Brain Drain in Pakistan, November 2023

Brain Drain in Pakistan

Research paper

Brain Drain Problem: A Review

Khalid Umer, Muhammad Ibrahim, Malaika Rizwan, Laiba Nasir, Oswa Saleem, Shanzay Shah

National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan

ARTICLE INFO

Keywords:
Brain Drain
Immigration
Problem
Brain Gain
E-government

ABSTRACT

Brain drain or human capital flight is a large emigration of individuals with technical skills or
knowledge, normally due to conflict, lack of opportunity, political instability, or health risks. A
brain drain is usually regarded as an economic cost, since emigrants usually take with them the
fraction of value of their training sponsored by the government. It is a parallel of capital flight
which refers to the same movement of financial capital. The term was coined by the Royal Society to
describe the emigration of "scientists and technologists" to North America from post-war Europe.
The converse phenomenon is brain gain, which occurs when there is a large-scale immigration of
technically qualified persons. Brain drain can be stopped by providing individuals who have
expertise with career opportunities and giving them opportunities to prove their capabilities. It is
observed that, the scientists, engineers and the highly educated and qualified scholars are
migrating in the developed countries from Pakistan.

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1. Introduction
The SESTAT database of the National Science Foundation (NSF) shows that in 1995, 1.434 million
people (12%) out of the 12 million people who have science and engineering degrees or who work
in science and engineering occupations in the U.S.A., are of foreign origin[l]. Over 72% of these
were originally born in a developing country. When looking at the level of qualifications, it appears.
that the higher the diploma the bigger -the proportion of the foreign-born population [2]. These
figures focus one thing that the highly educated scholars of developing countries are consuming
their brains for developed countries. And in most of the cases they are not returning to their
motherland. They have often settled abroad and built their professional as well as their personal life
there. If such a low developed country were able to use these brains largely shaped through others’
investments, it would then gain a lot. There are two ways to implement the brain gain: either
through the return of the expatriates to the country of origin or through their remote mobilization
and association to its development.

Migration of people as a phenomenon differs from country to country and from time to time. It is
misleading to generalize about the possible effects of migration from LDCs (Low Developed
Countries). But even more fundamentally, one can argue that different studies are measuring
differing things. All migrations cannot be justifiably brought within a single analytic umbrella,
though it has been so done in the contemporary literature on the subject. Migration of HQM from
LDCs may be due to several different sets of underlying social, political and economic forces. The
phenomenon of migration of high-quality manpower can justify the use of the expression on the
term "brain drain", but one must be cautious in using the expression drain indiscriminately. To
replace "drain" by a more general and value-free expression like "migration", the distinction may be
emphasized by saying that while all brain drain constitutes brain migration, brain migration does
not necessarily constitute brain drain.

1.1. Classification of Brain Migration

In a wider perspective than brain drain only, brain migration may be of the following types
a) Brain overflow
b) Brain expert
c) Brain exchange
d) Brain drain

The remaining portion of this paper is organized in the following way. In section 2 the basics of the
brain drain are described. Here in this section definition, causes, problems etc of brain drain are

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described. Section 3 describes the model and the governance policy of proposed brain gain network
in detail. In section 4 the positive effects of the proposed brain gain network are described.

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2. Brain Drain

2.1. What is Brain Drain?

Brain drain is the important species of the entire genus of brain migration from LDCs (Low
Developed Countries). The term “Brain Drain” is a loaded and pejorative, suggestive of loss of vital
resources, without compensation (Adaars, 1968). It is one-way permanent migration of skilled
people mostly from LDCs to DCs (Developed Countries). In easy words, brain drain is the process
of intellectual or professional resource of a country through immigration.

2.2. Causes of Brain Drain

The causes: of brain drain are often seen in a bipolar model of “pulls" exerted by the immigration
countries and “push” exerted factors operating in the emigration countries, in which differentials
between the two determine the decision of the individual who migrates. The pushes are depressing
characteristics in the country of the origin, which produces emigration. On the other hand, pull
factors are the attracting features in the country of destination, which induce immigration. The
push-pull approach can give an important insight into the analysis of brain migration [3]. Some of
the important push and pull factors (as listed in Economics of Brain Migration’ by Ghosh and
Ghosh, 1982). involved in brain migration from LDCs are given below:

