Easing the Strain: Understanding brain drain and where policy can respond
Article
Development on the Move Working Paper 3
It is clear that many countries across the globe are increasingly seeking to attract highly skilled migrants, with trends looking set to continue despite the global downturn. This competition for highly skilled workers is provoking concerns about 'brain drain'.
There is evidence that at high levels 'brain drain' becomes 'brain strain' - it starts to damage a country's development. Therefore it is important to understand the factors that cause brain drain in order to see whether and how policymakers might intervene in order to pre-empt the phenomenon.
ippr and GDN, as part of their 'Development on the Move' project, have attempted to synthesise theresults of a number of surveys of migrants and people intending to migrate, in order to develop a typology of factors driving brain drain.
Analysis of the surveys shows that there are five categories of common factors, across different groups of skilled migrants and different contexts, driving the desire to migrate: wages; employment; professional development; networks and socio-economic and political conditions in the home country. Of course, they are not of equal importance to all migrants and potential migrants.
Related items
The IPPR Inclusion Taskforce
Our new inclusion taskforce will focus on reforming England's failing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.Places to come together: Rebuilding local solidarities against the far right
A discussion paper on the fight for local investment and why government must create, facilitate and maintain spaces where solidarity might thrive.State of the North 2025 - The kids aren't alright: How to deliver for young people in the North
This year’s State of the North report highlights how regional inequality exacerbates the growing challenges facing many young northerners.