Personal
The decision to leave one’s country is a personal one, and as is often the case, the reasons are linked to ambition, economics, and safety and security. Using his or her own calculus, the émigré determines the costs and benefits of taking the risk of leaving a familiar environment in Guyana and seeking economic opportunities in a strange environment. That Guyanese leave in high numbers, and sometimes at personal risk, means that, for them, the perceived benefits are worth the risks. According to Kinuthia and Akinyoade in an article entitled “Diaspora and development in Kenya: What do we know?” that appears in the April-May, 2012 edition of the Migration Policy Practice Journal, migrant movement is regarded as an integral part of an individual’s freedom to make choices. This kinder view of migration, which is associated with UNDP, enables it to lose its negative image as a destructive instrument of development. The rights-based approach to migration also leaves Guyana with few good options to stem the undesired outflow of its human capital. Restricting migration to hold on to its talent could easily be viewed maliciously as an attempt by Guyana to restrict the freedom of its people.
Increasingly Difficult
With little room to maneuver, it is likely to become increasingly difficult for Guyana to rely on its own intellectual capital to resolve its economic and social problems as a result of the global demand and search by increasing numbers of countries for intellectual capital. The competition for intellectual capital is intense with many economic leaders in Europe, and parts of Asia facing an aging population and dwindling industry-ready workforce. Without the skills to remain competitive in the global market place, and structural weaknesses in their economic systems, the global leadership of many European countries, for example, has come under threat. By 2000, the signs had begun to appear that the global economic ranking could change. According to IMF data, China had the sixth largest economy in 2000 and trailed the USA, Japan, Germany, the UK and France. But, China was growing at a phenomenal rate with the consequence that by 2010, China had surged past all, except the USA and Japan. By 2011, China occupied the number two spot. Brazil was on the move too from its ninth place in 2000, and by 2011 had surpassed Canada, Italy and the UK to move into sixth place.
A lower rank comes with less economic clout and reduced global influence. It forces realignments in relations between countries and in international organizations as seen with the imminent change in voting power in the IMF that gives Brazil, China and India more sway. Brazil and India are also knocking loudly at the door of the Security Council for permanent seats.
Efforts at economic repositioning require access to intellectual capital to increase competitiveness. Dynamic Asian economies like Singapore are trying to plug shortages in various high-technology sectors through immigrants from other countries, including neighbouring Malaysia and even China. Many other countries continue to seek long-term solutions through increased spending on educational opportunities, but that approach does not address the immediate need for skills that allow them to achieve or maintain a competitive edge. Consequently, there is growing competition among countries with advanced economies for highly skilled workers.
Cervantes and Guellec, in discussing the migration policy of the European Union, pointed out that the European policy on migrant workers was highly uncoordinated in the last decade.
For example, in 2000 Germany and France implemented competitive policies in their respective countries in an effort to attract foreign students, researchers and IT workers.
Community-wide Policy
The push for intellectual capital by individual countries in Europe has been overtaken by a Community-wide policy. The EU introduced in 2011 the European Blue Card. The European Blue Card is an Immigration Visa that gives immigrants the right to work and live in the EU for an initial period of two years. After five years, the holder of the Blue Card can apply for permanent residence. Other developed countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand also rely on skills-based migration policies to attract talented human capital to their countries, and are widely expected to expand their search for more talent using this technique.
Coveted Destination
The coveted destination country for Guyanese migrants is the USA, and along with Canada and the United Kingdom, is the host of the majority of them. The USA has long used the “Green Card” to attract immigrants to the country. Despite a comparatively liberal immigration policy, the USA appears to have fallen behind in the pursuit of highly qualified workers. In a report jointly put out by “The Partnership for A New American Economy and The Partnership for New York City” in May of this year, the USA seems to be in desperate need of intellectual capital. The report cites three reasons for America to be on the hunt for talent.
One, the USA is projected to face a shortfall of 230,000 workers with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by 2015. Part of the problem is a shortage resulting from US students not entering these fields in sufficient quantities. A second problem is that American workers are retiring at a rapid pace and the growth of the workforce has slowed considerably. In addition, there has been gridlock on immigration with the result that business startups have hit an all time low reflecting a decline in participation by immigrants in entrepreneurship.
Pressure
The report calls for a series of actions to remedy the situation, most of which were likely to keep the pressure on countries like Guyana since the actions directly target talent from abroad. The study recommends the fast-tracking of permanent visas for immigrants with advanced degrees in STEM. They also call for expediting visa services and providing language training to facilitate integration of immigrants. Also, proposals specifically target the existing and potential international student population in the USA by recommending the creation of visas that make it easier for students studying at US universities to stay in America after completing their studies. It is not clear if the aforementioned proposals would ever become law, but if they do, Guyana would most likely be adversely affected by them.
Inducement
The vast wage gap between the USA and countries like Guyana is a major inducement for Guyanese to leave if they have the chance to do so. But, Guyanese would also cite the lack of good job opportunities, insecurity stemming from brazen criminal acts and an unreliable and undependable police force, political pressure, and corruption as reasons that make it easy to arrive at a decision to abandon the country. Those are issues that will have to be fixed to help slow down the outflow of human capital from the country.
(To be continued)
