More than 150,000 mainlanders [Chinese] obtained overseas citizenship last year, meaning they have made a new home, or an alternative one. The report says the rich and educated elites are becoming the main force in the latest round of emigration, and that many had left in search of a more democratic society, a cleaner environment and better educational opportunities. The main beneficiaries were the US (87,000), Canada and Australia (30,000 each) and New Zealand (6,000).Even plucky Israel, with a loyal and vibrant, hardworking and intelligent population, loses educated and skilled people to lands with perceived greater opportunity.
Li Xiaogang, a research director of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, says the elite are leaving because China's social and political development has not kept up with the economic environment in which they achieved their success. _Chinese Emigration
Most Israelis who are headed abroad in search of economic opportunities or furthering their professional careers have their sights set on the United States, although the ultimate destination is largely a function of educational achievements. Emigrants from Israel to the United States tend to be more educated or professionally qualified than those choosing other destinations,...Even highly skilled and educated professionals and scientists from the UK and Europe are leaving for better opportunities in Canada, the US, Australia, and Switzerland. (PDF)
...Among emigrant families where both spouses were born in Israel, 64% went to the United States, 18% to central or western Europe, 3% to eastern Europe and 15% to other destinations.
...Of the emigrants with undergraduate degrees, 60% went to the United States and 20% to Europe, while for those with a master's degree these figures were 62% and 19%, respectively. Among the Israeli emigrants with a medical degree, 72% chose the United States and 7.6% headed to Europe. For those with a Ph.D., these numbers were nearly 80% and 13%, respectively. _Haaretz
Of course, under US President Obama, US economic prospects continue to be tenuous -- with large numbers of business leaders complaining about the Obama administration's anti-private sector bias, and a high level of uncertainty as to crucial future economic policies in the US. Such dissatisfaction with the economically incompetent US president has kept US employment levels and new business startups suppressed far beyond what would have occurred in a normal recovery.
The prolonged Obama recession has led to what many in the media have labeled a "reverse brain drain" back to countries of origin for many educated emigrants and persons on educational visas. But in the larger scheme of things, such a "reverse brain drain" constitutes more of an eddy current than a genuinely significant counter-current -- at least so far.
Give Obama enough time to wreck the US economy, and such a reverse brain drain may well develop in earnest. That would require rational economic policies to be instituted in other countries, of course, which is not typically seen these days.
True - I'm seeing a lot more Americans here in Australia. And don't think it's only Obama that is trying to be clever about the economy. Here in Australia we have the Democrat equivalent - Labor - in government. They've been in government since the end of 2007 and have taken us from a SURPLUS of $22 Billion, into debt of $260 billion. And what do they have to show for it?? NOTHING. Howard paid off the previous $90 billion in 10 years and left all that money in the kitty for the next government who has gone made buying votes. And to cover their incompetence, they've given us a Carbon Dioxide Tax on everything, plus are hitting the mines up with a 'rich' tax. Result? Companies have cancelled mining deals that were in the pipeline and looked overseas for better investment opportunities. This is typical of Labor governments. They spend spend spend and then tax to cover their arse. Hopefully they're kicked out next election this year, but just like in America, they have a complicit media and the unions behind them. And Obama showed them how to win by trashing the opponent. Boy are they going to trash! Ms Julia Gillard - the Fabian Socialist of Australia.
ReplyDeleteMost people who are planning to emigrate to another country are not thinking about how things could change over the next ten or twenty years in their adopted country. They are looking at current conditions, comparing their home country with their target destinations.
ReplyDeleteAs more Americans come to understand how thoroughly the US Constitution has been dismantled by the federal government over the past decades, their loyalty to the Washington DC government is likely to decline proportionately.
For most of those who wake up to the new reality, their loyalty is likely to shift to more local and regional jurisdictions and groups, according to the strong ties they have built. A small portion may emigrate to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, or Switzerland.