The Open Economy and Its Enemies
The Brain-Drain Panic Returns
Jagdish Bhagwati
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NEW YORK – While developed countries are angst-ridden over mostly illegal immigration by unskilled workers from developing countries, a different set of concerns has surfaced in Africa, in particular, over the legal outflow of skilled, and even more importantly, highly skilled, people to developed countries. This outflow is supposedly a new and damaging “brain drain,” with rich countries actively luring away needed skills from poor countries.
This fear is misplaced. At the outset, we have to distinguish between “need” and “demand.” Yes, many African countries need skills. But they are unable to absorb them, owing to several factors associated with economic backwardness.
In India in the 1950’s and 1960’s – a time when many professionals were emigrating – working conditions were deplorable. Bureaucrats decided whether we could go abroad for conferences. Heads of departments carried inordinate power. So, no surprise, many of us left. We Hindus may believe in an infinity of lifetimes, but we maximize our welfare in this one, just like everyone else.
Besides, simply holding people back, even if feasible, would do little for their countries. The “brain” is not a static concept. Trapped in Kinshasa, under appalling conditions, the brain will drain away in less time than it takes to get to New York.
Moreover, keeping people at home is easier said than done. In many poor countries, except those like India and South Korea, which have now developed superb educational institutions, the brightest citizens receive their education abroad. The challenge, then, is to prevent them from staying there and settling down.
But, in any event, emigration restrictions today would violate a human right enshrined in current international treaties. But would immigration restrictions work instead, as proposed by some developed-country organizations, which worry about the “brain drain”?
Here, human-rights concerns pose serious difficulties. Could we really say to a Ghanaian doctor that she must return to her country while an immigrant Russian doctor is allowed to settle down and start a new life? This is likely to run afoul of anti-discrimination principles and constitutional provisions in countries like the United States.
The proper response to the outflow of skilled manpower from poor countries, especially those in Africa, is to be found in a different direction. Given that outflows of skilled workers cannot be restricted – and, indeed, should not be – we must devise institutional mechanisms to work with it. This means adopting a “diaspora” model, which implies four policy proposals.
First, stop crying over the fact that the diaspora is not returning home. Instead, nurture the loyalty of professionals settling abroad, so that they assist their home countries in a variety of ways. Thus, they may be offered voting rights. Restrictions on investment and land purchases can be dropped. And immigration experts like me have proposed since the 1970’s that schemes be developed to enable the academic diaspora to run workshops aimed at bringing teachers up to the best international standards.
Second, while the diaspora should be integrated through more rights, its members also ought to accept obligations that put them on an equal footing with those who remain behind. I suggested in the 1970’s that a tax be levied on citizens abroad. Known as the “Bhagwati Tax,” it is of course “the American way”: US citizens and permanent residents abroad, like those at home, must pay federal taxes.
Third, because skills are necessary for nearly all activities in most of Africa, here and now, we need to organize ways to supply such skills to these countries. I have long argued that, because many in rich countries are retiring while still in sound health, and because altruism increases with age, we could organize a Grey Peace Corps of senior citizens to share their skills in countries whose own trained professionals prefer to settle abroad.
Finally, foreign aid should be used to expand training massively for Africans in all the essential fields in rich countries like the US, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands. They would add to the diaspora, while the Grey Peace Corps would help to fill current needs. When development has taken off, and conditions have improved sufficiently to attract people back to their homelands, the hugely increased diaspora would indeed return, as they have done in India, South Korea, and China.
Together, these policies would benefit Africa both immediately and in the long run. Sentimental handwringing over the “brain drain,” and foolish attempts at restricting people’s mobility, will not.
Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor of Economics and Law at Columbia University and Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, recently edited, with Gordon Hanson, Skilled Migration Today.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2012.
www.project-syndicate.org
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gamesmith94134 12:42 31 Jan 12
Gamesmith94134: The Brain-Drain Panic Returns
Jagdish Bhagwati,
Diaspora comes as the nature of economics to nations or community like inflation and deflation flows with capacity and adaptation that suites the growth. There is no way to stop such migration of skilled or unskilled laborers especially after the globalization. People just engage them to gain or achieve economic growth galloping around the earth; it is all nature of its regional economic. There should not be policy to restrict or favor such act, since it would be moot and we have been doing over the years in Diasporas around the world. Moreover, the tax levies on those stays aboard may cause double jeopardy on their livelihood and it is hard to control and legally complicated whenever the person is across the land, or hidden in other ,of sovereignty. However, you would have a great point for the Grey Peace Corp over the redevelopments to regions that will assist growth; and after such region is redeveloped, those migrated skilled workers will return just like China, India and South Korea.
Personally with many encounters with the Peace Corp, I would question on these Grey areas in the regional redevelopments; since Mr. Bhagwati did not inform us of the financial prospectus or utility control of these Grey Peace Corp. Would the old-boy network by the retired officials resume the ribbon cutting or ground breaking for such regional redevelopments make the economy turns around? Or do the volunteering of the senior technocrats to these regional communities can identify the problem better and reviving the local industries or productivity to enhance growth?
Just before I jump the gun on the Grey Peace Corp that I might put down on the good will of such charity work; since I have bad experiences with the ClubMed that the delegations of old-boy networks created the present sovereignty debts we cannot resolve; or the cultural exchange groups turned into the real estate shopping magnates that left the regions with exotic hotels traveler pays a fortune for a stay, or vacation homes the local must take a hundred years to buy. There are many examples of the merged plantations or mines, abandoned after the labor dispute. I am really frustrate over the sense of economics of those experts who have no sense of the balance in the trade-off to bloom, in addition, more corruptions were discovered between the politicians with close relationship; and the suppressed has no means to defend themselves under the oligarchy or the corrupted.
Seriously, I think these Grey Peace Corp must operated under a foundation of rules and choices; as in financials, they must be funded by the World Bank of Development Bank through the transfer unions housed by United Nations, by raising it funds through the transcontinental admission fee, 2% on corporations and 1% on sovereignty entity, or 1% service fee of the sovereignty debt through the 7% solution; if Mr. Bhagwati would accept the tax levies on the transactions. It is because the private funding may not be controlled. After all, the demand of profit or gain on any investment must not be undermined even if it was unreasonable marketwise. Based on the past experience of the ClubMed and Cultural exchanges groups, corruptions may not be contained through the political arena, even the present judiciary system.
I really hope Mr. Bhagwati would not mind if I had criticized the Grey as area than another Peace corp. Precautionary makes lesser mistake, and I am looking forward to see the financial prospectus and utility control of the Grey Peace Corp.
May the Buddha bless you?
pmcdonald 10:47 31 Jan 12
"owing to several factors associated with economic backwardness"
This sounds like thinking from the 1970s. It is not helpful to consider the problem in these terms today in more enlightened times. Speaking in these terms gives insight into the minds of sub-continent elites whose policies generate poverty and inequality...whilst protecting the system so that they may capture wealth for themselves.
Instead, the question needs to be how can developing countries build capacity and usefully employ enhanced capabilities.
Luckily for the developing world, economists like Bhagwati will soon retire or die, taking their primitive and outmoded views with them.
Galan 02:06 29 Jan 12
Good practical ideas. But, the tax thing is problematic in countries were the government is corrupt, violent, or unrepresentative. Need to think of other ways in which the diaspora can contiribute financially to the public good in their country of origins.