Brain Drain & Brain Gain

The movement of skilled workers internationally represents brain gain for the countries that reap their skills and experience and brain drain for their countries of origin. On the brain gain side of the divide, countries increasingly are looking to position their immigration policies to attract the types of international workers and students whose skills they desire. On the brain drain side, the development impacts of losing educated workers are being assessed in immigrant-sending and receiving countries alike as the research presented here shows.

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Articles April 3, 2024 Brain Drain and Brain Gain in Hong Kong’s Population Shuffle By Yiran Yu	Articles January 26, 2024 Aging Societies Rely on Immigrant Health-Care Workers, Posing Challenges for Origin Countries By Heidi Bludau
Articles August 29, 2023 As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities By Julia Morris	Articles July 5, 2023 Haitians Flee a Nation Nearing Collapse By Emmanuela Douyon
Reports June 2023 Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas	Articles May 18, 2023 Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories By Mohammed Ouhemmou
Articles April 19, 2023 Crisis provoca emigración récord desde Nicaragua, superando los niveles de la Guerra Fría By Charles G. Ripley III	Articles March 21, 2023 Can Czechia Capitalize on High-Skilled Immigration amid Influx of Ukrainians? By Lucie Macková and Nikola Medová

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Reports June 2023 Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas	Reports March 2023 Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review By Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris
Reports April 2022 Destination-Country Policies to Foster Diaspora Engagement in Development By Kathleen Newland	Policy Briefs December 2021 How Can Europe Deliver on the Potential of Talent Partnerships? By Kate Hooper
Policy Briefs July 2021 Deepening Labor Migration Governance at a Time of Immobility: Lessons from Ghana and Senegal By Camille Le Coz and Kate Hooper	Policy Briefs June 2019 Migration, Development, and Global Governance: From Crisis toward Consolidation By Kathleen Newland
Reports February 2019 Exploring New Legal Migration Pathways: Lessons from Pilot Projects By Kate Hooper	Reports January 2019 Sustainable Reintegration: Strategies to Support Migrants Returning to Mexico and Central America By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, Luis Argueta and Randy Capps

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People walk through the streets of Hong Kong

Feature

April 3, 2024

Brain Drain and Brain Gain in Hong Kong’s Population Shuffle

Hong Kong finds itself in the middle of opposing trends. Amid political unrest, Beijing's increasing security pressure, and pandemic disruptions, many Hong Kongers have left and been replaced by a new group of immigrants, largely from mainland China. The dynamic has raised questions whether Hong Kong will remain a global cosmopolitan hub or instead turn inward to Asia, as this article discusses.

Feature

January 26, 2024

Aging Societies Rely on Immigrant Health-Care Workers, Posing Challenges for Origin Countries

Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are increasingly relying on immigrant health-care workers to fill gaps in their workforce and care for aging populations. That has created opportunities for many foreign-born doctors and nurses, but could harm their origin countries. This article examines the dynamics of global health-care worker migration, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protests at a refugee compound in Nauru.

Feature

August 29, 2023

As Nauru Shows, Asylum Outsourcing Has Unexpected Impacts on Host Communities

For two decades, asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia by boat were diverted to Nauru, a small Pacific Island nation that made a hefty profit off the extraterritorial asylum arrangement. But attitudes among local Nauruans have been mixed, with some fearing their economy revolved around Australia and the foreign workers who shuttled in and out of the processing center. As more countries seek to strike offshore asylum deals, this article examines the effects on local communities.

Haitians at a medical site in Jeremie, Haiti.

Feature

July 5, 2023

Haitians Flee a Nation Nearing Collapse

The Haitian diaspora has swelled since a massive earthquake in 2010 and in the wake of violent riots that culminated in a political crisis in 2018 and the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Poverty, natural disasters, political crisis, and insecurity have historically driven Haitian migration. Destination countries have often rejected these arrivals and sought to deport Haitian migrants in large numbers.

Feature

May 18, 2023

Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories

Algeria and Morocco sit along a crucial migration corridor between Africa and Europe and have often been defined by their rivalry. Although both have been reluctant to welcome large numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants, their motivations have been different. And historically, their approaches to emigration have been a study in contrasts. This article explores the factors driving migration policy in these two countries.

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Commentaries

June 2017

Immigrants and the New Brain Gain: Ways to Leverage Rising Educational Attainment

By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix

Commentaries

January 2015

The Field of Migration Studies Loses a Giant: Graeme Hugo

By Demetrios G. Papademetriou

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 17, 2022

Climate Change in the World’s Fastest Growing Economy

Guyana is a small country in South America that will be greatly transformed by the recent discovery of massive offshore oil reserves. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses how the world’s fastest growing economy is confronting environmental change, particularly with economic growth and proximity to troubled Venezuela likely to drive significant immigration.

