Brains on the move

During the 1990s, with a sharp increase in the migration of young and highly educated Canadians to the United States and other countries, much angst arose in Canada regarding a potential “brain drain.” The pick-up of migration — significant but not a large por- tion of the population — was a result of a precipitous decline in per capita income in Canada relative to that in the United States dur- i [...] The essays provide analyses of the importance of labour mobility to the economy, and they draw several important policy conclusions from the discussion. [...] The era of the “New Economy” and the large productivity gains evident in the US economy and elsewhere raised the stakes in the global competition to acquire knowledge and develop leading- edge technology. [...] The early evidence suggested that the aggregate flow of the highly skilled from Canada to the United States was relatively modest by historical standards and more than offset by the inflow of immigrants. [...] Since talent is not just born but also created, an important part of the brain drain debate is the role of Canada’s education system and the effect of increasing economic integration with the United States on the creation of human capital in Canada.