There is an increasing realization that the next society will be a knowledge society, enabled by the rapidly developing information and communications technology. This is despite the fact that the brain drain has brought harmful effects to Africa as some of her best talents have emigrated resulting into lower rates of growth, less productive educational investments and poorer health care. The endogenous growth model supports these effects. There has also been a loss of actual and potential innovators who might have led the way to modernization, as they migrated to educational systems and working environments that have better supported their innovative and creative abilities. This study shows that in order to exploit its full potential, Africa will have to depend increasingly on the acquisition, creation and use of knowledge. However having the storehouse of treasure in the form of knowledge workers is not enough. In order to carry out those functions well, and be on the cutting edge, Africa needs an effective innovation system, linking up with, “innovation friendly” enterprises the various research units, universities, consultants, and other organizations that are able to access the growing stock of global knowledge and create new knowledge and new technologies. We conclude that, the intellectual Diaspora may constitute a key resource for Africa, by providing contacts of many types, contributing know-how and investments and enhancing international trade and creation of wealth.
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|Title of Paper:||The African brain drain: intellectual diaspora to manage the drain: what are the options?|
|Subject Area:||National Systems and Comparative Studies|
|Keywords:||Brain Drain, Developing countries, Diaspora, Migration, Models|
|File Size:||227 KB|
|Rights:||Permission granted by author|
|Date Added:||30 October 2007|