Attention Called to Brain Drain: The Cause and Effect of Intellectual Migration on the Economy of Vietnam

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Summary

My Global Scholar Diploma project aims to understand the causes of the intellectual migration out of Vietnam and to analyze the detrimental impacts of this phenomenon on the economic potential and growth of the country. As the number of students choosing not to return to Vietnam after studying abroad and skilled labor leaving Vietnam for developed countries continues to skyrocket, it is necessary to develop an extensive comprehension of the matter.

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Thesis

During his visit to Southeast Asia in 2016, President Obama referenced the persistent problem of “brain drain” (defined as the emigration of intellectuals citizens from a country) in Vietnam, which dates to the end of the Vietnam War and the Doi Moi reform in 1975. For many years, the diaspora of talented labor and intellectuals to more developed nations in search of better education systems and economic opportunities has intensified, as a report conducted by the Ministry of Education and Training showed a shocking 70% of Vietnamese students abroad refusing to return after graduation and 90,000 laborers leaving the country each year. However, despite these statistics, the decade-long, unnoticed benefits of brain drain to the people of Vietnam and its economy, including over 13 billion dollars in annual remittance, significantly promotes the growth of entrepreneurship and diversity within the labor market, following the government’s implementation of more open policies to over 4 millions Vietnamese dispersing across the world and strengthening the possibilities for a brighter future for the country’s economic development (Nguyen).

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Introduction

My fascination with the topic of intellectual migration stems from a Vietnamese well-known TV show called Road to Mount Olympia, in which accomplished high school students from across the country compete academically to advance to the next round. In the finale, the winner will earn a laurel wreath and a scholarship to pursue an education overseas. After 18 years of broadcasting, 18 talented students have received the golden ticket to study in Australia. However, it baffles me that of those 18 students, only 3 decided to come back to Vietnam after finishing their studies. Furthermore, in 2011, a study found that 70% of Vietnamese overseas students refused to return home after graduation. To a developing middle-income country, the transfer of high-skilled workers away can generate major consequences such as causing labor shortages or undermining fiscal policy. As a member of the Vietnamese community studying in the U.S, I have heard a lot of my friends rambling about the lack of opportunities in Vietnam that drives them to leave for a better education environment. Furthermore, it is significantly disheartening to know they intend to stay in the U.S after college because they do not want to waste their talent in a country where people have to pay bribes to start businesses or to gain promotion.

My paper will be divided into four main sections: the first one will focus on discovering the long history of brain drain, which has dated back to the Vietnam War. The second part will focus on tackling big questions about the shortcomings of the educational, occupational, and policies system in Vietnam that contribute to intellectual migration. Is it the crippling non-meritocratic inequality in both the education and work environment that urges a large number of young people to flee their country? Or is it the prevalent implementation of flawed talent management policies that fail to attract and retain skilled labor? The third part of my paper will be devoted to analyzing the impact that intellectual migration has on the economic potential and growth of Vietnam. Lastly, as a patriotic citizen who holds a fervent belief and duty to advance the nation’s prosperity, the scope of my research will extend to other developing countries that have reversed or resolved the issue of brain drain and study their effective policies that can be applied to help Vietnam. This issue often requires years, maybe decades, for a country to make progressive changes; however, if people develop a comprehensive understanding of brain drain, the day that talented people collectively move to Vietnam for educational opportunities and job prospects is soon to come. And that is the goal of this paper.