Push factors:
1) Under employment
2) Economic under development
3) Low wage/salary
4) political instability
5) Over production and under utilization or HQM
6) Lack of research and other facilities
7) Lack of freedom
8) Discrimination in appointment and promotion
9) Poor working facilities
I0) Lack of scientific tradition and culture
11) Unsuitable institution
12) Desire for a better urban life
13) Desire for higher qualification and recognition
14) Better career expectation
IS) Lack of satisfactory working conditions
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Pull factors:
1) Better economic prospects
2) Higher salary and income
3) Better level of living and way of life
4) Bener research facilities
5) Modem educational system and better opportunity for higher qualifications
6) Prestige of foreign training
7) Intellectual freedom
8) Better working condition and better employment opportunities
9) Relative political stability
I0) Presence of a rich, scientific and cultural tradition
11) Attraction of urban centres
12) Availability of experience/supporting staff
13) Frequent chances of a lucky break in life
14) Technological gap
15) Allocation of substantial funds for research

2.3. Problems for Brain Drain

The governments of LDCs expends lots of their money for education and training purpose. They
take several initiatives to make their generation educated and skilled. People of these countries take
education and training and prepare themselves as skilled personnel. These skilled persons migrate to
another developed country in search for better life[4]. They finally become permanent citizen of
those developed countries and consumes their brain and skill for the betterment of those countries.
So finally, all the initiatives taken by the government become fruitless. Thus, for the lack of
management lots of LDCs are paying this loss. These governments prepare their people as skilled
but in the long tun these skilled people are seen of no work for their motherland.

2.4. Probability in Reducing Brain Drain

The probability to reduce skilled migration is impossible. There are several causes for that. Most of
the points are provided as “push-pull” factors in section 2.2. So, it is not possible to totally stop the
migration of scholars from LDCs to DCs. The DCs also require the brains from LDCs. Because the
companies of DCs must pay more wages to their citizens than that to the foreign (migrated)
workers. But from the viewpoint of LDCs these low wages carry huge currency. So, the employer

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and the employee both remain satisfied. This is one of the major reasons that makes it impossible to
stop the skilled migration from the LDCs to the DCs[5].

2.5. Who is Responsible?

"Brain drain" has emerged as a significant policy challenge for developing countries undergoing
globalization. Also known as "human capital flight," brain drain describes the emigration of
educated and highly skilled workers. The lure of wealth and opportunity elsewhere leaves labor-
exporting economies in a self-reinforcing bind: How to develop when the best and brightest
routinely set out in search of greener pastures? "Every day, in countries all over the world, people
leave their home countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Emigration
has a profound effect on the countries migrants leave, those through which they transit, and those to
which they move," said then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the occasion of International
Migrants Day in 2003. While undoubtedly profound, it is yet unclear whether brain drain's net
effects are positive or negative.

Policy Innovations recently hosted a lecture on the topic by Federico Macaranas, executive director
of the Policy Centre at the Asian Institute of Management in Manila. His remarks, delivered at the
Carnegie Council, highlighted the lack of consensus on how to address this problem.

"These attractive, developed countries poach talent from less developed countries like sharks in the
water. Who owns the problem? The individuals, the sovereign nations, or international bodies?" he
asked. Macaranas addressed how the global competition for medical talent has distorted the local
market for health professionals in the Philippines. As the population of the developed world ages,
many countries face shortages of quality doctors and registered nurses. Western nations are turning
to younger nations such as the Philippines to fill this gap. According to Macaranas, his country is
now the number one supplier of nurses worldwide because of their demonstrated talent and English
language skills. But although the quality of Filipino nurses is not in question, their numbers are.

"There is no hard data that can document the number of Filipino nurses abroad. Researchers are left
to guesstimate how many there are," said Macaranas. Rough estimates put the figure at 100,000,
many of whom were trained as doctors. Filipino doctors have figured out that it is often more
remunerative to emigrate and work as registered nurses than to remain at their hospital jobs in the
Philippines.

Contrary to the tenets of classical economic analysis, as the number of medical professionals in the
Philippines has decreased, so has the local wage rate. According to Macaranas, Filipino hospital
administrators are keen to avoid over-investing in doctors and nurses that are likely to emigrate. As

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a result, wages are low, and employees see the hospitals as stepping-stones to higher paying jobs
overseas. More than 200 hospitals have closed in the Philippines in the last five years. Not
surprisingly, brain drain is viewed as having a negative impact on less developed, labor-exporting
countries. But most countries do not collect detailed personal data on departing citizens. In the
absence of hard numbers, it has proven difficult to elevate brain drain above the level of mere
theory.

Remittances further complicate the effort to sort out the costs and benefits associated with brain
drain. In 2005, according to the World Bank's Global Economic Prospects report, expatriate
Filipinos sent home $11.6 billion. India received $21.7 billion. In some cases, remittances have
been found to correlate with higher local savings rates and reductions in poverty. But there is also
evidence to suggest that remittances retard local development by crowding out entrepreneurial
initiative. When it comes to the murky world of international migratory patterns, there are simply
no reliable numbers for researchers to analyze.

