Skill Flow: A Fundamental Reconsideration of Skilled-Worker Mobility and Development

Michael Clemens

No 180, Working Papers from Center for Global Development

Abstract: Large numbers of doctors, engineers, and other skilled workers from developing countries choose to move to other countries. Do their choices threaten development? The answer appears so obvious that their movement is most commonly known by the pejorative term “brain drain.” This paper reconsiders the question, starting from the most mainstream, explicit definitions of “development.” Under these definitions, it is only possible to advance development by regulating skilled workers’ choices if that regulation greatly expands the substantive freedoms of others to meet their basic needs and live the lives they wish. Much existing evidence and some new evidence suggests that regulating skilled-worker mobility itself does little to address the underlying causes of skilled migrants’ choices, generally brings few benefits to others, and often brings diverse unintended harm. The paper concludes with examples of effective ways that developing countries can build a skill base for development without regulating human movement. The mental shift required to take these policies seriously would be aided by dropping the sententious term “brain drain” in favor of the neutral, accurate, and concise term “skill flow.”

Keywords: brain drain; migration; development; labor; education; developing; labor mobility; circular migration; higher education; university; training; skilled; high skill; talent; globalization; health workers; high tech; technology transfer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J24 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2009-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-hrm, nep-lab and nep-mig
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (37)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Skill Flow: A Fundamental Reconsideration of Skilled-Worker Mobility and Development (2009)
Working Paper: Skill Flow: A Fundamental Reconsideration of Skilled-Worker Mobility and Development (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cgd:wpaper:180

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