IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/jed/journl/v40y2015i1p1-34.html

Brain Drain And Brain Waste

Author

Listed:
  • ARMANDO J. GARCIA PIRES

    (Centre for Applied Research at NHH, Norwegian School of Economics, Norway)

Abstract

When skilled workers migrate, they face the brain waste risk, i.e., they can end up employed as unskilled. We analyze the effects of brain waste on brain drain, resulting from low international transferability of skills. We show that this type of brain waste: (1) reduces education incentives; (2) weakens the chances for a positive self-selection; and (3) decreases the possibility of a brain gain. In addition, the effectiveness of education policies that subsidize students is reduced under the presence of brain waste. Results are robust to introducing different migration costs for the skilled and the unskilled.

Suggested Citation

  • Armando J. Garcia Pires, 2015. "Brain Drain And Brain Waste," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 40(1), pages 1-34, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:jed:journl:v:40:y:2015:i:1:p:1-34
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.jed.or.kr/full-text/40-1/1.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Docquier, Frederic & Rapoport, Hillel, 2004. "Skilled migration: the perspective of developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3382, The World Bank.
    2. Weiping Kostenko & Mark Harris & Xueyan Zhao, 2012. "Occupational transition and country-of-origin effects in the early stage occupational assimilation of immigrants: some evidence from Australia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(31), pages 4019-4035, November.
    3. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2011. "Eight Questions about Brain Drain," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 107-128, Summer.
    4. Christian Dustmann & Yoram Weiss, 2007. "Return Migration: Theory and Empirical Evidence," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 0702, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    5. Schiff, Maurice, 2005. "Brain Gain: Claims about Its Size and Impact on Welfare and Growth Are Greatly Exaggerated," IZA Discussion Papers 1599, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Anabela Carneiro & Natércia Fortuna & José Varejão, 2012. "Immigrants at new destinations: how they fare and why," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(3), pages 1165-1185, July.
    7. Egger, Hartmut & Felbermayr, Gabriel, 2009. "Endogenous skill formation and the source country effects of emigration," Munich Reprints in Economics 20521, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    8. Ravi Kanbur & Hillel Rapoport, 2005. "Migration selectivity and the evolution of spatial inequality," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 43-57, January.
    9. Nicola D. Coniglio & Giuseppe De Arcangelis & Laura Serlenga, 2009. "Intentions to Return of Clandestine Migrants: The Perverse Effect of Illegality on Skills," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 641-657, November.
    10. Frédéric Docquier & Çaǧlar Özden & Giovanni Peri, 2010. "The Wage Effects of Immigration and Emigration," NBER Working Papers 16646, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Kate Mane & Brigitte Waldorf, 2013. "Human capital and wages: a comparison of Albanian and Italian immigrants," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(1), pages 53-72, August.
    12. Li, Qing & Sweetman, Arthur, 2014. "The quality of immigrant source country educational outcomes: Do they matter in the receiving country?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 81-93.
    13. Karin Mayr & Giovanni Peri, 2008. "Return Migration as Channel of Brain Gain," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 0804, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    14. Egger Hartmut & Felbermayr Gabriel, 2009. "Endogenous Skill Formation and the Source Country Effects of Skilled Labor Emigration from Developing Countries," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(6), pages 706-729, December.
    15. Kaarsen, Nicolai, 2014. "Cross-country differences in the quality of schooling," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 215-224.
    16. Friedberg, Rachel M, 2000. "You Can't Take It with You? Immigrant Assimilation and the Portability of Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(2), pages 221-251, April.
    17. Wright, Robert E & Maxim, Paul S, 1993. "Immigration Policy and Immigrant Quality: Empirical Evidence from Canada," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 6(4), pages 337-352, November.
    18. Aldashev Alisher & Gernandt Johannes & Thomsen Stephan L., 2012. "The Immigrant-Native Wage Gap in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 232(5), pages 490-517, October.
    19. Christian Dustmann & Yoram Weiss, 2007. "Return Migration: Theory and Empirical Evidence from the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(2), pages 236-256, June.
