Abstract
For several decades there has been a migration of highly qualified workers from developing to industrial countries. What are the causes of this “brain drain”, which many regard as a subsidy from the poor to the rich? What consequences does it have for the countries concerned? Are there effective ways of curbing it?
Similar content being viewed by others
References
I.B. Logan: The Brain Drain of Professional Technical and Kindred Workers from Developing Countries: Some Lessons from the Africa-US Flow of Professionals (1980–1989), in: International Migration, Vol. 30, 1992, pp. 289 ff.
See D.C. Mudende: The Brain Drain and Developing Countries, in: R. Appleyard (ed.): The Impact of International Migration on Developing Countries, OECD, Paris 1989, pp. 183 ff.; see also H. Körner: Internationale Mobilität der Arbeit, Darmstadt 1990, pp. 188 f.
See J. Salt and A. Findlay: International Migration of Highlyskilled Manpower: Theoretical and Developmental Issues in: R. Appleyard (ed.), op. cit., pp. 159 ff.
See J. D. N. Ogina: International Migration and the “Brain Drain” from Africa, in: Universitelt van Pretoria, ISSUP Bulletin, 1/97, pp. 1. ff.; A. Adepoju: Emigration Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa, Discussion Paper submitted at the 12th IOM Seminar on Migration, Geneva 1997.
See United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Report 1992, Oxford 1992, p. 67; S. Diaz-Briquets: The Effects of International Migration on Latin America, in: D. G. Papademetriou and P. L. Martin (eds.): The Unsettled Relationship. Labor Migration and Economic Development, New York and London 1991, pp. 188 ff.
See N. F. Lamarra: Human Resources, Development and Migration of Professionals in Latin America, in: International Migration, Vol. 30, 1992, pp. 328 f.
See R. Appleyard: International Migration: Challenge for the Nineties, Geneva 1991, pp. 34 f.
See Human Development Report 1992, op. cit. Oxford 1992, p. 57.
See A. Adepoju: Binational Communities and Labor Circulation in Sub-Saharan Africa, in: D. G. Papademetriou and P. L. Martin (eds.), op. cit. The Unsettled Relationship. Labor Migration and Economic Development, New York and London 1991, pp. 45 ff.
See Human Development Report 1992, op. cit. Oxford 1992, p. 57.
See O. Stark: The Migration of Labor, Cambridge, Mass., and Oxford 1991, especially pp. 39 ff. and 119 ff.
See N. F. Lamarra, op. cit. Human Resources, Development and Migration of Professionals in Latin America, in: International Migration, Vol. 30, 1992, pp. 323 ff.
See J. D'Oliviera e Sousa: The Brain Drain Issue in International Negotiations, in: R. Appleyard (ed.), op. cit., pp. 202 f.; I. B. Logan, op. cit. The Brain Drain of Professional, Technical and Kindred Workers from Developing Countries: Some Lessons from the Africa-US Flow of Professionals (1980–1989), in: International Migration, Vol. 30, 1992, pp. 296 ff.
I. B. Logan, op. cit. The Brain Drain of Professional, Technical and Kindred Workers from Developing Countries: Some Lessons from the Africa-US Flow of Professionals (1980–1989), in: International Migration, Vol. 30, 1992, pp. 298 ff.
See J. N. Bhagwati: International Migration of the Highly Skilled: Economics, Ethics and Taxes, in: R. C. Feenstra (ed.): J. Bhagwati: International Factor Mobility. Essays in Economic Theory, Vol. 2, Cambridge, Mass., and London 1983, pp. 60 f.
See C. W. Stahl: Overview: Economic Perspectives, in: R. Appleyard (ed.), op. cit., pp. 363 ff.
See F. Haslinger and T. Ziesemer: Endogenous Growth and Distributional Conflicts, in: G. Köhler et al. (eds.): Questioning Development, Marburg 1966, pp. 227 ff.
See D. G. Papademetriou and P. L. Martin: Labor Migration and Development: Research and Policy Issues, in: D. G. Papademetriou and P. L. Martin (eds.), op. cit. The Unsettled Relationship. Labor Migration and Economic Development, New York and London 1991, p. 16.
See J. N. Bhagwati: The Economic Analysis of International Migration, in: R. C. Feenstra (ed.), op. cit. J. Bhagwati: International Factor Mobility. Essays in Economic Theory, Vol. 2, Cambridge, Mass., and London 1983, pp. 53 ff.
See The World Bank: World Development Report 1995, Washington, D.C. 1995, p. 66.
See S. S. Russell and M. S. Teitelbaum: International Migration and International Trade, World Bank Discussion Papers, No. 160, Washington, D.C., 1992, especially pp. 42 f.
Regarding such programmes by the International Organisation for Migration, see the references in N. F. Lamarra, op. cit. Human Resources, Development and Migration of Professionals in Latin America, in: International Migration, Vol. 30, 1992, pp. 319 ff., and J. D. N. Ogina, op. cit. International Migration and the “Brain Drain” from Africa, in: Universitelt van Pretoria, ISSUP Bulletin, 1/97, pp. 8 ff.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The author wishes to thank Reinhard Lohrmann of the International Organisation for Migration in Geneva for his helpful comments.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Körner, H. The “brain drain” from developing countries — An enduring problem. Intereconomics 33, 26–29 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02929029
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02929029