1213 



Effects of Brain Drain Within the United States 



"Without foreign scientists and engineers, American technology 

 and economy would not be what they are today." So wrote Alessandro 

 Silj in 1969.^^* Perhaps this brief statement best sums up the enormous 

 contribution of foreign scientists and engineers to the United States 

 in recent years. Data presented above on the number of immigrant sci- 

 entists and engineers from both the advanced countries and the LDCs 

 and evidence of their strong representation in the American scientific- 

 engineering establishment, correlated with vast outlays in research and 

 development for defense and space, and the success achieved in those 

 areas of national endeavor, suggest the validity of this judgment. 

 Clearly, these immigrant professionals provided much of the under- 

 pinnings of U.S. economic expansion and development in this coun- 

 try's defense-space establishment in the postwar era. 



BENEFITS FROM INCREASED MANPOWER SUPPLY OF SCIENTISTS AND 



ENGINEERS 



Savings to the United States from this vast professional resource are 

 suggested in the above references on cost in education and training 

 to the LDCs. These data are complemented by estimates contained in 

 various sources on brain drain. Gregory Henderson calculated an 

 average educational cost per professional at some $10,000. He acknowl- 

 edged that the figure was low but reasoned that it would allow for 

 the contributions which advanced countries made to the more expen- 

 sive portions of the education undertaken. On this basis, he estimated 

 the educational value contributed by developing nations to the 75,000- 



based industries which will "call the Industrial tune in the 1970's and 1980's." (Adams, 

 "Talent That Won't Stay Put," 1969, p. 77.) 



Such statements as these as well as many others on this subject suggest that fear of 

 "falling behind' or "never catching up" In a highly competitive world lies at the heart 

 of brain drain concerns. 



A unique reaction to brain drain and Its Impact on development is the case of East 

 Germany. After January 1972, when restrictions on East-West contacts were eased in 

 the GDR, some 3,000 East German scientists, engineers, and physicians fled to West 

 Germany, according to an authoritative East German source. The source explained that 

 this departure of talent had adversely affected the "most vulnerable parts of the GDR 

 economy" and that "something will have to be done" since the economy is "the main 

 instrument for establishing economic unity with the East," that Is, the Soviet bloc. 

 The source, ordinarily dignified, affable and composed, became visibly upset when dis- 

 cussing this matter because brain drain from the GDR meant for him the loss of 

 "workers In key positions" and accordingly would impair the nation's economic develop- 

 ment. (Journal Entry by Joseph G. Whelan. Notebook No. 3, Sept. 25, 1973, pp. 166-175.) 



In his survey of Jordanian and Palestinian professionals and students In the United 

 states, Lafi Ibrahim Jaafari noted that 74 percent of the respondents agreed with the 

 statement that "the departure of high level personnel will decrease the welfare of home 

 countries and retard their development, thereby frustrating the International efforts 

 to narrow the gap between the richer and poorer countries." The majority also realized 

 the help that they were denying to their country by not returning. (Jaafari, op. cit., 

 p. 125.) 



^■" Silj, op. clt., p. 10. Recently Leslie Aldridge Westoff made a similar assessment : 

 "There is little doubt that the foreign brains we've hired have helped put America on 

 top in many ways — atomic science, space technology, medicine, engineering and so on. 

 (Among American Nobel Prize winners, 41 percent were foreign-born, and one quarter of 

 the National Academy of Science members were also born abroad.)" (Westoff, op. clt-, 

 p. 80.) 



A mid-1970 survey by the National Science Foundation of some 8,000 alien scientists 

 and engineers who were permanent U.S. residents In January 1969 reported that over 

 one-half were in research (31 percent) or development (20 percent), compared with a 

 34 percent rate for the United States. Abroad, only 38 percent had been Involved In 

 R. & D. activities. The survey also reported that private Industry employed 77 percent 

 of the Immigrant scientists and engineers, and colleges and universities about 13 percent. 

 These sectors accounted for about 70 percent and 14 percent respectively of all scientists 

 and engineers in the United States. Finally. 28 percent of the Immigrants held doctoral 

 degrees and another 29 percent had masters degrees. Only about 10 percent of all 

 scientists and engineers in the United States have doctoral degrees and 20 percent have 

 masters degrees. Furthermore, about one In five were enrolled in full- or part-time graduate 

 training at the university level. Of those enrolled, over one-quarter sought Ph. D.s, nearly 

 one-half masters degrees, and 10 percent sought professional degrees or postdoctoral 

 training. (NSF, Study of Characteristics and Attitudes of Immigrant Scientists and Engi- 

 neers in the U.S., 1973, p. vli.) 



