Brain drain or brain circulation?

Diaspora Networks and the International Migration of Skills: How Countries Can Draw on Their Talent Abroad, new from the World Bank Institute, is not another book on the impact of international remittances. The authors, skeptical of the development impact of these financial flows, instead examine the knowledge and policy contributions of expatriates to their home countries. Edited by Yevgeny Kuznetsov, the book features in-depth looks at India, Mexico, Armenia, Argentina, South Africa and Colombia.

Kuznetsov and Charles Sabel write that network diasporas are “bridge institutions connecting developing economy insiders, with their risk-mitigating knowledge and connections, to outsiders in command of technical know-how and investment capital.” The first chapter, available for free download, is a great read.

For more, visit our friends at the Poverty & Growth Blog or the World Bank Institute’s page on talent migration. The ADB recently examined diaspora networks and knowledge exchange in China. Also, these two related books are free online. And if you do want to read that book on remittances, try this one.