A 2003 World Bank study by Richard H. Adams Jr. sought to overcome these empirical
shortcomings by creating a data set based on U.S. and OECD estimates of migration and education
levels. The vast majority of legal immigrants, according to Adams, are educated at the secondary
level or higher. The impact of this migration is not as pernicious as one might think. In fact, only 10
percent of the university-educated population of labor exporting countries was lost to migration.

"International migrants tend to be much better educated than the rest of the population of their
country of origin. However, in terms of actual brain drain on their country of origin, international
migration does not seem to take a very high proportion of the best educated," writes Adams[6].
Adams points to a different, non-traditional view, which sees brain drain as a net positive for less
developed countries.

Since the world at large values education, allowing migration of the best and brightest from a
developing country may increase the incentive to acquire education. Since only a small faction of
educated people in a specific country would migrate, this would encourage the average level of
education of the remaining population to rise," he writes.

"Take the Indian Institute of Technology, suppose 50 percent of the top students choose to migrate,
the bottom 50 percent of that class is still pretty good, and they are better for having competed with
the more talented group," said Hunter College economics professor Partha Deb, who left India after
graduating from Calcutta University in 1986. He recounted his decision to emigrate in a recent
interview with Policy Innovations.

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"I knew that it would be hard to find interesting work for decent pay in India. There was very little
opportunity to do the kinds of things I wanted to do [in India] at that time, so I left. It was that
simple," he said. Macaranas would like to see the creation of an independent, international
organization to regulate the flow of people across borders. He notes that Western importers of
Filipino doctors and nurses are on the receiving end of a tremendous discount[7].

"Training costs are very low in less developed countries. It would take $3 billion to train and
replace the hospital workers that have left the Philippines. Filipino nurses need to be trained, but not
at the expense of health care in the Philippines. We need an inter-country agency in the interest of
global health," he said. If Thomas Friedman is correct and globalization is causing the world to
flatten, then it is only a matter of time before the West feels the pinch of brain drain as well. In fact,
according to a report in The Independent, emigration from Germany is now at levels not seen since
the years immediately following World War II. Nearby Switzerland has become the number one
destination for educated Germans fleeing high unemployment, followed by the United States and
Austria. Emigration of German women ages 18–29 has increased 25 percent in recent years.

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3. Brain Gain Network

A country whose main resource is the human resource, faces brain drain. The main theme behind
this proposed brain gain network is to trace and to make links among the migrated brains so that
they may contribute for the betterment of their country of origin. The goal of this network is to
make a common place of migrated scholars so that they may carry benefit for their government.
These migrated scholars will find a common place to gather. They will be able to discuss on some
constructive planning, to arrange online meetings, conferences etc. They also will be benefited
through this gain network. One can help other and can ask for help to others. They can share their
knowledge and experiences among them and help their country providing valuable information,
proposals etc.

3.1. Governance policy of Brain Gain Network

Throughout this section I will try to clarify the concept and policy to successfully maintain the gain
network.

1. The government of LDC have to create a new sector for the maintenance of Gain network.

2. There must be a office and a set of paid employees to successfully maintain of the scholar
database and to do the related tasks inside the country. This may be called the main domestic branch
of the gain network.

3. The first and the main task for this office will be to collect the full data of the scholars who are
already migrated and to maintain a database to hold these records. This may be collected informing
the embassies of LDCs in DCs. It is assumed that most of the migrated scholars can be tracked by
this way. These scholars will be informed about this government initiative and will be provided
their Gain network unique IDS.

4. This gain network office have to set up a policy to collect data of the outgoing scholars whether
they are going out for education or job. They are also be given their personal network IDS.

5. This network will maintain a website as a common gathering place. Through this website the
registered members will be able to log into and to update their status. The gain network domestic
office will be responsible to provide the helping documents to the network members for
appropriately using that website.

6. The domestic office will conduct a statistical research and divide the total network in some
effective work zones. This will be the main work of this domestic office.

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The strategy of the research may be to collect country wise migration statistics and then to divide
the work zones analyzing that statistical report. While creating zones some factors like
communication among the zone members, number of scholars in that zone etc must be considered.

7. Then this office has to assign registered members into their nearest zone and let them be
informed. If in the future any member shift his/her place, he may have to be re-assigned in another
zone by the administrators.

8. The office will have to now develop two planning committees. that is the governing bodies. One
will be for the domestic office, and another will for remote scholars. I am discussing only the nature
of the activities of the remote planning committee.

This planning committee will be consisted of some posts: President, Zone Co-ordinator, Zonal
President and zone members.

