1054 



responded by passing a resolution conceding the seriousness of the 

 problem and expressing grave concern.^^ 



Certain Assumptions 



The complexities of the brain drain make it a nebulous subject upon 

 which to base a study. To give some structure to the problem, certain 

 assumptions have to be made, and the first is, that the problem exists. 



BRAIN DRAIN : REALITY OF PROBLEM 



Such an assumption needs to be made explicit because some stu- 

 dents of the brain drain deny that it does exist. If this were the case, 

 then the purposes of this study would be meaningless. George Baldwin 

 asserts, for example, that professional migration from the LDCs ap- 

 pears not to be a drain but an overflow. ^^ Howard J. Caquelin believes 

 that the problem has been exaggerated. "The hullabaloo about the 

 'brain drain' is getting rather threadbare,'' he said. "Only the centers 

 of attraction have changed from ancient Takahasila in India to the 

 Middle East to Rennaissance Europe, and, more recently to the United 

 States . . . the drained have always complained." -* Henry Fairlie 

 states categorically, "There is no brain drain." -^ 



Others disagree. H. V. Hodson, Provost of the Ditchley Founda- 

 tion which sponsored a conference on the brain drain and the LDCs, 

 prefaced the report of the conference with the conclusion that there 

 are two things about the brain drain "that are reasonably certain in 

 the contemporary world. They are, first that its scale alone now makes 

 it a substantial economic and social issue for many countries, both as 

 importers and as exporters of 'brains,' and that in the over-all balance 

 a net export lies with the less-developed and a net import with the 

 most-advanced countries." ^^ 



Philip H. Coombs, Director of UNESCO's International Institute 

 for Educational Planning in Paris, acknowledged 'the absence of suffi- 

 cient data to see the whole brain drain picture clearly, but he asserted, 

 "There is enough indicative evidence to warrant serious concern." ^^ 

 George Seltzer, Professor of Economics at the University of Minne- 

 sota, conceded the vast divergencies of views dictated by subjective 

 considerations, but he considered the brain drain a "problem" because : 



1. It is creating international ill-will ; 



2. It is perverting specific international programs for aid and technical assist- 

 ance: 



22Nurl Eren, "Supply, Demand, and the Brain Drain," Saturday Review, (Aug. 2, 

 1969), p. 10. Anwar Koraltem and Mldhat Hamdi, officials in the UAR's Ministry of 

 Education, gave the following Interpretation of the brain dr.iln : "The United Arab 

 Republic is of tlie opinion that the "brain drain' processes are immoral processes which 

 impair nation-building efforts in developing countries by depriving tliem of the required 

 human experience and thus hamper their march towards progress. The United Arab 

 Republic also has the conviction that the 'brain drain' policy adopted by certain advanced 

 countries to drain qualified elements from developing countries is against the principles 

 and purposes of international cooperation." (Quoted in, UNESCO, Preliminary Report 

 on Emigration of Scientists and Technologists, 196S, p. 8, fl. 1.) 



^ Baldwin, op. clt.. p. 359. 



=* Quoted in, George Seltzer. "Brain Drain: What Should and Can Be Done?" Inter- 

 national Development. 1966. Edited by, H. W. Singer, Nicolas de Kun and Abbas Oroobadi 

 (Doblis Ferry, N.Y. : Oceana, 1967), p. 55. 



K Ibid. 



-■8 Ditchley Foundation. Report of a Conference at Ditchley Park. Feb. 16-19, 1968. 

 International Migration of Talent From and to the Less Developed Countries. Rapporteur, 

 C. H. G. 01dh;>m. Ditchley Parle. England, 1968. p. 5. 



"^ Philip H. Coombs, "Brain Drain from Developing Countries," International Develop- 

 vicnt (1966), p. 00. 



