Macroeconomic

Globalization has opened the world up to greater flows of information, capital, goods, and services. Yet the movement of people has remained highly restricted, especially for the billions at the bottom of the pyramid.

However, the UNDP's 2009 Development Report concluded that "There is a range of evidence about the positive impacts of migration on human development, through such avenues as increased household incomes and improved access to education and health services. There is further evidence that migration can empower traditionally disadvantaged groups, in particular women."

Enabling talent to move more freely would allow developed and developing countries to capture the developmental benefits of well-managed, global labor flows.

Demographic

Much of the developed world is facing a demographic crisis with populations living longer and having fewer children, thus causing the working-age population to shrink dramatically.

Meanwhile, developing countries have large populations of working-age citizens, many of whom are unemployed, yet qualified and ready to work or start new businesses at home or abroad. Improving the international mobility of these populations can open myriad entrepreneurship and employment opportunities, for our Associates, and for our Partner Companies.

Wider Benefits

Brain Circulation

The UN, World Bank, and OECD have, in recent years, begun to hold "brain circulation" theories as being more appropriate than the previous "brain drain" models. It is now often considered that international labor mobility provides enormous potential to increase the flow of new ideas and discoveries around the world, and can also create net economic benefits in both rich and poor nations.

An example of brain circulation

The effect of brain circulation can be seen in the labor movements between Silicon Valley and India, where former U.S. tech-company employees—scientists, engineers, technicians, and managers—are now moving back to their hometowns in India and establishing both their own businesses and collaborative ventures with their former employers in California. These workers bring back new and valuable ideas, IT know-how, improved technology, capital, and the networks they developed in Silicon Valley.

Education

Education and training programs abroad also offer tremendous "human-capital" gains. A period spent studying or training abroad exposes individuals to new ideas and contexts that when combined with their existing knowledge of their native countries allows them to find and exploit opportunities at home and abroad that may previously have been inaccessible. This is one of the most positive side-effects of international mobility.