Instead of lamenting about brain drain, consider the idea of 'brain circulation' - Expert

The brain drain phenomenon should not only be looked in terms of a human capital loss for the host nation.

Instead, migration researcher Dr Koh Sin Yee said the debates on brain drain has transitioned into discussions about brain circulation.

Brain circulation is described as the circular movement of skilled labour across nations.

"Well, the brain drain narrative comes from the nation state perspective, particularly the sending state narrative, thinking that the exit of their citizens would be a loss in terms of human capital," said Sin Yee, a Senior Assistant Professor in Asian Migration, Mobility and Diaspora at the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

However, she said there are certain programmes or policies that encourage members of the diaspora to circulate.

"It does not necessarily mean that they will return permanently to the home country but they could still reside in their host society, but perhaps conduct a series of visits back to the home country.

"This way, they can continuously contribute in terms of knowledge and skills transfer and human capital training in their home country," she said during an interview with Astro AWANI's Consider This.

She was speaking on the sidelines of Malaysia Futures 2023 in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Malaysia Futures 2023 is a forum jointly organised by LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre (SEAC) and Khazanah Research Institute (KRI).