Content area
Full Text
Abstract
This paper presents a diagnosis of Africa's emigration brain drain, pointing out that at least 16 million African immigrants are out of the continent, with a very high number of them in developed nations. The paper illustrates that a very high proportion of these African immigrants are highly educated and hold highly paid jobs or positions. The paper presents information showing the implications of Africa's brain drain, the causes for it and some of its benefits to Africans in Africa, such as remittances. Finally, the paper presents some recommendations as to how to manage this phenomenon.
Introduction
The concept of the Brain Drain as it relates to the emigration of educated or economic elites of a nation has been studied since the period just before, during and after World War II, when highly educated Europeans fled Europe to North America and other parts of the developed world. According to Tucho (2009): "The term "Brain Drain", often known as "human capital flight", is a nearly half-century-old phenomenon by which highly skilled professionals and academics seek higher paying job opportunities in other countries... It was in the 1950s when there was an attempt to halt the exodus of highly skilled and educated Britons to North America, particularly the United States, for better job opportunities that the term "Brain Drain" was used for the first time" (p.23). According to Vidysagar (2006): "It was the British Royal Society that coined the expression 'Brain Drain' to describe the outflow of scientists and technologists from UK to US and Canada" (p.246).
This paper examines Africa's emigration Brain Drain, especially focusing on developed or rich countries. The paper begins with a diagnosis, by presenting various types of statistics showing the numbers and percentages of African immigrants in developed countries. It also presents any information regarding the progress of these African immigrants in those developed nations, such as household incomes, salaries, educational attainment, and any contributions to their host countries. The paper goes on to present information pertaining to the implications or consequences to Africa or Africans in Africa as a result of the brain drain to developed countries. This paper continues by presenting the factors or causes for Africa's emigration brain drain. The paper also presents information showing any types...