Documenting the brain drain of « la creme de la creme »: Three case-studies on international migration at the upper tail of the education distribution

Most of the recent literature on the effects of the brain drain on source countries consists of theoretical papers and cross-country empirical studies. In this paper we complement the literature through three case studies on very different regional and professional contexts: the African medical brain drain, the exodus of European researchers to the United States, and the contribution of the Indian diaspora to the rise of the IT sector in India. While the three case studies concern the very upper tail of the skill and education distribution, their effects of source countries are contrasted: clearly negative in the case of the exodus of European researchers, clearly positive in the case of the Indian diaspora’s contribution to putting India on the IT global map, and mixed in the case of the medical brain drain out of Africa.Brain drain, international migration, African medical brain drain, European brain drain, Indian diaspora

Documenting the Brain Drain of «la Crème de la Crème»: Three Case-Studies on International Migration at the Upper Tail of the Education Distribution

Most of the recent literature on the effects of the brain drain on source countries consists of theoretical papers and cross-country empirical studies. In this paper we complement the literature through three case studies on very different regional and professional contexts: the African medical brain drain, the exodus of European researchers to the United States, and the contribution of the Indian diaspora to the rise of the IT sector in India. While the three case studies concern the very upper tail of the skill and education distribution, their effects of source countries are contrasted: clearly negative in the case of the exodus of European researchers, clearly positive in the case of the Indian diaspora’s contribution to putting India on the IT global map, and mixed in the case of the medical brain drain out of Africa.Brain drain, international migration, African medical brain drain, European brain drain, Indian diaspora

Innovation Systems, Radical Transformation, Step-by-Step: India in Light of China

The paper introduces a reform trajectory we call ?revolutionary incrementalism? in which partial and incremental measures add up to profound transformation. Recent advances in economic theory demonstrate that growth is not hard to start: it almost starts itself, somewhere, sometimes. But keeping it going is not easy: doing so requires attention to the context of growth binding constraints and situation-specific ways to resolve them. The same goes for institutions: it is almost always possible to find some that are working. The issue is using the ones that work to improve those that don?t. The thrust of the proposal is to rely on variation within existing institutions as the ?Archimedean lever? with which to leverage reform and change. India?s public sector record for implementing and coordinating innovation efforts can be notoriously fragmented and inefficient but there are some parts that perform better than others, and there are recognized pockets of excellence virtually within every ministry or public sector organization. The same internal diversity is even more visible in the private sector. Importantly from a policy perspective, better performing segments of public sector and better performing segments of productive sector are beginning to join forces in a variety of search ...innovation systems, heterogeneity of institutions, radical incrementalism, search networks, open economy industrial policy

Colonial Legacies, Postcolonial Biologies: Gender and the Promises of Biotechnology

Three decades of work in the feminist studies of science and technology have shaped our evolving understandings of the relationships between sex, gender, and biotechnology. Sex, and gender are most often reduced to binary categories, severely limiting our conceptions not only of human diversity, but those of science and technology. Using two case study set in India, transnational surrogacy and the Indian Genome Variation Project, this paper explores how popular positions around biotechnology are reduced to binary positions promoting and opposing biotechnology as the solution for the economic and social development of India. By locating surrogacy and genomics within the larger geopolitical, historical, economic and cultural transformations of postcolonial India, the paper argues that both technologies are far more complex in their impact on women and gender. Why does technology become the major site of hope for the future? Why does genomics become the site for the promises of good health? Why has India become a site for reproductive tourism, and transnational surrogacy in particular? Drawing on the social studies of science, the paper argues that technology and human bodies are never neutral but always prefigured with a gender, race, caste and sexuality. Surrogacy and genomics should be understood within these colonial and postcolonial histories of science and technology

Ethno-diversity and bio-diversity: Methods and measurement

Biology and Anthropology/Sociology have dealt with issues of diversity for a long time, developing different concepts, theories and methods. In recent years there has been, if not a convergence, but at least a recognition that problems in nature and in society are interrelated. This paper attempts to use concepts and methods of biodiversity research and test their applicability for a study of ethnic relations. It is noted that the preservation of biodiversity ranks high on the agenda of researchers and politicians, whereas ethnic diversity is often associated with unrest, conflict and economic decline. We try to reverse this tendency by emphasizing social cohesion and the social and economic value of ethnic diversity. An “ethnic diversity index” is proposed and used in the analysis of Malaysia’s plural society. This index is based on Simpson’s diversity index, commonly used in biodiversity research. Further research on the interrelation of bio- and ethnic diversity is advocated

