This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Measuring the international mobility of skilled workers (1990-2000) : release 1.0

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Docquier, Frederic
Marfouk, Abdeslam

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Until recently, there has been no systematic empirical assessment of the economic impact of the brain drain. Despite many case studies and anecdotal evidence, the main reason for this seems to be the lack of harmonized international data on migration by country of origin and education level. An exception is the paper by Carrington and Detragiache (1998), which provided skilled migration rates for 61 developing countries in 1990. This study relies on a set of tentative assumptions. For example, they transpose the skill structure of U.S. immigrants on the OECD total immigration stock. In this paper, the authors provide new estimates of skilled workers'emigration rates for about 190 countries in 2000 and 170 countries in 1990, in both developing and industrial countries. Using various statistical sources, they revisit Carrington and Detragiache's measures by incorporating information on immigrants'educational attainment and country of origin from almost all OECD countries. The set of receiving countries is restricted to OECD nations. The authors'database covers 92.7 percent of the OECD immigration stock. In absolute terms, the authors show that the largest numbers of highly educated migrants are from Europe, Southern and Eastern Asia, and, to a lesser extent, from Central America. Nevertheless, as a proportion of the potential educated labor force, the highest brain drain rates are observed in the Caribbean, Central America, and Western and Eastern Africa. Repeating the exercise for 1990 and 2000 allows the authors to evaluate the changes in brain drain intensity. Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and Central America experienced a remarkable increase in the brain drain during the past decade. The database delivers information that is rich enough to assess the changes in the international distribution of migration rates, to test for the (push and pull) determinants per skill group, to evaluate the growth effects of migration on source and destination countries, and to estimate the relationships between migration, trade, foreign research and development, and remittances.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/09/22/000160016_20040922150619/Rendered/PDF/wps3381.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 3381.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 01 Aug 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3381

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433
Email:
Web page: http://www.worldbank.org/
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Roula I. Yazigi).

Related research
Keywords: Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement; Public Health Promotion; Health Indicators; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Human Migrations&Resettlements; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; International Migration; Human Migrations&Resettlements; Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement; Health Indicators;

Other versions of this item:

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Antecol, Heather & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Trejo, Stephen, 2001. "Immigration Policy and the Skills of Immigrants to Australia, Canada, and the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 363, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Thomas K. Bauer & Astrid Kunze, 2004. "The Demand for High-Skilled Workers And Immigration Policy," Brussels Economic Review/Cahiers Economiques de Bruxelles, Editions du DULBEA, Université libre de Bruxelles, Department of Applied Economics (DULBEA), vol. 47(1), pages 57-75.
    Other versions:
  3. Kwok, Viem & Leland, Hayne, 1982. "An Economic Model of the Brain Drain," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(1), pages 91-100, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Stark, Oded & Helmenstein, Christian & Prskawetz, Alexia, 1997. "A brain gain with a brain drain," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 227-234, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Beine, Michel & Docquier, Frédéric & Rapoport, Hillel, 2003. "Brain Drain and LDCs’ Growth: Winners and Losers," IZA Discussion Papers 819, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  6. Simon Commander & Mari Kangasniemi & L. Alan Winters, 2004. "The Brain Drain: A Review of Theory and Facts," Brussels Economic Review/Cahiers Economiques de Bruxelles, Editions du DULBEA, Université libre de Bruxelles, Department of Applied Economics (DULBEA), vol. 47(1), pages 29-44.
  7. Enrica Detragiache & William Carrington, 1998. "How Big is the Brain Drain?," IMF Working Papers 98/102, International Monetary Fund.
  8. Stark, Oded & Helmenstein, Christian & Prskawetz, Alexia, 1997. "A Brain Gain with a Brain Drain," Economics Series 45, Institute for Advanced Studies. [Downloadable!]
  9. Manon Domingues Dos Santos & Fabien Postel-Vinay, 2003. "Migration as a source of growth: The perspective of a developing country," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 161-175, 02. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Dustmann, Christian & Kirchkamp, Oliver, 2002. "The optimal migration duration and activity choice after re-migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 351-372, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Robert J. Barro & Jong-Wha Lee, 2000. "International Data on Educational Attainment Updates and Implications," NBER Working Papers 7911, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Funkhouser, Edward, 1995. "Remittances from International Migration: A Comparison of El Salvador and Nicaragua," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 77(1), pages 137-46, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Beine, Michel & Docquier, Frederic & Rapoport, Hillel, 2001. "Brain drain and economic growth: theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 275-289, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Mesnard, Alice & Ravallion, Martin, 2001. "Wealth Distribution and Self-Employment in a Developing Economy," CEPR Discussion Papers 3026, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Freeman, Richard B., 1993. "Immigration from poor to wealthy countries : Experience of the United States," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 443-451, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Miyagiwa, Kaz, 1991. "Scale Economies in Education and the Brain Drain Problem," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 32(3), pages 743-59, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Nadeem Ul Haque & Se-Jik Kim, 1994. "Human Capital Flight: Impact of Migration on Income and Growth," IMF Working Papers 94/155, International Monetary Fund.
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Daniele Checchi & Gianfranco De Simone & Riccardo Faini, 2007. "Skilled Migration, FDI and Human Capital Investment," Development Working Papers 235, Centro Studi Luca d\'Agliano, University of Milano. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Docquier, Frederic & Lowell, B. Lindsay & Marfouk, Abdeslam, 2008. "A gendered assessment of the brain drain," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4613, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Herbert Brücker & Cécily Defoort, 2006. "The (Self-)Selection of International Migrants Reconsidered: Theory and New Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 2052, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Authors registered on the RePEc Author Service receive monthly emails with details about downloads and abstract views of their works.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-4.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.