The so-called ‘brain drain’ from poor to rich countries is now robbing poorer countries of essential personnel like doctors, nurses, engineers, and the trend is set to continue, if not to get worse.
Some people say this movement of people around the world is not a new phenomenon. Migrant workers have always been attracted by the wider choice of employment and greater opportunity in major cities in their own countries and abroad. Recently, as the technological age has advanced and as richer countries find themselves with not enough workers to feed their development, they have had to run to other parts of the world to find the necessary manpower. Many richer European countries, for example, are now trying to attract skilled IT workers from my home country India by offering higher salaries than they could hope to earn at home. With the globalisation of the world economy, many people feel that the process cannot be stopped.
Others, myself included, are of the opinion that measures should be taken to address the problem, by compensating poorer countries financially for the loss of investment in the people they have trained, like doctors and nurses. Admittedly, this may be cumbersome to administer, but an attempt could be made to get it off the ground. Another step, which in part has already begun to happen, is to use the forces of globalization itself. Western countries could encourage people to stay in their own countries by direct investment in projects like computer factories or by sending patients abroad for treatment, as is already happening.
It is obviously difficult to restrict the movement of people around the world and it is probably foolish to try to stop it, but attempts should be made to redress the imbalance.
The
so
-called ‘brain drain’ from poor to rich
countries
is
now
robbing poorer
countries
of essential personnel like doctors, nurses, engineers, and the trend
is set
to continue, if not to
get
worse.
Some
people
say this movement of
people
around the
world
is not a new phenomenon. Migrant workers have always
been attracted
by the wider choice of employment and greater opportunity in major cities in their
own
countries
and abroad. Recently, as the technological age has advanced and as richer
countries
find themselves with not
enough
workers to feed their development, they have had to run to other parts of the
world
to find the necessary manpower.
Many
richer European
countries
,
for example
, are
now
trying to attract skilled IT workers from my home country India by offering higher salaries than they could hope to earn at home. With the
globalisation
of the
world
economy,
many
people
feel that the process cannot be
stopped
.
Others, myself included, are of the opinion that measures should
be taken
to address the problem, by compensating poorer countries
financially
for the loss of investment in the
people
they have trained, like doctors and nurses.
Admittedly
, this may be cumbersome to administer,
but
an attempt could
be made
to
get
it off the ground. Another step, which in part has already begun to happen, is to
use
the forces of
globalization
itself. Western
countries
could encourage
people
to stay in their
own
countries
by direct investment in projects like computer factories or by sending patients abroad for treatment, as is already happening.
It is
obviously
difficult to restrict the movement of
people
around the
world
and it is
probably
foolish to try to
stop
it,
but
attempts should
be made
to redress the imbalance.