1211 



does widen the gap of development between the LDCs and the ad- 

 vanced countries.^^® 



Perhaps the most judicious assessment appears in the CIMT study. 

 The authors of this study state outright that they had "uncovered 

 no cases where retardation of development could be unequivocally 

 traced to migration of exceptional people," and concluded that the 

 assertion by "careful observers" that "it is impossible to prove losses 

 of exceptional people have in fact inhibited development" was correct. 

 Nevertheless, "such assertions are inherently unprovable, and inability 

 to produce examples does not mean that serious adverse effects have 

 not been produced by migration." Accordingly, an answer must be 

 sought, they say, "in judgment rather than proof," and it was their 

 judgment that "a continuing loss of intelligent and highly trained 

 people is likely to have adverse effects on national development " "^ 



The same judgment was made by the UNESCO-sponsored confer- 

 ence in 1965 on the application of science and technology to develop- 

 ment in Latin America. The report of the conference connected the 

 expansion of scientific and technological manpower with national de- 

 velopment and implied that loss of this manpower impairs develop- 

 ment and widens the gap between the less developed and the advanced 

 countries. Speaking generally, the report stated that international con- 

 ferences "held to study the conditions necessary for speeding up the 

 economic and social development of underdeveloped countries have 

 unanimously recognized that the shortage of adequately trained sci- 

 entific and technical personnel is one of the main obstacles to the carry- 

 ing out of any development plan." "° 



^■'^ The following are a selection of assessments on this matter : 



Dr. Perkins quotes approvingly the statement of Professor John C. Shearer in which he 

 concluded that the movement of high-level human resources "may, to a great extent, account 

 for the persistent and ever-widening gaps between rich and poor areas." (Perkins, op. cit., 

 p. 618.) 



I'rofessor Seltzer urges that brain drain be considered a problem because "it is 

 a barrier to socio-economic development in selected areas." (Seltzer, op. cit., p. 56.) 



In the preface to the Ditchley Park Conference report on brain drain, the Provost of 

 Dltchley expressed the view that on balance a net export of "brains" lies with the LDCs and 

 a net import with the most advanced countries. This would imply, he said, that the im- 

 balance was "a factor enlarging still more the gap between rich and poor." The acknowledged 

 aim of the United States, Britain, and all "responsible nations" was, he declared, "to strive 

 to narrow that gap." (Report, Ditchley Park Conference on Brain Drain, 1968, p. 5 ) 



Senator Mondale observed that while the loss of students may not be the most important 

 element of brain drain, still "it would be a serious mistake to conclude that it does not make 

 a substantial contribution to the 'talent gap' between the rich and poor nations." (Hearings, 

 Senate Judiciary Committee, International Migration of Talent and Skills, p. 92.) 



A UNESCO report observed regarding the relationship between brain drain, development, 

 and economic Independence : "By adding to the imbalance In the distribution of the world's 

 scientific resources, the 'brain drain" helps to accentuate the dependence of the developing 

 countries on the advanced ones ; the increase in the technological gap between these two 

 groups of countries create, for the under-privileged countries additional obstacles to pro- 

 gress towards national economic independence, and it can be the cause of tensions and con- 

 flict between the loser and winner countries." (UNESCO, Problem of Emigration of 

 Scientists and Technologists, February 1968, p. 20.) 



The report of the U.N. Secretary General on brain drain observed that trained and edu- 

 cated men have come to be regarded universally as "a vital component of development." 

 "Should the present trends in the outflow of trained personnel continue," he said, "the 

 results might adversely affect development in the developing countries." (Report of the 

 U.N. Secretary General, Outflow of Trained Personnel from LDCs, Nov. 5, 1968, p. 5.5.) 



Gregory Henderson offered the cautious assessment that migration "may not be one of 

 the more major causes of under-development or of presentlv widening gaps between rich and 

 poor countries ; yet it certainly contributes to such gaps, probablv to an appreciable, though 

 minority, extent." (Henderson, Emigration of Highly -Skilled Manpower from the Develop- 

 ing Countries, 1970, p. 136.) 



528 CIMT studv p. 692. 



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

 nology to the Development of Latin America, 1965, p. 27. 



