The exodus of foreign talent is accelerating, according to a new report by Vivek Wahawa, AnnaLee Saxenian, Richard Freeman, and Gary Gereffi. The New York Times‘ Steve Lohr provides the gist.
The real worry should not be smart foreigners coming to take jobs in America, said Mr. Wadhwa, but all the bright, ambitious immigrants who are leaving the United States and returning home, especially to India and China. That is the topic of a report, “America’s Loss is the World’s Gain,”, to be released Monday, with Mr. Wadhwa as its principal author and the Kauffman Foundation as the funder.
In the last two decades, Mr. Wadhwa estimates, 50,000 immigrants left the United States and returned to India and China. In the next five years, he projects that 100,000 more will make the return trip. “A trickle is turning into a flood,” he said.
Economics, not visa headaches, is the main engine of the shift, according to the two-year research project, which surveyed 1,203 Indian and Chinese workers who had studied or worked in the United States for a year or more before returning home. Growing demand for their skills and shining career opportunities back home were cited by 87 percent of the Chinese and 79 percent of the Indians as the major professional reason for returning. Most also cited the lure of being close to family and friends. Most of the returnees were young –- in their early 30s -– and nearly 90 percent had master’s or doctorate degrees.
Add to this the many, many more who are choosing not to come at all. The full report is here.
