Migration and development

Starting point

The GTZ-conference "The migration of the highly skilled: Brain drain or engine for economic development?" held on 20-21 October 2003 in Berlin made it clear that migration of highly skilled workers always implies a loss of human resources for the country of origin. The magnitude of the loss depends on how much the migrants have been contributing to value added in their home country.

This loss, however, is compensated when the migrants establish new business connections, initiate investment and transfer know-how, thus contributing to the economic development of their home country. If the resulting gains from migration are greater than the losses, a win-win situation results for both the sending and receiving countries.

During the October conference, two examples - the migration of health personnel from southern Africa and of IT-experts from India - represented extreme cases: The significant losses caused by the migration of health personnel from southern Africa were not offset by equally significant benefits. In contrast, the losses incurred by the emigration of Indian IT professionals were small as there was a surplus of those experts. In addition, any losses were compensated by the return flow of know-how, demand for Indian products and services, investments, etc.

India is an interesting example of how the diaspora can contribute to the economic development of the country of origin.

There is little research about the diaspora communities in Germany and other European countries. At most there is some anecdotal evidence. Current research focuses almost exclusively on domestic policy issues, e.g., how to improve integration, the impact of migration on the labour market, etc. The potential of the diaspora communities in Germany and Europe is an issue yet to be explored, especially in relation to the economic development of the countries of origin and the economic exchange between sending and receiving countries. What is more, there has not been a systematic use of this potential.

The meeting of experts will therefore deal with the question of how an active diaspora policy might exploit the potential of the exile communities for the development of their countries of origin.

Top