Policy responses to the international mobility of skilled labour

This review describes 'Six Rs' or policies that can facilitate feedback effects and, thereby, take advantage of high skilled emigration. Calls in the 1970s for the reparation of the direct loss through a brain drain tax have long since been disregarded as a viable way of offsetting the adverse effects of high skilled emigration. Three of the 'Rs' are variants of migration policy, e.g. return, restriction, or recruitment. Restrictive admission (or exit) policies touch on the rights of the individual international migrant, as well as run the risk of impeding positive feedback effects. Policies that encourage return migration may be in the best long-term interest of the migrant source countries, but almost no policymakers in receiving countries as yet justify temporary admission standards on such a basis. For those who remain abroad, there are resourcing policies. These 'diaspora options' rely mainly on the creation of expatriate networks that return knowledge to the home country, e.g., that facilitate the transfer of technology. To date, most expatriate networks are autonomously founded and there may be a role for the expanded involvement of both source and receiving countries. Further, remittances are a significant source of income for developing countries. Outreach to skilled expatriates can take advantage of the greater likelihood that they will save in foreign currency accounts in the home country, invest in remittance backed bonds, or invest in entrepreneurial activities when incentives such as reduced tariffs or income tax breaks are offered. Finally, grand policies of retention are likely to be the best long run response to a brain drain. The most active policies have and continue to be academic ventures based on regional and international cooperation where receiving countries play an active role. Additionally, many developing countries have individually, or in the context of regional accords, targeted ICT development as a means of getting on the information-age bandwagon. Such projects promise to be a fruitful way of stimulating economic growth and reducing permanent out migration of highly educated natives.

Excerpt from executive summary.

This report is part of a series of studies conducted by the International Labour Office under the DFID-sponsored project on 'Skilled labour migration (the 'brain drain') from developing countries: analysis of impact and policy issues'. Available reports are indexed from TD/TNC 86.109 to TD/TNC 86.119. Show less