There is an unquestioned but common view that the departure of African people from the continent is harmful to its development. The idea is taken as a serious one and comes under the dramatic summary of “brain drain”.
The most serious form of this “brain drain” is the part that a substantial but not majority of Africa’s medical health professionals are based in countries other than those in which they were born and sometimes outside the continent. This argument does not make sense for many of these professionals, and especially for those who depart because of persecution or even state collapse.
From
this foundation, the loss of scholars, medical professionals, or others
in pursuit of opportunity or refuge does not fit the description of
“brain drain”. The demand that a professional African should stay at
home and make her brain hostage to so-called national interest is
increasingly becoming an untenable, if not altogether ridiculous, claim
from a political leadership that makes these professionals to run away
to begin with. The factors that create the preference for African
scholars and medical professionals to establish their lives outside the
continent cannot be stopped by entreaty and attempts to shame them for
choosing safer and higher productivity jobs that come with better
income.
WHY PEOPLE MIGRATE
At
the rudimentary level, there are three types of emigrants from African
countries. The first and most common kind are the ones who are compelled
by disaster or serious political breakdown to move across borders from
one African country into another that is safer. This is the most
vulnerable kind of refugee and their migration is never out of choice.
Needless to state, this kind of migrant must rely on international
protections for refugees, which neighbouring African countries provide
in an imperfect form. Migrants of this kind often are constrained by
money and therefore travel across a border to a neighbouring country.
These are people whose condition reflects the state fragility that is
still prevalent in Africa.
The second type of
migrant would be the one who moves from one African country to another
in order to undertake professional services because terms are better or
because employment becomes available after education. This type of
migrant has also moved away from “home” and endeavours to build a
professional life in another area. This group may include professionals
such as physicians, nurses, or even teachers, but a far larger number
may be those who relocate to offer labour on farms or even to work in
labour-intensive constructions sites or mines, as is common in South
Africa. Individual countries in eastern Africa also receive departing
professionals from other countries based on conflict or the search for
economic activities. This group has a mix of professionals and
semi-skilled people, but the common purpose for their relocation is the
search for better economic opportunity. The professional kind are often
licensed and allowed to work but the semi-skilled are sometimes engaged
in work but may not be fully compliant with immigration law.
The third kind of emigrant from the African
continent are similar to the second type and are a mixture of
professionals and semi-skilled people who proceed outside of Africa.
Often their intention is to find employment that would provide better
remuneration and opportunity for advancement than they could find at
home. Recipient countries in Europe and North America have established
mechanisms to tap into the professionals who wish to leave Africa and
especially engineers, medical professionals, and selected occupations,
but are completely opposed to lower-skilled people even where they are
also needed.
Recent scholarship on the economics
of migration demonstrates that the whole world would be more prosperous
if migration policy was more tolerant and designed to allow people who
wish to work to find more productive occupations in other countries.
Based on this analysis, it is clear that the use of the phrase “brain
drain” in reference to migration by Africans to other countries is
misplaced. This is not only because for a country such as Kenya,
remittances from migrants is a leading and stable source of foreign
exchange, but also because the ability of professionals to find the best
conditions to work results in improved welfare for all.
INCENTIVES
In
2017, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development showed
that most movement by African migrants was from one country to another
within the African continent. Specifically, of the 41 million migrants,
19 million moved from one African country to another, with 17 million
residents outside the continent, and the continent accommodated 5.5
million from the rest of the world. The global nature of migration is
that it is linked to political and economic activities which make it
necessary to change residences for a while and sometimes permanently.
Since
the issue of “brain drain” concerns many African governments, they may
have to contend with the fact that more migration will follow from the
border liberalisation implied by the African Continental Free Trade
Area. What this means is that skilled people will find opportunities
across the border and create value where they may exploit existing
chances. That result is good for individuals because countries should
care about the productivity of its people. To prevent this movement,
then African countries that are most affected by departure of selected
professionals such as teachers, medical workers, and engineers should
expand the supply of these professionals through investments in medical
and engineering academies. It is not possible to keep these
professionals in a country and within the continent by merely
enumerating the losses that come from their departure.
The
concept of “brain drain” is an oxymoron and governments in African
countries should understand what part of the problem they can solve. The
economic incentive for people not to depart is not possible because
many African countries have constitutions that permit dual citizenship
and this means that when domestic policy and political conditions are
not ideal, then professionals will depart. Keeping countries stable,
secure, and with facilities able to match the aspirations of the
ambitious professionals must be the main political aim of African
governments. The solution to Africa’s ability to keep its most
productive people in the continent is both economic and political. If it
fails in both, then African countries will have to be content with the
remittances from professionals who left, and this is the dividend of the
brain drain. Brain drain is not a problem, but development is.
Kwame Owino is the chief executive officer of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). Leo Kemboi is an economist at IEA.
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