more neutral phrase
‘brain circulation’. Brain circulation perceives migration of the highly
skilled not as an end in itself but as the start of a circular process
in which everyone might be better off: in this view the knowledge worker
in the age of globalisation turns into a real cosmopolite.
Despite an enormous literature on migration it is impossible to draw a
systematic global quantitative picture of migration of the highly
skilled. Therefore discussions in terms of brain drain, brain strain or
brain circulation are either theoretical or end unresolved. Empirically
only a part of the picture can be drawn with the help of data on
South-North migration of the highly skilled. Data on other directions of
migration like South-South and North- South is not systematically
covered by the international statistical institutes. Given this
situation it is the aim of this paper to include as many as possible
countries in the data on migration of the highly skilled in order to
illustrate the major effects related to migration for human capital in
origin as well as destination regions. This is possible by using UNESCO
data on international students; this source facilitates estimations of
the missing migration flows. The results show that countries like
Russian Federation, South Africa, Ukraine, Malaysia, Jordan and Saudi
Arabia are, apart from the traditional immigration countries also
important destination countries for highly skilled migrants.
Key words: Migration, Diaspora, Highly skilled migrants, Internationally Mobile Students.
JEL-code: F 22