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Conclusions and Policy Implications
MANAGING THE MIGRATION PROCESS TO MAXIMIZE BENEFITS AND MITIGATE COSTS Previous chapters have given evidence that the benefits and costs associated with economic migration, in particular skilled migration, vary not only between receiving and sending countries but also in the short run and the long run. In light of the results from the most recent economic literature, this report has discussed benefits and costs associated with skilled migration for both receiving and sending countries among European Union (EU) Member States (table 7.1). Although the benefits for receiving countries seem to substantially exceed the costs, in both the short run and the long run, the net effect of out-migration for sending countries is more difficult to determine a priori. In the short run, out-migration helps alleviate pressures from high unemployment, especially in certain disadvantaged regions and for some population groups (such as youth); but, at the same time, it induces human capital losses and exacerbates population aging. Instead of focusing on preventing a drain of human resources, policies should also better manage the migration process and promote brain circulation, by taking advantage of intra-EU labor mobility and the consequent flows of networks, expertise, and trade. The EU’s policy on the free movement of workers establishes the right of EU nationals to reside and work in any other EU country.1 Given the legal provisions that protect the free movement of citizens within the EU, it is difficult to decrease out-migration and the drain on human resources without providing better wages and employment opportunities in the sending countries. In the medium/long run, skilled migration can become beneficial for sending countries (“brain gain”) through return migration, which can enhance knowledge and productivity spillovers, and can contribute to job creation through business start-ups and entrepreneurship. However, return migration of the best and the brightest who left the country is not guaranteed, and sending countries should invest in ensuring conditions that can be conducive for the return of skilled migrants and their smooth reentry into the domestic labor market. Beyond encouraging return migration, sending countries can
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