What is brain drain, who wins and loses because this phenomenon, and how does it affect a nation like Bulgaria?
|A) Understanding Brain Drain||Map the Ripple Effects of Brain Drain|
|B) Bulgaria’s Loss||Bulgarians Speak
What is brain drain, who wins and loses because this phenomenon, and how does it affect a nation like Bulgaria?
|A) Understanding Brain Drain||Map the Ripple Effects of Brain Drain|
|B) Bulgaria’s Loss||Bulgarians Speak on Brain Drain|
|C) Then Who Gains?||Simulate an Ad Hoc Committee|
This lesson was contributed to Openendedsocialstudies.org by Ms. Rita Ulrich.
A) Understanding Brain Drain
- Explain how brain drain works using an example within your city or state. Who is leaving? Why are they leaving? Where are they going? What impact has it had on the city/state?
Which countries suffer the most from brain drain? Why does this happen? What happens to talent when it leaves a country? Why would this create further complications for countries that suffer from brain drain?
Define the term “diaspora” in the context of brain drain.
Imagine what would happen if the best and brightest left your school at the end of the year. What are some ways that your school could keep its students from wanting to leave? How could your school make students want to return?
Quite simply, brain drain is “the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic sector, or field for another, usually for better pay or living conditions.” Essentially, it is the best and brightest – choosing to leave for opportunities they cannot find in their home economy. Often, the people who leave are skilled in a field, such as science, mathematics, or medicine – they are intelligent, skilled, and have specific skills that are in demand both abroad and in their home economy.
The phenomenon was first identified in 1960 when British scientists and intellectuals began migrating to the United States, which at the time had a stronger economy and offered better pay. Brain drain is now discussed more frequently as one phenomenon that characterizes the relationship between developed and developing countries. According to the Migration Policy Institute, “Nearly one in 10 tertiary-educated adults (those with some university or post-secondary schooling) born in the developing world … now live in the developed world.” In 2000 almost 175 million people, or 2.9% of the world’s population, had been living outside their country of birth for more than a year. The reason individuals leave their home country can be broken down into three main reasons: economic, political, and social.
Economic reasons are mainly due to low wages or working conditions for professionals. Many highly skilled and educated people may choose to leave for a country that offers higher pay or greater allowances than their own country. Some who leave do so with their family, as a means to support their significant other and children. Others who leave do so by themselves, sending money back to support their family back home. As the images below show, Bulgaria is ranked the lowest country in the European Union for minimum wage.
Consider this wage in the context of basic cost of living: in Bulgaria, a simple one-bedroom apartment costs around 220 Euros a month and heat/water cost around 50 Euros. It quickly becomes clear that work outside of Bulgaria may offer greater opportunity for money and potential savings for those with the skills, education, or physical ability to find it.
The second main reason that people leave their home countries is political. If there is instability at home – such as war, disease, or economic depression – then those who are highly skilled or educated may feel safer or better able to maintain their job if they leave. Political instability in home countries makes people lose confidence in their governments and future prospects for a better life. These are individuals who may have difficulties because of their ethnic, cultural, religion belongings or being a member of opposition political groupings in their home countries.
The economic difficulties of a country may play directly into the political struggles of a nation, and combine to push a person to leave. Protests, frequently changing control of the government, or uncertainty in the future of a nation may all create instability.
The final reason that brain drain occurs is social. Essentially, this means that people may feel disrespected in their field, overlooked for their work, or hold the opinion that there are better opportunities for career advancement elsewhere. Simply by looking at how a countries education and schools rank compared to the rest of the world can tell a potential emigrant a great deal. Brian drain occurs mostly where individuals from undeveloped countries move to the developed countries in need to expand their studies. Most learners opt not to return to their countries but decide to dwell in the foreign countries and work after gaining the adequate skills. Lack of proper systems in the education sector has also resulted to the inadequacy of school facilities that offer abstract ideas on what the learners intend to achieve at the end of a lesson. This has made most of them to move to other countries whose education systems are quit more improved and the schools have adequate and relevant facilities of learning.
B) Bulgaria’s Loss
- Watch the video in this section. Listen to the people of Bulgaria spea