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Stopping the Brain Drain

, by Andrea Celauro, translated by Alex Foti
Attracting and retaining human capital has become one of most important policy objectives for governments around the world. The issue is discussed at The Economy and the Open Society Forum organized by Bocconi and Corriere della Sera

Two figures: 0.7% and 9%. The first percentage is the share of brains who have chosen to reside in Italy (on a total of 20 million OECD university graduates who have chosen to migrate to seek career advancement). The second percentage is the migration rate of highly educated Italians, i.e the share of those who move abroad in search of work and professional fulfillment.

On the night of March 11, at the Sala Buzzati of the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the issue will be discussed in the roundtable "Expats: What It Takes to Get Them Back? And Should We Get Them Back?", which is the second discussion of the 2010 edition of The Economy and the Open Society, the international forum linking economic thinkers, entrepreneurs and civil society that Bocconi and Corriere organize each year.

Two scholars will be discussing the brain drain issue and the policies that governments and universities are implementing to address it: Michela Marzano (Université Paris Descartes) amd Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli (Professor at University of California, Berkeley). They will be moderated by Corriere journalist Aldo Cazzullo. The discussion will be introduced by Andrea Sironi, Full Professor of Banking and Finance at Bocconi.

But are migrations of highly skilled labor invariably bad for a country? "Recent additions to economic literature point toward a different conclusion," says Sironi. "Firstly, exporters of human capital tend to have better education systems. Secondly, migration generates revenues for the country of provenance via remittances of immigrants and the return of workers who have acquired better skills abroad." Sironi, however, doesn't buy the argument wholesale. In fact, he argues that "it's in the interest of a given country to maximize the share of human capital remaining within its borders. A country has to offer adequate professional opportunities, and facilitate the return of those who went abroad but want to return to their home country with the experience and skills acquired abroad."

Sironi emphasizes two approaches, in order to attract and retain human capital. Firstly, salary and fiscal incentives are not enough: the role of health, education, and entrepreneurial systems are often as important. This is a task for governments. Secondly, universities should "join forces within a given region, in order to augment the attractiveness of the whole consortium for foreign researchers."

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