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Is America at a stake of brain drain?

Anamika Sahu
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Anamika Sahu
Is America at a stake of brain drain just like India and China were during the 1990's? Or is there any option for America to withhold this flow? Back then, Indians and Chinese found better opportunities in America to build a healthy financial life, but today the changing political and economic scenario of these countries have become the important factors for this brain drain. Today America is not the only land of opportunity. The progress towards the free market economy have further opened the door for globalization and created better business opportunities in these countries.

Vivek Wadhwa's survey on the topic justifies the above statement. His research point that if American-educated Indian and Chinese engineers and entrepreneurs return to their own countries, there will be a vast brain hemorrhage faced by United States. Further the research states that if U.S. wants to control this migration, then it has to bring reform in its immigration system.

One of the biggest pictures of this change is the visit of Warren Buffet to India with an intention of investing in the Indian market. His entry has changed the entire view of the world towards Indian market. The reason behind his idea of investment is the growing pace of the economy of India. Indians and Chinese feel that the economic opportunity is truly growing in their country and it is the best time for them to return back home to their family and friends. These returnees are enjoying greater advantage in terms of scope, better quality of life, better career prospects and the comfort of being close to family and friends. But America surely needs to needle point the various reasons behind it and find solutions to them as 52 percent of Silicon Valley's technology companies are started by immigrants and they contributed to more than 25 percent of their global patents which will be affected by their migration.

These highly educated immigrants are leaving their work to be back to their people and contribute their bit towards the development of their country. The low cost in operation, cheap labor and raw materials are few other notches adding to this migration.

The Indian and Chinese governments have brought several reforms in their present policies and acts to attract more and more immigrants to establish companies. In this new economy, the most important resources are likely the ideas, intellectual capital, and knowledge of the workforce which these migrants bring with them. The key to growth now lies not in reducing costs of doing business, but in endowments of highly educated and productive people.


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