The brain drain from developing countries

2014/01/01 by IRES (UCLouvain), Belgium, Frédéric Docquier · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Health Professions · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Employment and Welfare Studies #Labor market dynamics and wage inequality #Brain drain #Developing country #Low and middle income countries #Reading (process) #Economics #Development economics #Political science #Demographic economics #Economic growth

paper · pdf · doi:10.15185/izawol.31

openalex publication_date 2014/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/26

Abstract

The income-maximizing level of a brain drain is usually positive in developing countries, meaning that some emigration of the more skilled is beneficial. A brain drain stimulates education, induces remittance flows, reduces international transaction costs, and generates benefits in source countries from both returnees and the diaspora abroad. Appropriate policy adjustments, which depend on the characteristics and policy objectives of the source country, can help to maximize the gains or minimize the costs of the brain drain.

Citations

• A Gendered Assessment of Highly Skilled Emigration
• Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development
• Brain Drain and Human Capital Formation in Developing Countries: Winners and Losers
• Remittances and the Brain Drain Revisited: The Microdata Show That More Educated Migrants Remit More
• Testing the ‘brain gain’ hypothesis: Micro evidence from Cape Verde

Cited by

• Human capital flight [wikipedia]

Related

• Brain drain or brain gain? Effects of high-skilled international emigration on origin countries
• Brain Drain and Human Capital Formation in Developing Countries: Winners and Losers
• Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development
• Scale Economies in Education and the Brain Drain Problem
• Does Brain Drain Lead to Institutional Gain?