The Brain Drain : Myth and Reality - What it is and What Should be Done (Working Paper 13)

The brain drain debate has been marked by a considerable amount of confusion and frustration, largely because there has been relatively little hard data available, and that which exists has often been twisted into very different forms by those with competing policy agendas. The first goal of this paper is to pull together and summarize the available evidence regarding the size and nature of the outflows, thus establishing an empirical basis from which the issue can be addressed. The second goal is to address some of the major related policy issues. This begins with some general brain drain policy principles. The personal income tax cuts solution is then addressed with simulations of the effects on government revenues and the associated costs “per brain”, thus putting such discussions on a much firmer empirical footing. A number of alternative proposals are then suggested for various problem groups of brain drain workers.