IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cpp/issued/v34y2008i3p305-320.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revisiting Canada's Brain Drain: Evidence from the 2000 Cohort of Canadian University Graduates

Author

Listed:
  • David Zarifa
  • David Walters

Abstract

Existing studies on Canada's brain drain have established the importance of income gains as a critical factor that motivates individuals to move to the United States. It remains unclear, however, how sizable the earnings gap may be for recent post-secondary graduates and whether or not this gap varies by the field of study of the most common drainers. Drawing on the most recent National Graduates Survey (NGS), this study compares the early labour market earnings of the 2000 cohort of university graduates who remained in Canada to their counterparts who obtained employment in the United States. Our results indicate that only a small proportion of this cohort migrated south of the border, yet the great majority of these migrants are heavily concentrated in only a few knowledge-economy fields. Annual earnings are significantly higher for all individuals who relocated to the United States. Moreover, these differences are most salient among undergraduate engineers and computer scientists.

Suggested Citation

  • David Zarifa & David Walters, 2008. "Revisiting Canada's Brain Drain: Evidence from the 2000 Cohort of Canadian University Graduates," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(3), pages 305-320, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:34:y:2008:i:3:p:305-320
    DOI: 10.3138/cpp.34.3.305
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/cpp.34.3.305
    Download Restriction: access restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.3138/cpp.34.3.305?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Louka T. Katseli & Robert E.B. Lucas & Theodora Xenogiani, 2006. "Effects of Migration on Sending Countries: What Do We Know?," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 250, OECD Publishing.
    2. Finnie, Ross, 2006. "International Mobility: Patterns of Exit and Return of Canadians, 1982 to 2003," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2006288e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    3. Helliwell, J.F., 1999. "Checking the Brain Drain: Evidence and Implications," Papers 99-3, Institute for Policy Analysis.
    4. Finnie, Ross & Frenette, Marc, 2003. "Earning differences by major field of study: evidence from three cohorts of recent Canadian graduates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 179-192, April.
    5. N/A, 2005. "The World Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 191(1), pages 8-30, January.
    6. George Hoberg, 2000. "Canada and North American Integration," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 26(s2), pages 35-50, August.
    7. Someshwar Rao & Jianmin Tang, 2004. "Competitiveness Challenges Facing Canadian Industries," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 30(4), pages 365-380, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Gordon, 2020. "The incidence of income taxes on high earners in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(2), pages 437-459, May.
    2. Conchi, Sonia & Michels, Carolin, 2014. "Scientific mobility: An analysis of Germany, Austria, France and Great Britain," Discussion Papers "Innovation Systems and Policy Analysis" 41, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    3. James (Jim) C. MacGee & Joel Rodrigue, 2024. "The Distributional Origins of the Canada-US GDP and Labour Productivity Gaps," Staff Working Papers 24-49, Bank of Canada.
    4. Brahim Boudarbat & Marie Connolly, 2013. "Brain Drain: Why Do Some Post-Secondary Graduates Choose to Work in the United States?," CIRANO Project Reports 2013rp-12, CIRANO.
    5. Wentian Shi & Debin Du & Wenlong Yang, 2019. "The Flow Network of Chinese Scientists and Its Driving Mechanisms Based on the Spatial Development Path of CAS and CAE Academicians," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, October.
    6. Gilles Grenier & Yi Zhang, 2016. "The “Negative” Assimilation of Immigrants: a Counter-Example from the Canadian Labor Market," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 263-286, September.
    7. Compton, Ryan & Sandler, Daniel & Tedds, Lindsay M., 2010. "Backdating, tax evasion, and the unintended consequences of Canadian tax reform," MPRA Paper 39788, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brahim Boudarbat & Marie Connolly, 2013. "Brain Drain: Why Do Some Post-Secondary Graduates Choose to Work in the United States?," CIRANO Project Reports 2013rp-12, CIRANO.
