Probing the menace of brain drain in Pakistan: does higher education matter?

This paper investigates the determinants of brain drain in Pakistan. Brain drain is a burning issue of today in Pakistan, as it augments the major depletion of human capital stock in the country. To explore the determinants of brain drain, we use three types of brains drain: highly qualified migrants, highly skilled migrants and skilled migrants. The empirical results exhibit that GDP per employed labour is reducing the all types of brain drain in the long run, whereas higher education, globalisation, GDP per capita volatility and inflation volatility are increasing brain drain. Further, political rights are increasing the high skilled migrants only. This study suggests the policy makers in the government of the country to take concrete steps like the absorption of skilled and qualified labour at appropriate places with competitive wages and political rights should be ensured to stop the brain drain from Pakistan.