President:

When government of LDC will take any development initiative "President" of the gain network will
be informed. Heishe will be requested from the domestic office (from the government) to submit a
report within some due time analyzing the problem so that the final plan be a rigid one. President
will inform the zone Co-ordinator and request his/her to submit a summary report consulting with
the zonal presidents. On the other hand, any proposal from the zone co-ordinator will also be
submitted to the domestic office by the president. Chain of command is the major factor for running
gain network successfully.

Zone Co-Ordinator:

The brain gain network will be divided into some zones. Each zone must have a zonal president
who will be selected/elected among the zone members. Zone co-ordinator will be the controller of
all the zonal presidents. Zone co-ordinator will be liable to convey the order from the network
president to the zonal presidents. Zone Co-ordinator will collect the final reports from the zonal
presidents, compile them. prepare the summary report/solution and submit that to the president. On
the other hand, he/she will also submit any development proposal from any zonal president to the
network president.

Zonal President:

Zonal president will play the main role to utilize his/her zone members to discuss the problem and
to prepare a possible solution report and submit it to the zone co-ordinator. He may arrange
meeting, conduct short research on any project/problem. In one sentence, he will communicate and
discuss with his members, come to a final conclusion, prepare a documentation and submit that to

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zone Co-ordinator. Any proposal, any desire for contribution from any individual member will be
known to zonal president. If this proposal be an effective one zone co-ordinator will request the
president to propose that to the government.

President

Zone Co-ordinator

Zonal President Zonal President Zonal President

m m m

m m

Zone Member:

Zone member is a unit of the brain gain network.

3.2. Plus points of Gain network over the LDCs

1. Communication:

Communication and tracking is the main advantage of the brain gain network. Through this network
the government will get the actual figure and the status for her scholars in abroad. Through this
network there will create a straight communication between the governments of LDCs and their
migrated scholars.

2. Contribution:

By this network the migrated scholars of LDCs will get the opportunity to contribute for their
country. They may desire to do something positive for their country by giving donation, technology
and information.

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3. Investment:

There may be a lot of scholars of LDCs who are in several good companies with good reputation,
who can request those companies to invest in their country of origin. If they have any desire to do
something they will find the actual place to present their proposals.

4. Technology Transfer:

Government of LDC may he informed about the current technology through gain network. And thus
can incorporate those technologies in their country.

5. Accuracy:

As the government will take decisions from a bunch of scholars while incorporating any major
development so the accuracy in planning will be high[8].

6. Knowledge share:

Sharing of knowledge will be the main advantage through this network. Government and the local
citizens will get advanced information. This will help the nation to develop remaining synchronized
with the current world. Thus the gain network will play role in development by reducing the digital
gap.

7. Patriotism:

This network will help forming patriotism inside the migrated scholars.

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4. Conclusion

Sovereign nations seem unlikely to cede regulation of immigration policy to the type of outside
body that Macaranas envisions, such as a World Migration Organization. After all, the arrangement
currently works in Western nations' favour. But perhaps institutionalizing the issue would help to
quantify the debate and provide a more accurate appraisal of brain drain's effects. As developed
countries see more of their educated young people leaving for jobs in other, wealthier nations,
perhaps demand for such a body will increase.

Thus the diversified gain network can be a great initiative to successfully utilize the migrated brains
of LDCs. In one sense, it may be said than, the more the skilled persons will be in the DCs the more
will be the country resources in abroad and the country will be benefited. Thus the gain network
will be a focus point to reduce the digital gap between the LDCs and the DCs.

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References

1) The Emigration of Highly Educated Personnel from Carrebean Commonwealth during the 1970s
Ardith Brown March 1987

2) Brain Drain A projective Study - Indian Journal of Labour Economics - July 1981

3) On International Migration and International Relations - Myron Weiner Population &

Development Review - Sept. 85.

4) Indian Emigrants, Numbers, Characteristics & Economic Impact - M.C. Madhavan Population &
Development Review - 1985

5) Mobility - John P. Dickenson in preparation for & practice of career in Scientific Research,
UNESCO - 198

6) Jean-Baptiser Meyer and Mercy Brown. "Scientific DiasporaxA New Approach lo the Brain
Drain", Prepared for the World Conference on Science UNESCO. ICSU Budapest, Hungary, 26
June-l July 1999, http:ilwww.unesco.orglmostlmeyer.htm

7) I Study of concepts and causes of Brain Drain -A UN 18TH301 O2.htm

8) Karim Kawar, Chairman, information Technology Association ,Jordan. "hue Norex",

http:/lwww.dse.de/eficVkawar.htm

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