No Pain, No Gain: Implications of Talent Migration for World Economies

Introduction

“The world is your oyster” is a popular saying that fuels people to follow opportunities irrespective of geographical boundaries and build their lives as they aspire to.¹. Nowadays, due to the accelerated phenomenon of globalization (Benedikter, Gruber & Kofler, 2022; Deese, 2017; Ferguson & Mansbach, 2012; Gallimore, 2022; Jacobs, 2022; Kerr, 2020; Steger, 2020), this saying appears to suit more and more people at a global level. For that matter, irrespective of the society in which they live, people all over the world aim at improving their standards of living and general well-being. If some can attain these goals in their home cities and countries, others find it beneficial to change residence, migrate and invest their talent in other locations or nations (Tuccio, 2019). This context fueled the emergence of the talent migration phenomenon (Bertelsmann Stiftung & Migration Policy Institute, 2009; Edo et al., 2020; Kuptsch & Pang, 2006; Jacobs, 2022; Rizvi, 2005; Sachar & Hirschl, 2013; Wang, 2022; Yeoh & Huang, 2017), which is defined as the relocation of people to other cities within their country or to other countries (on their continent or different continents) due to work opportunities and the possibility to improve living standards.

In direct connection with talent migration is the so-called “brain drain” concept, which refers to the relocation of highly skilled, highly educated professionals in search of better work and living conditions (Docquier & Rapoport, 2012; Dodani & LaPorte, 2005; Ewers et al., 2021; Latukha et al., 2022; Vega-Muñoz et al., 2021; Zhatkanbaeva et al., 2012; Zong, 2017). Talent migration (in general) and brain drain (in particular) have a huge impact on national and regional economies because home economies register substantial losses in terms of tax levies and skilled workforce. Moreover, when talent migrates from important industries such as healthcare, education, agriculture, construction, or hospitality, home cities or countries struggle with providing high-quality public goods (e.g., medical services, education, transportation infrastructure, construction facilities, hospitality services), which directly affects citizens’ wellbeing. In this context, public authorities and private business owners are called to design public policies and business strategies to retain national talent within the country’s borders. At the other point of the spectrum, economies receiving national and international talent number a set of benefits. Hence, the new residents:

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  contribute to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) via their everyday life, employment, or business activities;

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  finance public budgets through direct and indirect taxation on consumption, capital gains, income, property, or wealth;

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  may activate in industries that have been lacking skills for long periods;

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  contribute to boosting productivity and competitiveness in certain sectors (e.g., agriculture, hospitality, IT);

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  can increase significantly the quality of goods and services produced in a particular country via their involvement in intensive R&D activities (inventions, patents) (Tam, 2020; Wei, Yuan & Zhao, 2020).