The new economics of the brain drain

Stark, Oded (2005): The new economics of the brain drain. Published in: World Economics , Vol. 6, No. 2 (2005): pp. 137-140.

Abstract

For nearly four decades now, the conventional wisdom has been that the migration of human capital (skilled workers) from a developing country to a developed country is detrimental to the developing country. However, this perception need not hold. A well designed migration policy can result in a “brain gain” to the developing country rather than in just a “brain drain” from it, as well as in a welfare increase for all of its workers - migrants and non-migrants alike - as new research suggests.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: migration; human capital formation; externalities; social welfare
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F22 - International Migration; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I30 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers > J61 - Geographic Labor Mobility ; Immigrant Workers; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity; H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H23 - Externalities ; Redistributive Effects ; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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