Brain Drain in Pakistan: Analyzing Trend, Causes and Consequences
Brain drain could be defined as the migration of highly skilled human resources (Docquier et al., 2009) from one country to another or often the migration of highly skilled people from lower-income countries to high-income countries is termed as “brain drain” (World Bank report, 2023).
Talent from less developed countries is drawn to developed nations due to their higher salaries, access to cutting-edge technology, better living standards, and more stable political environments. The migration of high-skilled workers is a global phenomenon. However, most of the migration is from developing to developed countries. For high-income member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) it stands at 4 percent of the highly skilled population, for middle-income countries this value is slightly over 10 percent and for low-income countries figures are 20 percent (Artuc et al.,2015; World Bank Report, 2023). Docquier (2014), through his landmark study, revealed the same findings that a low percentage of skilled people migrate from developed countries whereas in developing countries this percentage is very high as is shown in figure below.
Figure 1: Migration rate by Education Level Across the World
Source: Docquier, F. (2014).
Pakistan, too being a developing country, stands third in South Asia (after India and Bangladesh) and sixth in the world in human capital migration (Farooq and Ahmad, 2017). Brain drain is the growing concern for developing countries like Pakistan, as these countries invest heavily in education and training of their young professionals. However, when these individuals migrate, significant resources are lost, and the recipient states benefit directly from these migrations as they haven’t paid any cost for it. Any nation’s intellectuals are among its most expensive assets due to their training, which involves both time and material costs, but more significantly, lost opportunities.
One of the early works done by Haque (2006) highlighted the possible reasons behind the problem. As per him, poor governance infrastructure—lack of personal security, poor roads and railway system, lack of clean environment and decent facilities to raise children, are often quoted as one of the few reasons responsible for this brain drain. Moreover, non-comparative wage rates and lack of job opportunities for highly educated individuals is one of the other main reasons which lead to migration of people from the country.
Although the Pakistani diaspora, dispersed globally, has significantly contributed to the nation’s economy through the remittances, thereby enhancing livelihoods and alleviating economic pressures during crises such as energy shortages, food insecurity, and heightened foreign debt repayments (Ahmed, 2021). But the question is how much is contributed by highly qualified and highly skilled labor as the size of remittance inflows depends on migrants’ characteristics. Low-skilled migrants are more likely to migrate alone and remit a significant portion of their income on a regular basis to support the families they left behind (World Bank, 2023). For instance, Indian migrants in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries send, on average, nearly 70 percent of their earnings to their families. On the other hand, high-skilled migrants are more likely to come from wealthier families, migrate with their immediate families, and move permanently. They do remit high amounts but that is usually done infrequently.
Khan and Ahmad (2024) from PIDE measured the cost of brain drain for Pakistan’s economy. When the costs of losing a highly qualified worker to the home country outweigh the benefits of the worker’s remittances and knowledge spillovers, it is determined that brain drain is a development barrier. When employees hold jobs that are considered necessary for their nation of origin, these negative effects become even more significant.
Therefore, the objective of our study is to analyze this trend of human capital flight, major factors responsible for it and its consequences for Pakistan economy. The research will be carried out by measuring brain drain skill wise using the method of Docquier et al., (2009). To analyze the causes and consequences of this brain drain past studies will be reviewed in detail.
The study has a great significance as it explores an important topic directly impacting the country’s growth and advancement. By outlining the underlying causes and contributing factors of the brain drain, it provides policymakers, educational institutions, and other relevant organizations with insightful information. The study might influence decision-makers to launch programs that entice highly educated individuals to reside, work, and contribute to the nation’s development.
Trend of Human Capital Flight
Before analyzing the facts and figures regarding human capital flight from Pakistan it is imperative to know what general public thinks about this phenomenon. For this purpose, PIDE’s pioneer work by Nayab (2022) is an important source to consult. Findings of her survey show that 37% of the people in Pakistan want to leave the country. One of her interesting findings is that educated people are more interested in leaving Pakistan as compared to low educated ones as depicted in below figure.
