Brains, capital, charity, soft power: the skilled south asian diaspora in developed countries

Abstract

Over the past two decades, with increasing mobility and interconnectedness, the thinking on skilled migration outflows has shifted significantly, away from the concept of brain drain towards brain gain and brain circulation, beyond viewing the diaspora as only a source of remittances. Proponents of the latter view argue that the skilled diaspora can be beneficial to their source countries as knowledge and skills can be channeled back in many ways.1 These channels include return or repatriation of the highly skilled diaspora to the home country and tapping the diaspora’s embodied knowledge through social and professional networks and linking the diaspora through these networks to the home country (Meyer and Brown 1999). More and more governments are exploring ways to engage their diaspora networks and expatriate communities, in addition to exploring ways to better manage migration flows to serve their national interest. Many governments are targeting the diaspora as development actors and enabling their engagement with the home country in various spheres, going beyond the facilitation of remittances. Industry chambers and professional associations are also reaching out to the diaspora for promoting trade, investment and knowledge linkages.