Intellectual Migration in China, India and Russia: Some International Comparisons

The article deals with the problem of intellectual migration (exodus of the highlyskilled personnel, especially in the field of science and technology), in relation to the three emerging economies: China, India and Russia. A brief historical outline of policy in relation to the “brain drain” is presented, and the experience of the three above-mentioned countries in the field of intellectual migration management is compared. The basic timeframe of the study is from 1990s to the mid-late 2000s, with some remarks about past decades and future prospects. Among the three examples of migration management the Chinese experience seems more systematical and includes a wide range of instruments for reversing the “brain drain” process. Indian “talent circulation” policy is more fragmented, despite obvious efforts of the government to put it in the strict conceptual framework. In the Russian Federation the “brain drain” policy is yet in the making, and range of appropriate instruments for “circulation of talents” management is to be developed. The final conclusion is that the dynamics of perception of the “brain drain” phenomenon is generally of a similar character in all three cases: an initial negative attitude and attempts to restrict intellectual migration change over time to the recognition of the “brain drain” inevitability and the transition to a “talent circulation” policy begins, i. e., the using of intellectual diaspora resources for development of the national economy and S&T system.