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PSD Blog tipsar om en bok som går att ladda ner i pdf-format.
International migration, remittances, and the brain drain

Summary: Knowledge of the economic effects of migration, especially its impact on economic development, is rather limited. In order to expand knowledge on migration, and identify policies and reforms that would lead to superior development outcomes, this volume presents the results of a first set of studies carried out on the subject. Current demographic trends in both developed and developing countries are pointing toward significant, potential economic gains from migration. The labor forces in many developed countries are expected to peak around 2010, and decline by around 5 percent in the following two decades, accompanied by a rapid increase in dependency ratios. Conversely, the labor forces in many developing countries are expanding rapidly, resulting in declines in dependency ratios. This imbalance is likely to create strong demand for workers in developed countries’ labor markets, especially for numerous service sectors that can only be supplied locally. There are large north-south wage gaps, however, especially for unskilled and semiskilled labor. Part 1 of this book, Migration and Remittances, examines the determinants of migration, and the impact of migration and remittances on various development indicators, and measures of welfare. Among these are poverty and inequality; investments in education, health, housing and other productive activities; entrepreneurship; and child labor and education. It focuses on different source countries, use data collected via different methodologies, and employ different econometric tools. Their results, however, are surprisingly consistent. Part 2, Brain Drain, Brain Gain, Brain Waste, focuses on issues related to the migration of skilled workers, that is, the brain drain. It presents the most extensive database on bilateral skilled migration to date, and also examines a number of issues associated with the brain drain, that have not been emphasized in the literature so far, uncovers a number of interesting and unexpected patterns, and, provides answers to some of the debates. This volume deals essentially with economically motivated south-north migration, whose principal cause is, in most cases, the difference in (the present value of) expected real wages, adjusted for migration costs.

Center for Global Development har nyligen gett ut en bok i samma ämne, Give Us Your Best and Brightest, som även den går att ladda ner.

As flows of skilled labor from poor to rich countries have continued to grow, the role of international migration in development has surfaced as a prominent issue. The fear of ”brain drain” has been prompted by the dual forces of declining populations in rich countries and their need for new labor, along with the growing competitive pressures in knowledge-intensive sectors for skilled labor. Recently, the United Nations issued a Report of the Global Commission on International Migration, suggesting the creation of a new international architecture to grapple with the challenges posed by the forces of migration. But while immigration in the US and Europe remain divisive political issues, these questions still remain: Who benefits, and who loses, and why?

Give Us Your Best and Brightest by Devesh Kapur and John McHale evaluates both the issues of ”brain drain” and ”brain gain” to determine the effects that skilled migration has on sending countries. They discuss the role of the prospect channel, which the option of migration creates, to obtain higher education, as in the case of nursing education in the Philippines. The absence channel focuses on the effects on those remaining behind when much of the skilled labor leaves a country, creating a vacuum of talent and potential institution-builders. The role of diasporas is also salient in considering the effect of remittances sent back to poor countries resulting from large segments of their population living abroad. The return channel looks at how the return of wealthier, more educated, and better-connected immigrants to their country of origin can positively benefit their home communities.

Succinctly and lucidly written, this book offers an accessible report of the very complex issue of global migration. It also suggests four new policy options for rich and poor countries alike to consider, so that the benefits of international migration are more equally shared with the developing world.

Och detta är förstås ett ämne som vi alla är intresserade av.

This entry was posted on tisdag, oktober 25th, 2005 at 15.43 and is filed under Ekonomi, Lästips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.