Reference no: EM133306463
Assignment: Since the end of World War II and the mass migrations that it created, concern has continued about migration from the developing countries of the Southern Hemisphere to the developed economies in the North (Guadilla, 1996; Management Review, 1969). Early debate about this so-called brain drain focused on its implications for Third World economic development (Baldwin, 1970). However, from the 1970s, the debate was joined by other worried sources. These included the former colonies of the Empire in the Western Pacific (Tan & Lipton, 1993); countries undergoing radical political changes, such as South Africa (Louw & Foster, 1986) and the former USSR (Baumgartner, 1993); and the rapidly changing economies of Southeast Asia (Chia & Hwang, 1986). This debate was driven by local fears that skilled emigrants would find permanent jobs overseas, and would decide to stay in the more developed economies, thus fuelling an escalating dynamic of 'success to the successful'. The rich economies would grow even richer in human capital, while the poor had their growth stunted by the outflow of the skilled people who were their most significant resource (Joyce & Hunt, 1982).
The clamour about brain drain continues to be heard (Carrington & Detragiache, 1999) with a focus on economic effects. For example, a key structural determinant of skilled migration to the United States is reported to be the socio-economic disparity of countries-of-origin (Cheng & Yang, 1998). Similarly, the United Nations recently concluded that India was experiencing a net loss on its investments in technical education, with a net annual outflow of US$ 2 billion towards wealthier economies (United Nations, 2002). Perhaps the most acute brain drain, however, is being experienced in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the health sectors there (Joint Learning Initiative, 2004). Thus ''the brain drain . . . is an inescapable fact faced by smaller nations in the shadow of large, more economically powerful ones'' (Matthews & Zander, 2000, p. 17). At the centre of each of these reports is an assumption that brain drain is an almost inevitable part of the larger process of globalization.
(a) Compare and contrast 'brain drain' and 'brain gain'.
(b) Discuss the push and pull factors that cause 'brain drain' and 'brain gain' to occur. Illustrate your answer with several examples.
(c) Explain the outcomes of 'brain drain' and 'brain gain' using examples in Singapore.
(d) Demonstrate, using examples, how the Singapore government attempts to avoid brain drain.