The internal brain drain

Foreign Aid, Hiring Practices, and International Migration

Bibliographic Data

ID3897672
AuthorsNicolas Lemay-Hébert (0000-0001-7317-5598, Australian National University, corresponding author), Nicolas Lemay‐hébert (Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs Australian National University Australia), Louis Herns Marcelin (0000-0002-9238-9695, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Miami, United States, and Chancellor of the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development, Haiti), Stéphane Pallage (0000-0003-2650-5034, Rector of the University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg), Toni Cela (0000-0003-4204-3968, Country Coordinator of the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development, Haiti.)
Year2020
Volume44
Issue4
Pages621-640
Publication date2020-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDisasters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0361-3666 • E-ISSN: 1467-7717
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/disa.12382
PMID31251412
OpenAlexW2955912415
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited16

Building on empirical material gathered in Haiti, this paper advances a new and innovative understanding of the internal brain drain phenomenon-the poaching of local skilled workers by international organisations (IOs) or international non-governmental organisations (INGOs)- by conceptualising it as an equilibrium. This equilibrium is composed of two sets of tensions: (i) those between the salary conditions in the public sector and those on offer to local personnel working for IOs and INGOs; and (ii) those inherent in the dual salary scale used by IOs and INGOs for local and international staff. These two sets of tensions contribute in their specific ways to international migration, and, as such, the internal brain drain has a bearing on external brain drain dynamics. In addition, the paper addresses the difficult policy choices facing development and humanitarian organisations, since every set of policies that impacts on one side of the equilibrium is bound to affect its other side

Brain drain · Business · Dual (grammatical number · Economic growth · Economics · Phenomenon · Political science · Salary · International Development and Aid · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Refugees, and Integration