Emigration, brain drain and development

s:1139:"What happens to the health care system in Malawi when a large portion of Malawian physicians immigrate to Britain? Does the migration of highly skilled professionals from developing and underdeveloped countries to developed countries harm or hurt their country of origin?In Emigration, Brain Drain, and Development: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa, Arno Tanner questions the emerging literature that stresses the positive aspects of labor migration. He finds that while emigration certainly cannot be stopped, and may be beneficial in some cases, unhindered high-skilled emigration —particularly in the case of sub-Saharan Africa —can have disastrous consequences. In examining the cases of Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, Tanner finds striking trends. For instance, the outflow of physicians from Malawi may severely hurt AIDS prevention. Furthermore, sub-Saharan Africans tend not to return; remittances are erratic, have dwindled over time, and do not offset the costs of emigration. Tanner recommends specific policies where carefully targeted development measures could be used to mitigate the negative consequences of brain drain.";