What becomes of a country where all the educated people leave?
In the seven years between 2011 and 2018, some 10% of doctors in Bhutan left the country for good. By 2017, 88% of Nigerian doctors were considering moving abroad. In the last decade, the number of doctors seeking to leave Turkey has increased a terrifying 70-fold (with no end in sight). What does the medical sector in these countries even look like in ten years?
Policymakers are certainly concerned about this; in 2010, the speaker of Parliament in Lebanon said brain drain was “the biggest problem we face”.
Why Brain Drain Isn’t Something We Should Worry About
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What becomes of a country where all the educated people leave?
In the seven years between 2011 and 2018, some 10% of doctors in Bhutan left the country for good. By 2017, 88% of Nigerian doctors were considering moving abroad. In the last decade, the number of doctors seeking to leave Turkey has increased a terrifying 70-fold (with no end in sight). What does the medical sector in these countries even look like in ten years?
Policymakers are certainly concerned about this; in 2010, the speaker of Parliament in Lebanon said brain drain was “the biggest problem we face”.
All of this policy concern is completely misplaced. Countries should encourage their skilled people to seek the best opportunities possible, even if it means leaving the country altogether.