Download the report - Femise

In the short run, the country of origin should invest in medical human capital to build a
medical capacity. This investment could be undertaken using a portion of the side
payment received from the hosting countries. The birth country should also emphasize
quality of education and the standards of practice in the medical profession. This could
be, for example, promoted via the participation of the Diaspora abroad. The Diaspora
could help with building medical capacity in many ways, out of which: (i) what Kana
(2009) terms as “virtual participation,” whereby the Diaspora can be an active participant
in knowledge flow and network building at a low cost, (ii) Diaspora can also help in
helping national students have access to international reputable schools.
In the short run, the birth country can also promote “professional certification” Kana
(2009) and “standards homogenization” (Segouin et al., 2005.) Segouin et al. (2005) has
been calling for the development of international standards in “medical education and
health care delivery” can be an important levy to promote the quality of health services
everywhere. Therefore, promoting an education and a system of health care that is at par
with the rest of the world can be a major contribution to the medical and technological
capacity of the birth country.
In the long run, a more sustainable strategy for the birth country is to invest in brain
circulation as was the case in China, India and South Korea (see for example, Balaz et al.,
(2004), Chacko (2007), Gaillard et al. (1997) and Lee (2008).)
While the brain drain pattern only benefits the receiving country, brain gain benefits the
origin country as well. The host country benefits from the “past investment” and the
“future stream of revenues 96 ” generated by the skilled migrant. Once the medical migrant
returns home, the country of origin benefits from the new skills and knowledge has
acquired prior to his/her return.
(i) The importance of mobility stems from its contribution to the creation and
diffusion of knowledge. Once back to their countries of origin, the returning
medical doctors would diffuse knowledge to their colleagues by direct contact
in the workplace. Using data on nineteen OECD countries during 1980-1990,
Le (2008) has found that international labor movement transfers technology to
96 To use the terminology of Haffajee and Hazelhurst (2001.)
! "+(!