    20. Larry A. Sjaastad, 1970. "The Costs and Returns of Human Migration," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Harry W. Richardson (ed.), Regional Economics, chapter 9, pages 115-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    21. Robert F. Schoeni, 1997. "New Evidence on the Economic Progress of Foreign-Born Men in the 1970s and 1980s," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(4), pages 683-740.
    22. Joni Hersch, 2008. "Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 345-386, April.
    23. David McKenzie & Hillel Rapoport, 2011. "Can migration reduce educational attainment? Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1331-1358, October.
    24. Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2004. "Are experience and schooling complementary? Evidence from migrants' assimilation in the Bangkok labor market," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 489-513, August.
    25. Diep Phan, 2012. "Migration and Credit Constraints: Theory and Evidence from Vietnam," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 31-44, February.
    26. Kristin F. Butcher & John Dinardo, 2002. "The Immigrant and Native-Born Wage Distributions: Evidence from United States Censuses," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(1), pages 97-121, October.
    27. Alejandra Cox Edwards & Manuelita Ureta, 2003. "International Migration, Remittances, and Schooling: Evidence from El Salvador," NBER Working Papers 9766, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Michael S. Michael, 2011. "Welfare Effects of Immigration Policies in the Presence of Skilled, Unskilled Labor and Capital Mobility," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 651-663, November.
    29. Stark, Oded & Wang, Yong, 2002. "Inducing human capital formation: migration as a substitute for subsidies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 29-46, October.
    30. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 2, pages 3-29, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    31. Hoyt Bleakley & Aimee Chin, 2004. "Language Skills and Earnings: Evidence from Childhood Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 481-496, May.
    32. Tamura, Robert, 1991. "Income Convergence in an Endogenous Growth Model," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 522-540, June.
    33. Mattoo, Aaditya & Neagu, Ileana Cristina & Özden, Çaglar, 2008. "Brain waste? Educated immigrants in the US labor market," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 255-269, October.
    34. Edward Funkhouser & Stephen J. Trejo, 1995. "The Labor Market Skills of Recent Male Immigrants: Evidence from the Current Population Survey," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 48(4), pages 792-811, July.
    35. Sweetman, Arthur, 2004. "Immigrant Source Country Educational Quality and Canadian Labour Market Outcomes," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2004234e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    36. Roland Bénabou, 1996. "Equity and Efficiency in Human Capital Investment: The Local Connection," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 63(2), pages 237-264.
    37. Azarnert, Leonid V., 2010. "Is skilled immigration always good for growth in the receiving economy?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 116-118, August.
    38. de la Croix, David & Doepke, Matthias, 2004. "Public versus private education when differential fertility matters," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 607-629, April.
    39. Cristina Fernández & Carolina Ortega, 2008. "Labor market assimilation of immigrants in Spain: employment at the expense of bad job-matches?," Spanish Economic Review, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 83-107, June.
    40. Bernt Bratsberg, 2002. "School Quality and Returns to Education of U.S. Immigrants," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(2), pages 177-198, April.
    41. Alan de Brauw & John Giles, 2017. "Migrant Opportunity and the Educational Attainment of Youth in Rural China," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(1), pages 272-311.
    42. Edwards, Alejandra Cox & Ureta, Manuelita, 2003. "International migration, remittances, and schooling: evidence from El Salvador," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 429-461, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brezis Elise S., 2019. "Should individuals migrate before acquiring education or after? A new model of Brain Waste vs. Brain Drain," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 1-11, June.
    2. Innocent A. Nwosu & Mary J. Eteng & Joseph Ekpechu & Macpherson U. Nnam & Jonathan A. Ukah & Emmanuel Eyisi & Emmanuel C. Orakwe, 2022. "Poverty and Youth Migration Out of Nigeria: Enthronement of Modern Slavery," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, February.
    3. Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska & Jolanta Maj, 2021. "High-Skilled vs. Low-Skilled Migrant Women: the Use of Competencies and Knowledge—Theoretical and Political Implications: an Example of the Elderly Care Sector in Poland," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1551-1571, December.
