BRAIN DRAIN IN THE GLOBALIZATION ERA: THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Abstract

Migration is an old phenomenon in the history of humankind. However, the magnitude, complexity, and structure of migration flows in the global era are all unprecedented. According to the United Nations Report “Trends in International Migrant Stock: the 2015 Revision” at world level 244 million international migrants were recorded in 2015. With the increase in the number of migrants, the emigration of ‘high-skilled’ individuals is also growing. OECD and United Nation Statistics show that in the last decade the number of migrants with tertiary education increased by about 70%. Brain drain is also a well-known phenomenon. Highly educated individuals and scientists have travelled the world in all centuries in search of better study and research, and working conditions, and of new opportunities. Nowadays, in the era of globalisation and, implicitly, of swifter development of international markets, the emigration rate of high-skilled experts exceeds the total emigration rate, which shows the selectiveness of migration at educational level. The paper presents a brief analysis of the interdependencies between migration and globalisation and of the effects of globalisation on the migration of high-skilled individuals. The trends, structure, and volume of high-skilled labour force from Romania are analysed along with the effects generated by them.

Keywords

• migration
• globalisation
• brain drain
• labour market
• youth.