Gibson, JohnMcKenzie, David2012-03-192012-03-192009-06-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4159A unique survey which tracks worldwide the best and brightest academic performers from three Pacific countries is used to assess the extent of emigration and return migration among the very highly skilled, and to analyze, at the microeconomic level, the determinants of these migration choices. Although the estimates indicate that the income gains from migration are very large, not everyone migrates and many return. Within this group of highly skilled individuals, the emigration decision is found to be most strongly associated with preference variables such as risk aversion, patience, and choice of subjects in secondary school, and not strongly linked to either liquidity constraints or the gain in income to be had from migrating. Likewise, the decision to return is strongly linked to family and lifestyle reasons, rather than to the income opportunities in different countries. Overall the data show a relatively limited role for income maximization in distinguishing migration propensities among the very highly skilled, and point to the need to pay more attention to other components of the utility maximization decision.CC BY 3.0 IGOACADEMIC OCCUPATIONSACADEMIC PERFORMANCEACADEMIC RESEARCHACADEMIC SUBJECTSACCOUNTINGADDITIONAL INCOMEAPPLIED SCIENCESBENEFITS OF MIGRATIONBONDBRAIN DRAINCAREERCAREER ADVANCEMENTCAREER OPPORTUNITIESCAREER PROSPECTSCAREERSCITIZENCITIZENSHIPCIVIL SERVICECOLLEGESCOMPUTER SCIENCECONSULTING FIRMSCOUNTRY OF ORIGINDEGREE PROGRAMSDEMOCRACYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDISCOUNT RATESEARNINGSECONOMIC IMPLICATIONSEDUCATED ADULTSEDUCATION ATTAINMENTEDUCATION LEVELSEDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEDUCATIONAL OUTCOMESELEMENTSEMIGRANTSEMIGRATIONEMIGRATION LEVELSEMPLOYMENTEXAMEXCHANGE RATEEXCHANGE RATESEXTENSION CENTERFAMILY MEMBERSFEMALE SCHOLARSFINANCIAL COSTSFOREIGN LANGUAGESFOREIGNERSGENETIC ENGINEERINGGLOBAL DEVELOPMENTGOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTSGRADUATE DEGREESGRADUATE PROGRAMSHEALTH CAREHEALTH CARE SYSTEMHIGH SCHOOLHIGH SCHOOLSHIGHER EDUCATIONHIGHLY SKILLED INDIVIDUALSHOME COUNTRIESHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN MIGRATIONIMMIGRANTIMMIGRANTSIMMIGRATIONINCOMEINCOME LEVELINCOME TAXESINCOMESINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL MIGRANTSINTERNATIONAL MIGRATIONINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEWINVESTMENT DECISIONLEVELS OF EDUCATIONLIFESTYLESLIFETIMELITERATURELOCAL COMMUNITYMALARIAMASTERS DEGREESMATHEMATICSMATHSMEDICAL DOCTORSMEDICAL SCHOOLMIGRANTMIGRANTSMIGRATION PATTERNSMIGRATION RATESMINISTRY OF EDUCATIONMOTHERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONSNATURAL RESOURCESNURSESNURSING SCHOOLSOLDER AGE GROUPSOLDER INDIVIDUALSPAPERSPOLICY IMPLICATIONSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOPULATION ESTIMATESPOPULATION SIZEPOTENTIAL MIGRANTSPRESS RELEASEPRIMARY SCHOOLPRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLMENTSPRIVATE SCHOOLSPROBABILITIESPROGRESSPUBLIC SERVICESPULL FACTORSPURCHASING POWERPURCHASING POWER PARITYQUESTIONNAIRERADIORATE OF MIGRATIONREMITTANCESRESEARCH ASSISTANCERESEARCH FUNDINGRESPECTRETURN MIGRATIONRETURNEESRISK AVERSIONRISK SCORESALARIESSALARYSCHOLARSSCHOLARSHIPSCHOLARSHIPSSCHOOLSSCIENTIFIC LABORATORIESSCIENTISTSSECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSECONDARY SCHOOL ENROLMENTSECONDARY SCHOOL ENROLMENTSSECONDARY SCHOOL SUBJECTSSECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERSSECONDARY SCHOOLINGSECONDARY SCHOOLSSECONDARY STUDENTSSENIORSEXSKILL LEVELSKILL LEVELSSKILLED MIGRANTSSKILLED OCCUPATIONSSKILLED PROFESSIONALSSOCIAL FACTORSSPOUSESTUDENT DEBTSUBJECTSTAX RATESTEACHERTEACHERSTEACHINGTELEVISIONTELEVISION ADVERTISEMENTSTERTIARY EDUCATIONTERTIARY EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIESTERTIARY INSTITUTIONTERTIARY INSTITUTIONSTERTIARY LEVELTERTIARY SECTORUNDERGRADUATE EDUCATIONUNIVERSAL EDUCATIONUNIVERSITIESWAGEWAGESWORK EXPERIENCEWORKERSYOUNG AGEYOUNGER COHORTSWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4965