Transcript Mar 21, 2004.

Brain Drain in Argentina
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Larry Or
Dan Bryce
Risto.Karinen
Dan LoVullo
Outline
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Overview
Context
Analysis
Recommendations
Overview
• Definition:
– General: movement of highly trained personnel from one area to another
– Specific: The emigration of highly educated workers from developing
countries to developed countries / from poor countries to rich countries
• Causes
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Inadequate salaries
Unstable government and insecurity
High inflation and falling currencies
Lack of human rights
Corruption and lack of accountability
Limited educational opportunities
(World Economic Forum, 2000)
Scope
– Africa looses 70,000 scholars yearly1
– 60% of medical doctors trained in Ghana during the 80s
have left2
– 4,316 skilled South Africans left in 20033
– India looses 100,000 professionals to the United States
yearly, at an estimated annual cost of $2 billion4
– 6,000 left Argentina annually between 1995-2000, plus
250,000 more since then5
1Prof.
Edward Ofori-Sarpong, Ghana
2Mutume, 2003
3Naidu, 2003
4UN Human Development Report, 2001
5Intl Herald Tribune
“Having lost its money, Argentina is now
losing its minds.” (Nevaer, 2002)
• 2002 Economic Collapse
– “… in the first two months of this year [2002], 1,260
Argentine Jews moved to Israel …compared with 2001,
when 1,300 Argentine Jews emigrated to Israel over the
entire year
– “Argentines with a[n] … immediate family member
living in Spain or Italy can obtain visas to emigrate
there”
– “Recently, Argentina issued a desperate plea to the
World Bank for an extension on $800 million loan”
Argentina: 19th century: “glorious century” →
20th century: “lost century” → 21st century: “?”
• GDP: purchasing power parity: $403.8 billion (2002 est.),
• Real growth rate: -10.9% (2002 est.)
• GDP: composition by sector: agriculture: 5%, industry: 28%, services: 66% (2000
est.)
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 41% (2002, yearend)
• Labor force: 15 million (1999), Unemployment rate: 21.5% (37377)
• Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles,
chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
• Agriculture products: sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco,
peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
• Exports: $25.3 billion (2002), Exports commodities: edible oils, fuels and energy,
cereals, feed, motor vehicles
• Export partners: Brazil 23.6%, US 10.9%, Chile 9.7%, Spain 4.3% (2002)
• Imports: $9 billion (2002), Import commodities: machinery and equipment, motor
vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics
• Import partners: Brazil 42%, US 12.8%, Germany 4.4% (2002)
• Debt external: $155 billion (2001 est.)
Analysis and prospects for the future
STRENGTHS
• Generally high rankings in human
capital variables; highly literate,
relatively well educated population,
• Diversified industrial base
• “Catching up”-hypothesis
WEAKNESSES
• Generally very low rankings in economic
variables; recurring economic problems of
inflation, external debt, capital flight, and
budget deficits, unemployment high
• Foreign investment attracted mainly by
protected domestic market
• Problems in the national innovation
system: poor incentive regimes, low
R&D/GDP (and mainly carried out by
public sector)
OPPORTUNITIES
• Economy stabilizing after the crisis of 200102; growth, new governmental programs to
attract hi-tech companies and investments
• Large and knowledgeable ex-patriot scientific
community; knowledge transfers (brain drain
→ brain circulation), government is developing
“Intell/Scien Diaspora Network”
• USA immigration policy after 9/11; decreasing
brain drain or just redirecting it?
THREATS
• Scientific community unsatisfied – threshold
for departing very low
• Weak political institutions and corruption
• Crisis of 2001-02 already destroyed the
intellectual infrastructure? → insufficient
“social capability” in order to “catch up”?
Recommendations
Economic Reforms Science Policy Initiatives
• Convert to a floating
currency valuation system.
• Stop borrowing from the
IMF and private banks to
support government
spending.
• Continue privatization
efforts and other progrowth reforms.
• Reduce bureaucracy and
endemic corruption.
• Increase investment in
education at all levels.
• Generate a compensation
scheme that encourages
graduates to stay for at
least a few years.
• Engage the large
expatriate community of
scientists in providing
technical assistance in
R&D infrastructure and
market reforms.
References
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Nevaer, Louis. “Brain Drain - Troubled Argentina Losing Its Minds.” Pacific News
Service, May 15, 2002
“Argentina: Economy.”
<http://reference.allrefer.com/world/countries/argentina/economy.html> Mar 21, 2004.
Africa “brain drain”: 70,000 scholars leave yearly,”
http://www.warmafrica.com/index/geo/1/cat/5/a/a/artid/208
Gumisai Mutume, “Reversing Africa’s Brain Drain, Zambia Daily Mail,2003,
http://www.queensu.ca/samp/Commentaries/2003/drain.htm
World Economic Forum, “Battling the emerging market brian-drain,” 2000,
http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Battling%20the%20emerging%2
0market%20brain-drain_2000?open&topic_id=
U.N. Human Development Report 2001, http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2001/en/pdf/pr5.pdf
Edwin Naidu, “Figures show massive increase in brain drain,” 2003,
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=594&art_id=ct20040321104139440L152496&set_id=
1
“Expatriates return to Argentina,” International Herald Tribune Online,
http://www.iht.com/articles/131302.html
Feldstein, Martin Argentina's Fall: Lessons from the Latest Financial Crisis Foreign Affairs
Journal March/April 2002.