Brain drain Issue and Indicators on Brain‐Drain
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.1977.tb00953.x |
| Published date | 01 January 1977 |
| Author | AMALENDU GUHA |
| Date | 01 January 1977 |
Brain Drain
Issue
and Indicators
on
Brain- Drain
BIJ
AMALENDU CUHA
Introduction
Every human being has got brain and
so
the international migration of every economi-
cally active person, used
or
usable in the social process
of
production, material
or
non-
material,
to
increase the wealth, benefit and potentials
of
the recipient country could
be regarded as brain drain
or
brain migration. But it seems to be
too
broad and the
international experts prefer to limit its sphere to only the skilled personnel and occu-
pants
of
white collar jobs, while the unskilled migrants
or
the blue collar jobs are
reserved to be termed as simple migrant workers. According to training, proficiency
and efficiency the manpower can be categorised as skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled
which we would like to term as processed, semi-processes and unprocessed.
If
we divide
manpower on the basis
of
job occupation, i.e. white and blue collar jobs;
or
use of
brain in social production;
or
receipt
of
monetary and real wages, as well as, standard
of living we find both the processed and semi-processed manpower worth belonging to
the category
of
brain, because of better creative capacity and potential while the latter
one just for maintaining the continuous production process and production. The first
category develops technology and the second one runs the technique. The
US
defini-
tion, more ore less, is similar to our determinant when by brain migration
or
drain it
means the flow of ‘professional, technical and kindred workers’ (known as
PTK).
(I)
The category of professionals here include: doctors (medical practitioners), dentists,
nurses, teachers, engineers and scientists (both natural and social).
(2)
The
UNESCO
statistical system defines it as scientific and technical manpower which is the expression
and combination of both the processed and semi-processed personnel.
When the flow
of
brains between two countriesare almost at similar level we can
say
that it is neither drain nor gain. This characteristic we can notice in the case
of
inter-
developed countries level. This is the case of inter-mobility
or
inter-migration of
mapower of similar quality. The term brain drain can justifiably be applied when (a)
there is either one-way-flow,
or
(b) net superior inflow (excess of inflow over outflow)
into,
or
net superior outflow (excess of outflow than inflow) from,
a
country. Since it
is the matter between the developed and the developing countries, in broad scale, the
brain drain can be explained as the migration of trained professional, both processed
and semi-processed, from the developing to the developed countries.
Since the output of processed human resources
or
skilled personnel in some of the
developing countries surpasses the input-needs of the national economy
or
the absorbing
3
capacity of the national production-means, there is argument that the brain migration
should not be regarded as brain drain but simply as brainatflow.(3) The logic behind
this argument is that this outflow does not either affect or jeopardise the national
economy
or
the economic needs of the respective country expressed by the absorbing
capacity of trained personnel. India, the Philippines, Hongkong etc. may fall under the
category of countries causing outflow of ‘excess’ brain. Because of the fact that it
is
brain-migration from the developing countries to the developed ones and there does
not exist any established
or
systematised correction of national need and supply
of
skilled personnel in the above countries in order to help to determine whether this out.
flow is the very ‘excess’ of the national need, we would prefer
to
term
it
as brain drain.
According to the types
of
works the immigrant personnel perform we can divide
them into two categories:
a. Whitecollars (Skilled and Semi-skilled) job-holders, and,
b. Bluecollars (Unskilled) job-holders.
In our determinants the white-collar job-holders constitute brain. But there does
exist also a section of skilled
or
semi-skilled personnel from the
LDCs
within the char-
acterised category of bluecollar job-holders in the
DCs.
It is not because of the fact
that it really wanted
or
wants to be ‘bluecollar’ed in the
DCs,
but because of the fact
that it did not
or
does not get jobs according to formal educational and professional
qualification, efficiency and proficiency. Then why did or does it accept the bluecollar
job? The reason is that the monetary gains from the bluecollar jobs in the
DCs
is,
both,
gross
and net superior to the monetary gains from the whitecollar jobs in the
LDCs,
in
most cases.
So,
though, according to the job-performance classification a section
of
the
migrant personnel fall into the category
of
unskilled workers they are not unskilled ac-
cording to educational and professional qualification. The whitecollarqualified migrant
personnel accept bluecollar jobs on temporary
or
transitional basis with the hope
of
getting appropriate jobs to match appropriate qualification and skill at opportune
moments, but unfortunately the very opportune moments appear on rare occasions.
In
this paper we are discussing the reasons of brain drain, gain of the developed
countries from brain drain, impacts of the recent immigration laws of the developed
countries, relationship between brain drain and the students from the developing coun-
tries and finally whether brain drain can be stopped.
Why
Brain Drain takes
place?
The situation
on
Brain Drain
There are and may be various reasons of brain drain. According to the nature
or
charac-
teristics they may be classified as:
I.
(a) Subjective, and (b) Objective;
or
11
(a) Non-Economic,
(b)
Economic, and (c) Political and Cultural.
All
the reasons shown above, again, depend very much on the following three
main
factors:
A.
Economic Factors:
a.
For
better Economic Advantages.
b.
For
better Living Standard.
4
To continue reading
Request your trial