Final Migration Essay
Brain drain, brain gain or brain circulation? Critically discuss the migration flows of highly skilled migrants across the globe and the impact of this movement on host and origin countries
According to a report published by the CSO in September 2012 net outward migration for Irish nationals increased to 26,000 in the year to April 2012, from 22,400 in the previous year. It is a necessity to discover if this mass exodus of skilled migrants will be detrimental to Irish society in the coming years, or if there are significant advantages stemming from our best and brightest abandoning the country. Interest in the topic is growing and there have been dramatic increases in empirical evidence and research on this subject. Over the past decade, Factiva (a business information and research tool owned by Dow Jones & Company) shows an average of 5,000 news articles in English per year about the impact of brain drain, a testament to just how relevant this subject is (Gibson and Mckenzi 2011).In this essay I will define and discuss the three concepts brain drain, brain gain and brain circulation using specific examples from all over the world, in an effort to determine which of the three is most prevalent.
It is important to define the term 'highly skilled migrant ' to understand the impact they have on the economies of a country. There is no agreed international definition of ‘highly-skilled workers’, thus the concept varies, and is highly dependent on the eligibility requirements for the nation in question. However, highly-skilled migrants are commonly defined as having a 'university degree or extensive/equivalent experience in a given field.’(Iredale 2001: Salt, 1997) These migrants can typically be found in economic sectors including high-technology, information technology (IT), biotechnology, engineering and health care (Cerna, 2010). Considering that immigration policies in receiving countries are increasingly tilted in favour of skilled migrants, (Beine et all. 2003)
According to a report published by the CSO in September 2012 net outward migration for Irish nationals increased to 26,000 in the year to April 2012, from 22,400 in the previous year. It is a necessity to discover if this mass exodus of skilled migrants will be detrimental to Irish society in the coming years, or if there are significant advantages stemming from our best and brightest abandoning the country. Interest in the topic is growing and there have been dramatic increases in empirical evidence and research on this subject. Over the past decade, Factiva (a business information and research tool owned by Dow Jones & Company) shows an average of 5,000 news articles in English per year about the impact of brain drain, a testament to just how relevant this subject is (Gibson and Mckenzi 2011).In this essay I will define and discuss the three concepts brain drain, brain gain and brain circulation using specific examples from all over the world, in an effort to determine which of the three is most prevalent.
It is important to define the term 'highly skilled migrant ' to understand the impact they have on the economies of a country. There is no agreed international definition of ‘highly-skilled workers’, thus the concept varies, and is highly dependent on the eligibility requirements for the nation in question. However, highly-skilled migrants are commonly defined as having a 'university degree or extensive/equivalent experience in a given field.’(Iredale 2001: Salt, 1997) These migrants can typically be found in economic sectors including high-technology, information technology (IT), biotechnology, engineering and health care (Cerna, 2010). Considering that immigration policies in receiving countries are increasingly tilted in favour of skilled migrants, (Beine et all. 2003)
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