ParaPundit has an excellent post up on the international fears of a "Brain Drain." One interesting point: he notes that there is little news coming out of Mexico of fear of a "Brain Drain." I find this interesting-because to my knowledge, "Brain Drain" does occur in most Third World nations. The bizarre selection biasing of immigrants from South Asia and Africa in the United States is one clear example (bizarre in that while many Americans of South Asian and African [recent immigrants] origin posses graduate degrees, their homelands are among the most retrograde and deprived regions of the earth). ParaPundit's blog entry makes clear that Middle Eastern nations like Iran also suffer from "Brain Drain," and TangoMan below has a post about migration of European talent to the United States.

Two comments: does the "Brain Drain" occur in Japan? This nation obviously has talented professionals, but do they choose to remain in their homeland? If so, what does that say about the "Quality of Life" in Japan? Also, do Latin American nations not suffer from "Brain Drain," or is their migration more towards Spain, so that we are not aware of it? If the former is the case, perhaps Latin America is foreshadowing of the "end state" of many Third World countries as they advance in their "social development," prosperous elites flourishing in society characterized by high levels of structural inequality. Contrast this with Africa or much of Asia, where social & political (Israel for example) instability compels their elites to move overseas when they can.

Brazil or Japan. Two very different countries, but are they models for the future? I'm throwing out a grossly over-simplified dichotomy, but I'd be interested in more facts to chew on in this area....