Human capital flight
Human capital flight is the emigration or immigration of individuals who have received advanced training at home. The net benefits of human capital flight for the receiving country are sometimes referred to as a "brain gain" whereas the net costs for the sending country are sometimes referred to as a "brain drain".[1] In occupations with a surplus of graduates, immigration of foreign-trained professionals can aggravate the underemployment of domestic graduates,[2] whereas emigration from an area with a surplus of trained people leads to better opportunities for those remaining. But emigration may cause problems for the home country if the trained people are in short supply there.
"Brain drain" redirects here. For other uses, see Brain drain (disambiguation).Research shows that there are significant economic benefits of human capital flight for the migrants themselves and for the receiving country.[3][4][5][6] The consequences for the country of origin are less straightforward, with research suggesting they can be positive,[7][8][9][10][11][12] negative[13][14][15][16] or mixed.[17][18][19] Research also suggests that emigration,[20] remittances and return migration[21] can have a positive effect on democratization and on the quality of political institutions in the country of origin.[22][23][24][25]
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There are several types of human capital flight:
As with other human migration, the social environment is often considered to be a key reason for this population shift. In source countries, lack of opportunities, political instability or oppression, economic depression, health risks and more (push factors)[26] contribute to human capital flight, whereas host countries usually offer rich opportunities, political stability and freedom, a developed economy and better living conditions (pull factors)[26] that attract talent. At the individual level, family influences (relatives living overseas, for example), as well as personal preferences, career ambitions and other motivating factors, can be considered.
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Origins and uses[edit]
The term "brain drain" was coined by the Royal Society to describe the emigration of "scientists and technologists" to North America from post-war Europe.[27] Another source indicates that this term was first used in the United Kingdom to describe the influx of Indian scientists and engineers.[28] Although the term originally referred to technology workers leaving a nation, the meaning has broadened into "the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic sector, or field for another, usually for better pay or living conditions".[29]
Brain drain is a phenomenon where, relative to the remaining population, a substantial number of more educated (numerate, literate) persons emigrate.[30]
Given that the term "brain drain", as frequently used, implies that skilled emigration is bad for the country of origin, some scholars recommend against using the term in favor of more neutral and scientific alternative terms.[31][32]
Historical examples[edit]
Flight of the Neoplatonic academy philosophers[edit]
After Justinian closed the Platonic Academy in 529 AD, according to the historian Agathias, its remaining members sought protection from the Sassanid ruler, Khosrau I, carrying with them precious scrolls of literature, philosophy and, to a lesser degree, science. After the peace treaty between the Persian and the Byzantine empires in 532 guaranteed their personal security, some members of this group found sanctuary in the Pagan stronghold of Harran, near Edessa. One of the last leading figures of this group was Simplicius, a pupil of Damascius, the last head of the Athenian school. The students of an academy-in-exile may have survived into the ninth century, long enough to facilitate the medieval revival of the Neoplatonist commentary tradition in Baghdad.[100]
Spanish expulsion of Jews (15th century)[edit]
After the end of the Catholic reconquest of Spain, the Catholic Monarchs pursued the goal of a religiously homogenous kingdom. Thus, Jews were expelled from the country in 1492. As they dominated Spain's financial service industry, their expulsion was instrumental in causing future economic problems, for example the need for foreign bankers such as the Fugger family and others from Genova. On 7 January 1492, the King ordered the expulsion of all the Jews from Spain—from the kingdoms of Castile and León (Kingdoms of Galicia, Leon, Old Castile, New Castile or Toledo), Navarra and Aragon (Aragon, Principality of Catalonia, Kingdoms of Valencia, Mallorca and the Rousillon and the two Sicilies). Before that, the Queen had also expelled them from the four Kingdoms of Andalusia (Seville, Cordova, Jaén and Granada).[101][102] Their departure contributed to economic decline in some regions of Spain. Thus, the conservative aristocracy consolidated its power over these newly acquired territories while contributing to their decline.
