'Major brain drain' - IMF says Caribbean has lost 70 per cent of workforce
published: Monday February 20, 2006
WASHINGTON (CMC):
AN INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper has suggested that there is evidence of high emigration and brain drain from the Caribbean.
The paper says Caribbean countries have lost 10-40 per cent of their labour force to emigration to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member-countries.
"The migration rate is particularly high for the high-skilled," it says.
"Many countries have lost more than 70 per cent of their labour force, with more than 12 years of completed schooling - among the highest emigration rates in the world."
REMITTANCES
The paper also says the region is the world's largest recipient of remittances as a per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), constituting about 13 per cent of the region's GDP in 2002.
"Simple welfare calculations suggest that the losses due to high-skill migration outweigh the official remittances to the Caribbean region," it says. "The results suggest that there is, indeed, some evidence for brain drain from the Caribbean."
The paper says the majority of Caribbean countries have lost more than 50 per cent of the labour force in the tertiary education segment and more than 30 per cent in the secondary education segment (nine to 12 years of schooling).
For instance, it says, the tertiary educated labour force in Jamaica and Guyana has been reduced by 85 per cent and 89 per cent, respectively, due to emigration to OECD-member countries.
SERIOUS IMPACT
Though Haiti has the lowest aggregate emigration rate - about 10 per cent - in the region, its tertiary-educated labour force has been reduced by 84 per cent due to emigration to OECD-member countries.
In fact, the paper says, almost all Caribbean nations are among the top 20 countries in the world with the highest tertiary-educated migration rates.
"The magnitude of these migration rates suggests that, potentially, emigration can have large impacts on the local labour markets and on the welfare of those who stay behind in the Caribbean countries," it says.
It says that the total losses due to skilled migration - which includes the "emigration loss," externality effects, and government expenditure on educating the migrants - outweigh the recorded remittances for the Caribbean region on average, and for almost all the individual Caribbean countries.
published: Monday February 20, 2006
WASHINGTON (CMC):
AN INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper has suggested that there is evidence of high emigration and brain drain from the Caribbean.
The paper says Caribbean countries have lost 10-40 per cent of their labour force to emigration to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member-countries.
"The migration rate is particularly high for the high-skilled," it says.
"Many countries have lost more than 70 per cent of their labour force, with more than 12 years of completed schooling - among the highest emigration rates in the world."
REMITTANCES
The paper also says the region is the world's largest recipient of remittances as a per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), constituting about 13 per cent of the region's GDP in 2002.
"Simple welfare calculations suggest that the losses due to high-skill migration outweigh the official remittances to the Caribbean region," it says. "The results suggest that there is, indeed, some evidence for brain drain from the Caribbean."
The paper says the majority of Caribbean countries have lost more than 50 per cent of the labour force in the tertiary education segment and more than 30 per cent in the secondary education segment (nine to 12 years of schooling).
For instance, it says, the tertiary educated labour force in Jamaica and Guyana has been reduced by 85 per cent and 89 per cent, respectively, due to emigration to OECD-member countries.
SERIOUS IMPACT
Though Haiti has the lowest aggregate emigration rate - about 10 per cent - in the region, its tertiary-educated labour force has been reduced by 84 per cent due to emigration to OECD-member countries.
In fact, the paper says, almost all Caribbean nations are among the top 20 countries in the world with the highest tertiary-educated migration rates.
"The magnitude of these migration rates suggests that, potentially, emigration can have large impacts on the local labour markets and on the welfare of those who stay behind in the Caribbean countries," it says.
It says that the total losses due to skilled migration - which includes the "emigration loss," externality effects, and government expenditure on educating the migrants - outweigh the recorded remittances for the Caribbean region on average, and for almost all the individual Caribbean countries.
