The term “Brain Drain” means that people who are highly educated instead of staying in their native country go to another place to live and work. Each person makes a personal decision where to live and work, but if many highly educated people say in the Math and Science fields leave a country, then that country can lose a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Many intelligent people from the Third World go abroad to Europe, Canada and the United States for their education. They enjoy a higher standard of living than from back home, and decide to stay in their adopted country. They will receive more money and prestige, and for this reason they decide to stay.
If they were to return to their native country, then they would have a lower standard of living and maybe not even be able to work in their specialized field. If there is only one university in the country, and they have all the professors in Math or Science, then the new Ph.d’s have to go somewhere else to live and work.
This has happened even in the United States! There are many highly educated people who have to emigrate to other countries in order to find a job. This term is also being used to show that many scientists and engineers who could be entrepreneurs, are going to work in the financial sector of the U.S. economy. This type of “brain drain” is taking well educated people from the manufacturing field where they could develop new products or make medical advances and put them into a sector that might not do as much good for the world.
Is the “Brain Drain” relevant for you?
