Brain Drain Loss of Human Resource

Being a developing country, population growth rate of Pakistan is relatively higher, i.e. 1.6% as per the estimates of 2011, as compared to the developed countries’ or world average. Resultantly, large number of growing population exists, i.e. around 35% of the total population. Growing population makes no contribution to the economy rather lots of expenses are incurred on its growth, nutrition, health, education and various other amenities.

BRAIN DRAIN ‘OPENING WORDS

Brain drain is commonly referred to as the flight of human capital. It can be simply defined as the mass emigration of technically skilled people from one country to another that provides better opportunities. Presently, most of the developing economies, including Pakistan, are facing this mighty challenge of brain drain. If demographic realities are sufficiently understood, causes behind the brain drain phenomenon can easily be comprehended. Population structure of developing countries reflects that high rate of population growth which causes a huge gap between resources available and demand for the same is the major reason behind this dilemma. Most importantly, the gap between the available jobs and skilled youth awaiting those economic opportunities is also another significant reason behind brain drain. Consequently, the departure of educated or professional young people from one country for another, usually for better pay or living conditions, occurs. A recent study by World Bank identified that shortage of skilled workers in a country is the main cause of poor industrial growth and development. Brain drain is not a newborn concept but it has been witnessed since the world has entered into the era of globalisation, the instances of brain drain from LDCs to MDCs have increased tremendously. It is certainly because of the accessibility, exposure and connectivity of the developing world with the developed. Although it has numerous positive aspects that are highlighted in the literature written on it yet, as a whole, the concept is economically or socially not at all viable for the LDCs like Pakistan.

BRAIN DRAIN AND POPULATION STRUCTURE

Population structure is a tool widely used to divide population into three age groups and study their socioeconomic features. Those three age groups are: birth-to-14 years (growing population), 15 to 59 years (working population) and 60 years and beyond (aged population). Being a developing country, population growth rate of Pakistan is relatively higher, i.e. 1.6% as per the estimates of 2011, as compared to the developed countries’ or world average. Resultantly, large number of growing population exists, i.e. around 35% of the total population. Growing population makes no contribution to the economy rather lots of expenses are incurred on its growth, nutrition, health, education and various other amenities. After couple of decades, the same population adds into the working population, there is a dire need of more economic opportunities to cater their needs of earning a respectable livelihood. This growth ranges from highly qualified professionals of urban centres to the least qualified or unqualified persons of rural areas or urban slums. Governments in developing countries, in general, are incapacitated due to weak economies, instable political system and many such challenges of capacity and infrastructure. So, they fail to create the required number of jobs for the skilled, equipped and professional individuals. Consequently, highly qualified, professionally skilled and technically equipped people who could not find reasonable response to their skills and calibre, they go abroad in search of better opportunities hence giving a boost to brain drain. This high calibre lot of professionals particularly includes doctors, engineers, management sciences people, IT professionals and researchers.

BRAIN DRAIN AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

In almost all developing countries, one important reason for poor governance is the following of outmoded human resource management policies. For political reasons, governments in LDCs find it expedient to expand employment while stunting the wage growth. Similar considerations have led to the pursuit of egalitarian policies. Consequently, the wage scales have been compressed and salary rise and promotions are not merit-based. This has allowed a large flow from the public sector not only to the international financial institutions but also to the multinational sector, internationally as well as domestically. The net result is the steady denudation of the very capacity that the donor support is trying to build. With weakened institutions and bad governance, public sector infrastructure, i.e.

personal security, infrastructure, such as roads and railways, a clean environment, facilities to raise children and provide a future for them is poorly or inadequately provided. The declining quality of such services has often been cited as a cause of migration of youth. Poor governance encourages evasion; lowers professional standards, encourages the migration of the skilled professionals leaving the poor quality professionals to manage the profession with ever-weakening standards. Such societies can be tangled in a low growth trap which may be very difficult to break out of. UNESCO’s 127th executive conference discussed about the highly skilled migration rate of Pakistan increased by more than 50% from 6.1 in 1990 to 9.2 in 2000. During the period 1961-1976, the highest number of migrating skilled people to the US and UK, Canada took place. Since 1971 the qualified migrants comprising of engineers, doctors, IT specialists and other professionals are trained by government financial resources. With the migration of doctors, engineers, teachers and other professionals, health, education, industrial and construction fields are severely affected. Migration trends depict the failure of the government to provide sufficient opportunities and incentives to retain its qualified workers within the country.

BRAIN DRAIN AND ITS ECONOMIC COST

Direct consequences of brain drain are pretty much economic in nature. Though in the above paragraphs, relation between population structure and good governance with brain drain has been established, but the direct reasons forcing brain drain are also economic. Either students go for higher studies, for research work or professionals go for jobs, reasons are economic, i.e. better pay mostly. There is no denying the fact that those who live abroad as a result of brain drain send money back home and ultimately adding to the national income in the form of foreign remittances. But there is an important fact to understand and realise in it. The fact is that remittances are sent mostly by the individuals whose families are not well off. So that money sent in the form of remittances is not invested in economic generation activities rather it is consumed. Those who are highly qualified and have sound financial backing do not send money to support their families. So the gap generated by an able doctor, a skilled engineer, a genius scientist or an IT professional cannot be fulfilled by remittances only. The country has to train the existing low skilled and ill-equipped workforce. Industrial growth, growth in research and development, progress in other fields can only be made if highly skilled professionals stay home at first place or at least come back home after few years to serve the homeland.

ANALYSIS ‘LOSS IS BIGGER THAN REALISATION

Pakistan is the 6th largest country by population in the world and is likely to be the largest Muslim country by 2030 after beating Malaysia. It has a huge potential in the form of human resource. But that resource has turned into a hazard due to lack of economic opportunities. Almost all socioeconomic problems are somehow linked to this problem of huge, unskilled and underutilised population. Because this is the prime reason of demand and supply gap whether of essential commodities, economic opportunities or other such matters. Even the global powers are worried that due to the vulnerability of the area, such a huge cluster of youth may fall prey to the extremists and become a fuel to the ongoing menace of terrorism, because economic deprivation as a cause of extremism has often been quoted and is largely believed too. When professionals and skilled workforce go abroad, low paid, less-skilled and ill-equipped workforce takes over which results in the degradation of the institutions. That has led to the loss of confidence in government institutions. Any public education institution or health unit speaks for its bad condition and incapacity to fulfil the requirements of its users. Corruption, maladministration, lack of accountability and all such ills exist because those who do not know the job nature are sitting at the helm of affairs confidently and system is dramatically deteriorating. It is very important for the government to be attentive to this problem. Because the presence of skilled and equipped work force in the country is the harbinger of the economic development will be the result.