    4. Tijan L. Bah, 2018. "Occupation-skill mismatch and selection of immigrants: Evidence from the Portuguese labor market," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp1804, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    5. Adriana Grigorescu & Cristina Lincaru & Speranţa Pîrciog, 2020. "Ethic Leadership Trigger for Talents," Book chapters-LUMEN Proceedings, in: Adriana Grigorescu & Valentin Radu (ed.), 1st International Conference Global Ethics - Key of Sustainability (GEKoS), edition 1, volume 11, chapter 4, pages 24-31, Editura Lumen.
    6. Sinoi Elena-Alexandra, 2020. "The Effects of Highly-Educated Immigrants on Innovation in Three Developed European Countries," Journal of Social and Economic Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 9(1), pages 65-83, August.
    7. Elise S. Brezis, 2018. "Is Brain Drain passé? The Optimal Timing of Migration," Working Papers 2018-02, Bar-Ilan University, Department of Economics.
    8. Alonso José Antonio & Arteaga Francisco Javier Santos, 2020. "International migratory agreements: the paradox of adverse interest," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, January.
    9. Akira Shimada, 2019. "Should the Government Promote Global Education?," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 323-341.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht, 2011. "Migration and Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 327-439, Elsevier.
    2. Frédéric Docquier & Hillel Rapoport, 2012. "Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(3), pages 681-730, September.
    3. Bonin, Holger, 2017. "The Potential Economic Benefits of Education of Migrants in the EU," IZA Research Reports 75, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Matteo Gomellini & Cormac Ó Gráda, 2019. "Brain Drain and Brain Gain in Italy and Ireland in the Age of Mass Migration," Palgrave Studies in Economic History, in: David Mitch & Gabriele Cappelli (ed.), Globalization and the Rise of Mass Education, chapter 0, pages 163-191, Palgrave Macmillan.
    5. Alessio Biondo, 2012. "What’s up after brain drain? Sometimes, somewhere, someone comes back: a general model of return migration," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 59(3), pages 269-284, September.
    6. Alessandra Venturini, 2012. "Methodological Aspects of Research on Flows Human Capital Flows: A survey," RSCAS Working Papers carim2012/01, European University Institute.
    7. Tang, Sam Hak Kan & Wang, Yichen & Wang, Yong, 2025. "Curse of low-skilled emigration on human capital formation: Evidence from the migration surge of the 2000s," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    8. Gröger, André, 2021. "Easy come, easy go? Economic shocks, labor migration and the family left behind," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    9. Calogero Carletto & Jennica Larrison & Çaglar Özden, 2014. "Informing migration policies: a data primer," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 2, pages 9-41, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Francesco Giffoni & Matteo Gomellini, 2015. "Brain Gain in the Age of Mass Migration," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 34, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    11. Anna Rosso, 2016. "Skill Transferability and Immigrant-Native Wage Gaps," Development Working Papers 405, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano, revised 21 Oct 2016.
    12. Zhang, Yi & Matz, Julia Anna, 2017. "On the train to brain gain in rural China," Discussion Papers 252443, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    13. Sanromá, Esteban & Ramos, Raul & Simón, Hipólito, 2009. "Immigrant Wages in the Spanish Labour Market: Does the Origin of Human Capital Matter?," IZA Discussion Papers 4157, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Francisca M. Antman, 2013. "The impact of migration on family left behind," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 16, pages 293-308, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Sergio Vergalli, 2011. "Entry and Exit Strategies in Migration Dynamics," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 362-389, December.
    16. Zachary Ward, 2015. "The U-Shaped Self-Selection of Return Migrants," CEH Discussion Papers 035, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    17. Warman, Casey, 2007. "You Can Take it with You! The Returns to Foreign Human Capital of Male Temporary Foreign Workers," Queen's Economics Department Working Papers 273601, Queen's University - Department of Economics.
    18. Hammer, Luisa & Hertweck, Matthias Sebastian, 2022. "EU Enlargement and (Temporary) Migration: Effects on Labour Market Outcomes in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264082, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Fran�ois-Charles Wolff, 2015. "Do the Return Intentions of French Migrants Affect Their Transfer Behaviour?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(10), pages 1358-1373, October.
    20. Ha, Wei & Yi, Junjian & Zhang, Junsen, 2016. "Brain drain, brain gain, and economic growth in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 322-337.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jed:journl:v:40:y:2015:i:1:p:1-34. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sung Y. Park (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eccaukr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.