International Migration, Remittances, and the Brain Drain

International migration, the movement of people across international boundaries, has enormous economic, social and cultural implications in both origin and destination countries. It is estimated that some one hundred and eighty million people (three per cent of the world's population) are living in countries in which they were not born. Among these are millions of highly-educated people who moved to developed countries from developing countries that already suffer from low levels of human capital and skilled workers. Moreover, the flow of formal remittances from migrants to their relatives in their countries of birth has exhibited a very rapid and accelerating rate of growth. Estimated to exceed one hundred billion dollars annually, remittances surpass foreign aid and account for the largest source of foreign capital for dozens of countries. This timely volume provides an in-depth examination of the relationship between - and the impacts on - migration, remittances and development. Using new household surveys and census data, the determinants of migration and the impact of migration and remittances on various measures of welfare are analyzed. Other issues discussed include the migration of skilled workers, the impact of international students and skilled migration in the United States, the determinants of internal and international migration from rural areas whilst providing a critical examination of the new 'brain drain' literature.