Brain Drain or Gain: Migration of Knowledge Workers From India to the United States

This dissertation looks at the topic of brain drain from a new lens. It departs from the traditional literature to include discussion on brain gain and brain circulation using Indian migration to the United States as case study. While it cannot be denied that host countries have policies that encourage or provide the necessary conditions for brain drain to take place, it must be taken into account that many source countries now benefit from out-migration of their workers and students. These are usually measured as remittances, investments and savings associated with return, and network approaches that, with a connectionist approach, link expatriates with their country of origin. In addition, Diaspora members, through successes and visibility in host societies, further influence economic and political benefits for their home countries. This type of brain gain can be considered as element of soft power for the source country in the long term. Three hypotheses are tested in this dissertation to argue the points above. Using India as source country, the first hypothesis positively tested that benefits outweigh the cost of out-migration, with India as the highest remittance receiving country in the world with multifaceted connections in the Silicon Valley. The second hypothesis accessed the leverage of the Indo-American community as strong in terms of wealth and education. However, the possibility of this changing the asymmetrical interdependent relationship between India and the U.S. in favor of India remains at best a possibility in the long term. The third hypothesis also positively tested that a more active role played by the state in the sending country determines the level of return and non-return benefits. The dissertation also notes that while these hypotheses may be true for a country like India, where many other factors play a role, it may not necessarily affect other less developing countries in a similar vein. Additionally, third generation Indo-Americans may not necessarily retain the same ties as were seen by the first and second generations. Thus direct benefits in the long term may differ in result

Acculturation and food consumption of South Asian diaspora in the UK: moderating influence of Religious identity and the neighbourhood

The increasing globalization and migration enabled people to move beyond their national boundaries for improved life and better economic opportunities. This has resulted in the changed national demographic landscape in the UK. Currently, the UK is hosting more than 10% ethnic minorities, and the South Asians constitute an ethnic group. Living in a dissimilar culture may cause an acculturative stress on the immigrants. They may undergo the process of adapting to a new culture. On the contrary, some individuals may attempt to maintain their heritage culture. Both scenarios have implications on their consumer behaviour. The studies in acculturation have explicated the process of acculturation, however, a few shed lights on the influences on the process itself. This study aims to investigate the factors that may accelerate the acculturation process or otherwise and the relationship between the degree of acculturation and food consumption. This study applies to the individuals who belong to South Asian countries (including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Drawing upon existing literature 22 hypotheses were developed. Data was collected from a sample of 924 South Asian immigrants. The hypotheses were tested using SEM (structural equation modelling). The study found that the Religiosity has a strong negative influence on acculturation, followed by Age. The length of stay and income positively influences the acculturation. The level of Acculturation was measured with the help of 22 items on the five-point Likert scale. The data showed that the high level of acculturation positively influences the mainstream food consumption, and has a negative influence on the consumption of ethnic food. The moderating effects of Religious Identity and the neighbourhood suggest that an individual’s religious identity moderates the relationship between influences and acculturation as well as between the level of acculturation and food consumption. However, the data showed that the type of Neighbourhood moderates the relationship between income and acculturation, and between acculturation and the mainstream food consumption only

Beyond the Land of Five Rivers: Social Inequality and Class Consciousness in the Canadian Sikh Diaspora

Romanticized visions of Khalistan became emotively embedded in the hearts and minds of Sikh-Canadians following the execution of Operation Blue Star. Today, insurgents residing within the contested homeland continue to draw support from Sikh immigrants and their Canadian-born descendants. Perplexingly, while a sizable proportion of second and third-generation Sikh youth advocate for the creation of the theocratic state of Khalistan, many selectively disregard the righteous way of life envisioned by the founders of the Khalsa Panth. This paper presents a conceptual sociological analysis of the diasporic politics of identity and homeland. Although Marx, and other modern social theorists, had presumed that nationalism would eventually disappear, globalization has attributed new importance to the project of nation-building, and imagined political communities. Using the Sikh nationalist liberation movement as the point of departure, this paper demonstrates that ethno-racial markers of identity, and primordial religious mythologies, can be politically employed to distract members of oppressed groups from realizing the material conditions which perpetuate inequality in post-colonial capitalist states. Considering that ethnies are never universally homogenous groups, and that economic incentives exist for seizing state power, nationalist movements can only be understood by identifying the concrete class interests of their principal exponents. While the Punjab problem represents the empirical focus of this paper, the rich sociological insights on inter-communal conflict, identity, and belonging are generalizable beyond this immediate context