    2. Cristian ÎNCALTARAU & Sorin-Stefan MAHA & Liviu-George MAHA, 2011. "A Broader Look on Migration: A Two Way Interaction Between Development and Migration in the Country Of Origin," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 8, pages 285-297, December.
    3. Maxime Fajeau, 2020. "The Adverse Effect of Finance on Growth," Working Papers hal-02549422, HAL.
    4. Haydar Akyazi & Seyfettin Artan, 2006. "Reflections of the New Economy on the Monetary Policy and Central Banking," Papers of the Annual IUE-SUNY Cortland Conference in Economics, in: Oguz Esen & Ayla Ogus (ed.), Proceedings of the Conference on Human and Economic Resources, pages 373-387, Izmir University of Economics.
    5. Roberta Comunian & Alessandra Faggian & Sarah Jewell, 2014. "Embedding Arts and Humanities in the Creative Economy: The Role of Graduates in the UK," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 32(3), pages 426-450, June.
    6. Festus Ebo Turkson, 2012. "Trade Agreements and Bilateral Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa: Estimating the Trade Effects of the EU-ACP PTA and RTAs," Discussion Papers 12/07, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    7. Julien Gourdon, 2011. "Wage inequality in developing countries: South–South trade matters," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 58(4), pages 359-383, December.
    8. Cristian Spiridon, 2012. "Trade Liberalisation In Europe And The Rest Of The World," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 4(3), pages 407-418, September.
    9. Joshua Aizenman, 2015. "Internationalization of the RMB, Capital Market Openness and Financial Reforms in China," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 444-460, August.
    10. Enrique Alberola & José María Serena, 2007. "Global financial integration, monetary policy and reserve accumulation. Assessing the limits in emerging economies," Working Papers 0706, Banco de España.
    11. FitzRoy, Felix & Jin, Jim, 2021. "Some Welfare Economics of Working Time," IZA Discussion Papers 14810, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Yin‐Wong Cheung & Guonan Ma & Robert N. McCauley, 2011. "Renminbising China'S Foreign Assets," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 1-17, February.
    13. Akee, Randall K. Q. & Feir, Donn. L., 2016. "Excess Mortality, Institutionalization and Homelessness Among Status Indians in Canada," IZA Discussion Papers 10416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Domenica Tropeano, 2006. "Money and distribution: can the theory explain recent empirical trends?," Working Papers 31-2006, Macerata University, Department of Finance and Economic Sciences, revised Oct 2008.
    15. Jan van der Borg & Erwin van Tuijl, 2011. "Upgrading of Symbolic and Synthetic Knowledge Bases: Analysis of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry and the Automotive Industry in China," Working Papers 2011_25, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    16. D'artis Kancs & Pavel Ciaian, 2010. "The Impact Of The Eu Blue Card Policy On Economic Growth In The African Sending Countries," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 78(3), pages 225-247, September.
    17. Lehouelleur, Sophie & Beblavý, Miroslav & Maselli,Ilaria, 2015. "How returns from tertiary education differ by field of study: Implications for policy-makers and students," CEPS Papers 10835, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    18. Revoredo-Giha, Cesar & Philippidis, George & Toma, Luiza & Renwick, Alan W., 2010. "An Analysis of the Potential Impact of the Elimination of EU Export Refunds for Developing Countries," Working Papers 109417, Scotland's Rural College (formerly Scottish Agricultural College), Land Economy & Environment Research Group.
    19. Laura Hering & Sandra Poncet, 2010. "Income Per Capita Inequality in China: The Role of Economic Geography and Spatial Interactions," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 655-679, May.
    20. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5836 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Florence Kondylis & Valerie Mueller, 2014. "Economic consequences of conflict and environmental displacement," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 14, pages 388-424, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:34:y:2008:i:3:p:305-320. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Iver Chong The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Iver Chong to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.utpjournals.press/loi/cpp .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.