1183 



The emigrant professional can also be a conduit for bringing about 

 social change. Acting as a communicator in his special field between 

 his nation of origin and his adopted country, the successful profes- 

 sional can stinnilate his fellow countrymen in the LDCs to enter and 

 work hard at similar professions. Such a motivation may tend to per- 

 petuate emigration, but it can simultaneously stimulate needed social 

 change.^^^ 



A SUMMING UP OF GAINS FOR LDC's 



Thus, the LDCs are not without some benefits from talent migra- 

 tion. Lacking institutional resources for developing an educated elite, 

 they resort to the ready-made and available academic institutions of 

 tlie United States and other advanced "Western countries. They can 

 reap dual benefits: Directly from the many returnees who contribute 

 their share to nation-building, and indirectly from the successes of 

 their nationals abroad who participate in advancing knowledge. Loss 

 to economic development may be exaggerated, but even so, emigra- 

 tion brings compensating benefits by eliminating the economic lia- 

 bility of oversupply, efi'ecting rational manpoAver manageni^nt, in- 

 creasing productivity, and releasing social pressures of dissatisfac- 

 tion. Finally, emigration can contribute to social change that in turn 

 can act as a corrective to the basic problem of underdevelopment. 



Losses and Costs for LDCs 



Losses through brain drain vary among the LDCs. Some countries 

 like India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Colombia, and P>.uador have 

 suffered heavy losses. Others like Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela have 

 not been so adversely affected. In between, however, are the many 

 who have paid some price for the loss of high-level manpower, vary- 

 ing in degree, but, in Gregory Henderson's words, "still painful" 

 to experience.^^° 



LOSS OF GF.XERAL PROFESSIOXAL MANPOWER 



Running through the literature on brain drain is the dominant 

 theme that all LDC losers, great and small, share a common loss of 

 an elite human resource that is important for development. The 

 UXESCO report on the application of science and technology to 

 development in Latin America described the relationship betw^een this 

 resource and development in these words : 



The possibilities for the development of any country depend to a great extent 

 on the human resources available in that country. In fact the human element 

 is at the same time the origin, the actor, and the end of all activity. Its impor- 

 tance is therefore greater than that of any other single vital element for 

 development.*-! 



<i" Report of U.N. Secretary General, Outfloic of Trained Personnel from LDCs, Nov. 5. 

 lOfiS. p. 48.91. 



*-", Selected Readings on International Education, House Committee on Education and 

 Labor. 1960, p. 349. For other evaluations on the impact of brain drain, .see Hearlnps, 

 Senate Judiciary Committee, International Migration of Talent and iSkiUs, 1968, pp. "iS- 

 79. and report "on brain drain from Latin America, Pan American Health Orgaidzatlon, 

 1966, pp. l.S-15. 



*^ UNESCO, Final Report of the Conference on the Application of Science and Tech- 

 nology to the Development of Latin America, 1965, p. 142. 