Huguenot exodus from France (17th century)[edit]
In 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and declared Protestantism to be illegal in the Edict of Fontainebleau. After this, many Huguenots (estimates range from 200,000 to 1 million[103]) fled to surrounding Protestant countries: England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Prussia—whose Calvinist great elector, Frederick William, welcomed them to help rebuild his war-ravaged and under-populated country. Many went to the Dutch colony at the Cape (South Africa), where they were instrumental in establishing a wine industry.[104] At least 10,000 went to Ireland, where they were assimilated into the Protestant minority during the plantations.
Many Huguenots and their descendants prospered. Henri Basnage de Beauval fled France and settled in the Netherlands, where he became an influential writer and historian. Abel Boyer, another noted writer, settled in London and became a tutor to the British royal family. Henry Fourdrinier, the descendant of Huguenot settlers in England, founded the modern paper industry. Augustin Courtauld fled to England, settling in Essex and established a dynasty that founded the British silk industry. Noted Swiss mathematician Gabriel Cramer was born in Geneva to Huguenot refugees. Sir John Houblon, the first Governor of the Bank of England, was born into a Huguenot family in London. Isaac Barré, the son of Huguenot settlers in Ireland, became an influential British soldier and politician. Gustav and Peter Carl Fabergé, the descendants of Huguenot refugees, founded the world-famous Fabergé company in Russia, maker of the famous Faberge eggs.
The exodus of Huguenots from France created a brain drain, as Huguenots accounted for a disproportionate number of entrepreneurial, artisan and technical occupations in the country.[105][106][107] The loss of this technical expertise was a blow from which the kingdom did not fully recover for many years.
19th century Eastern Europe migration[edit]
Mid-19th century Eastern European migration was significantly shaped by religious factors. The Jewish minority experienced strong discrimination in the Russian Empire during this period, which reached its maximum in the pogrom waves of the 1880s. During the 1880s, the mass exodus of more than two million Russian Jews began. Already before, a migration stream of Jewish people started which was characterized by highly skilled individuals. This pronounced selectivity was not caused by economic incentives, but by political persecution.[30]
Expulsion of the Jesuits[edit]
The suppression of the Society of Jesus in Spanish America in 1767 caused the Jesuit vineyards in Peru to be auctioned at high prices, but new owners did not have the same expertise as the Jesuits, contributing to a production decline.[108]
Also, after the suppression, the production and importance of yerba mate-producing regions, which had been dominated by Jesuits, began to decline.[109][110] Excessive exploitation of indigenous labour in the plantations led to decay in the industry and the scattering of Guaranís living in the missions.[110][111] With the fall of the Jesuits, and the mismanagement of their former enterprises by the crown and the new entrepreneurs that had taken over, Paraguay gained an unrivalled position as the main producer of yerba mate. The plantation system of the Jesuits did prevail, however, and mate continued chiefly to be harvested from wild stand through the 18th century and most of the 19th century.[110]
Antisemitism in pre-World War II Europe (1933–1943)[edit]
Antisemitic sentiments and laws in Europe through the 1930s and 1940s, culminating in the Holocaust, caused an exodus of intelligentsia. Notable examples are:
By region[edit]
Europe[edit]
Human capital flight in Europe fits into two distinct trends. The first is an outflow of highly qualified scientists from Western Europe mostly to the United States.[129] The second is a migration of skilled workers from Central and Southeastern Europe into Western Europe, within the EU.[130] While in some countries the trend may be slowing,[131][132] certain South European countries such as Italy continue to experience extremely high rates of human capital flight.[133] The European Union has noted a net loss of highly skilled workers and introduced a "blue card" policy—much like the American green card—which "seeks to draw an additional 20 million workers from Asia, Africa and the Americas in the next two decades".[134]
Although the EU recognizes a need for extensive immigration to mitigate the effects of an aging population,[135] national populist political parties have gained support in many European countries by calling for stronger laws restricting immigration.[136] Immigrants are perceived both as a burden on the state and the cause of social problems such as increased crime rates and the introduction of major cultural differences.[137]
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