Brain drain . Also known as talent drain or highly-skilled migration (MAC). It is the emigration of university-trained professionals and scientists in their country of origin to other nations, driven mainly by the lack of development opportunities in their research areas, for economic reasons or due to political conflicts in their native country, generally without return.
This phenomenon frequently occurs from developing countries or developed countries to other more developed economies, in which professionals tend to find a better welfare state. The brain drain in developed countries is mainly caused by possible deficiencies in the labor market, by the lack of demand for a certain job or by the wage differences between some countries and others.
However, this term should not be confused with the so-called brain exchange, since the brain drain occurs in one direction, that is, the country from which one emigrates is always the same, and the brain exchange occurs in both, that is, the same country receives and loses skilled workers.
Causes
Among the main causes detected worldwide, the following stand out:
- Lack of opportunities:Refers to the low level of job offers, which means that the existing offers are not up to the level or capabilities of the professionals. Motivated by this, they have to accept a job at a level lower than their abilities and knowledge, and with a salary that disagrees at that level, therefore they much prefer to look in other countries where they have the opportunity to develop to the highest level as soon as possible. mentioned.
- Social and work environment:Regarding social matters, it is only the fear of being victims of crime if they earn according to their abilities (a good salary), they could be victims of kidnapping, theft, extortion, they would live in fear of insecurity and violence that exists in the country. So they decide to reside in a safer country.
- Lack of support for students by universities:This phenomenon is based on the fact that at the bachelor’s level there is no support for the sciences, but only and exclusively for engineering, so they focus on the area of technology since they At the science level, there is little financial support for university scholarships. That is why many students are held back in their knowledge and impulses to carry out new scientific research with the support of other factors.
In countries like Spain and Greece , the fundamental causes of this process are caused by the economic crisis and the lack of job prospects that this has brought about in recent years.
Effects
The brain drain causes a country to lose the investment made in the higher education of the person who decides to emigrate, thus reducing the social capital of which the individual was part with his departure.
Although it seems to be a novel phenomenon, it has been verified with the study of the history of the countries, which has been carried out for centuries, caused mainly by the wars and armed and racial conflicts that occurred previously.
Currently and after the exacerbation of the world economic crisis, this situation has been reversed after the fall of the economies of European countries such as Italy , Portugal , Greece , Spain and Ireland , whose professionals have found new horizons of work in countries with economies emerging as Argentina , Australia , Brazil , Chile , Angola and Ecuador .
In the case of Cuban professionals, they have been motivated to leave their country or to desert government missions in third countries, attracted by the dirty policies of the United States to increase their professional potential with this practice.