Expert Q&A, Audio

April 2, 2021

The Benefits of Climate Migration

Popular discussions usually frame climate change-induced migration negatively, often as a strategy of last resort. But migrating abroad can also be an effective way to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.

Event PH 2015.12.16 Emigration and Human Capital Development in the Philippines

Audio

December 16, 2015

Shortage Amid Surplus: Emigration and Human Capital Development in the Philippines

This briefing in Bangkok launches the MPI-IOM Issue in Brief, Shortage amid Surplus: Emigration and Human Capital Development in the Philippines, which reviews the impacts of the Philippines' successful labor export policy on skills development and human capital growth within the country. While Filipino migrant workers contribute significantly to the national economy with the remittances they send home (over US $27 billion in 2014), this reliance on exporting labor raises an important question: Has the nation’s focus on preparing workers to leave compromised human capital development at home?

Event PH 2015.11.24 Departures Glasgow 3528672899_22e8be2eac_z

Audio

November 24, 2015

Addressing the Implications of the Emigration of Skilled and Educated Europeans

A discussion on how governments and societies can retain their most valuable workers, turn emigration challenges into opportunities, and capture more of the potential benefits of emigration.

EventPH 2015.3.26 Womens Labour Migration from Asia and the Pacific

Audio

March 26, 2015

The Asia-Pacific and Women’s Labour Migration

Marking the release of the 12th MPI-IOM Issue in Brief, this event in Bangkok examined the emerging trends in women’s labor migration in the Asia-Pacific region, and the related opportunities and challenges. The audio does not include opening remarks and begins with the author's presentation.

Recent Activity

Articles

March 7, 2023

Crisis Prompts Record Emigration from Nicaragua, Surpassing Cold War Era

A political crisis marked by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s growing authoritarianism has sparked the largest emigration in the country’s modern history. Hundreds of thousands have fled, including intellectuals, artists, and academics. They increasingly are heading beyond the traditional destination of Costa Rica, to the United States and beyond, as this article details.

Reports

March 2023

Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review

Although Caribbean migration is often discussed in terms of movement to North America and Europe, migration within the region has increased notably in recent years. With people on the move for work or study, to join family, and to seek safety from natural disasters or persecution, this mobility takes many forms. This report explores Caribbean migration trends and the policies and institutions put in place at national and regional levels to manage them.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 17, 2022

Climate Change in the World’s Fastest Growing Economy

Articles

July 27, 2022

Discovery of Oil Could Bring Migrant Labor Opportunities and Climate Displacement Challenges for Guyana

The discovery of massive oil reserves off the Guyana coast will bring immense riches to this small South American country. This windfall will draw migrant labor and the return of some diaspora members to Guyana, which has one of the world's highest emigration rates. It also could accelerate climate displacement in a country where 90 percent of the population lives in coastal areas below the sea level. This article explores the changes ahead.

Reports

April 2022

Destination-Country Policies to Foster Diaspora Engagement in Development

Emigrants and their descendants can play a critical role in the development of their countries of origin or ancestry. In fact, many such countries have policies that seek to leverage their diaspora’s contributions. Much less attention has been paid to how destination countries with large international development programs are engaging their resident diasporas—or could be engaging them—in the development of countries of origin.

Articles

March 9, 2022

Origin of World’s Largest Migrant Population, India Seeks to Leverage Immigration

With nearly 18 million nationals abroad, India is the origin of more international migrants than any other country and claims the world's largest diaspora. Indian emigration can be traced back to the colonial era, with the British empire dispatching Indian workers across the globe, and has evolved for more than a century in response to global labor demands and geopolitical events. This article offers a comprehensive profile of migration from and to India.

Policy Briefs

December 2021

How Can Europe Deliver on the Potential of Talent Partnerships?

Europe has announced it will launch a set of Talent Partnerships, combining new mobility schemes for workers or students with related investments in capacity-building in partner countries. As the details are being hammered out, this MPI Europe policy brief explores how and under what conditions these partnerships could help meet European labor market needs and provide tangible benefits for partner countries and migrants themselves.

Articles

November 18, 2021

South Africa Reckons with Its Status as a Top Immigration Destination, Apartheid History, and Economic Challenges

South Africa hosts the most immigrants of any African country. Yet it faces conflicting pressures, including the legacy of apartheid, a steady outflow of well-educated South Africans, and the need to juggle bilateral labor mobility schemes at a time of economic insecurity and high unemployment. This article traces these pressures and how they have developed over time.

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