Determinants of the brain drain among V4 countries
The free movement of people, one of the fundamental rights enjoyed by European citizens, has facilitated intra-EU labour mobility. However, in the V4 region, this freedom has led to a significant emigration of a highly educated workforce to the advantage of other ‘receiving’ EU countries or even further to other continents. Austria, on the other hand, shows comparably lower migration statistics of highly skilled people. Is the brain drain phenomenon determined by the growing competition for talent in V4 countries? Or is there a limited capacity of V4 countries to create attractive conditions for workers?
The outflow of V4+ citizens, especially the young, to the “old” EU countries in search of better jobs and life perspectives influences the economy and social structure in the Visegrad region, in particular in Poland, Slovakia and recently in Hungary. What are the local and regional authorities in the V4 doing to cope directly with the socio-economic effects caused by the significant loss of talent or brain drain?
Based on the Human flight and brain drain index (0 – low, 10 – high), Poland scores the highest, with a value of 4.6, followed by Slovakia with 4.1, Hungary with 4 and Czechia with 3.4. Austria has the lowest score out of the V4+ countries with 1.7 value points. What factors influence low brain drain in Austria? How apparent is the brain drain phenomenon in V4+ countries across different employment sectors? What kind of policies are implemented to promote employment at home? Does the state cooperate with other authorities to subdue the effect of brain drain? Is the brain drain primarily influenced by salary or are there other factors that shape the motives of people to go abroad? What is the position of skilled/unskilled young people in the labour market? Are any groups of work migrants perceived as desirable and particularly useful due to the social and human capital? Are there any special programmes launched in order to encourage the admission and employment of these groups?