Brain drain and institutions of governance: Educational attainment of immigrants to the US 1988-1998

James Bang and Aniruddha Mitra

Economic Systems, 2011, vol. 35, issue 3, 335-354

Abstract: We investigate the impact of home country institutions on the skill level of immigrants to the United States over 1988-1998. Specifically, we explore the hypothesis that institutions are multidimensional and that the different dimensions have conflicting impacts on the migration of skilled labor. Using an exploratory factor analysis on fifteen institutional variables, we identify the following dimensions of institutional character: credibility, transparency, democracy, and the security of civil society. We find that credibility and transparency increase the magnitude of brain drain, security reduces it, and democracy has no significant impact.

Keywords: Immigration; Institutions; Political; instability; Brain; drain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Working Paper: Brain Drain and Institutions of Governance: Educational Attainment of Immigrants to the US 1988-1998 (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:35:y:2011:i:3:p:335-354

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