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

Michael Clemens

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Large numbers of doctors, engineers, and other skilled workers from developing counties 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 nothing to address the underlying causes of skilled migrants’ choices, generally brings few benefits to others, and instead 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: skill; talent; professional; educated; graduate; degree; labor; global (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J0 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009-04-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-lab and nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

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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:pra:mprapa:19186

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