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Brain Drain and Economic Performance in Small Island Developing States

In: The Socio-Economic Impact of Migration Flows

Author

Listed:
  • David Croix

    (IRES, Université Catholique de Louvain)

  • Frédéric Docquier

    (IRES and FNRS, Université Catholique de Louvain)

  • Maurice Schiff

    (The World Bank, Development Research Group)

Abstract

Brain drain is a major issue for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Econometric analysis confirms that smallness has a strong positive impact per se on emigration rates. On average, 50 % of the high-skilled labour force in SIDS has left their country, and the brain drain exceeds 75 % in a few cases. In this paper, we document this phenomenon and study the bi-directional links between brain drain and development. We show that these interdependencies can be the source of multiple equilibria and that small states are much more likely to be badly coordinated than other developing countries and settle in a bad equilibrium. The reason is that their elasticity of emigration to economic performance is larger. After calibration, we identify an important number of badly coordinated SIDS and quantify the economic costs of coordination failure. These costs may exceed 100 % of the observed GDP per capita. Badly coordinated small states require appropriate development policies aimed at retaining or repatriating their high-skilled labour force.

Suggested Citation

  • David Croix & Frédéric Docquier & Maurice Schiff, 2014. "Brain Drain and Economic Performance in Small Island Developing States," Population Economics, in: Andrés Artal-Tur & Giovanni Peri & Francisco Requena-Silvente (ed.), The Socio-Economic Impact of Migration Flows, edition 127, pages 123-144, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:popchp:978-3-319-04078-3_6
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-04078-3_6
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    Cited by:

    1. Çağlar Özden & Christopher Parsons, 2016. "On the Economic Geography of International Migration," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(4), pages 478-495, April.
    2. Blanco-Álvarez, Jose & Parsons, Christopher & Tang, Sam & Wang, Yong, 2022. "Brain Refrain and Human Capital Formation in Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 15400, IZA Network @ LISER.

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