Publication of Symposium on "Brain Drain"

"Brain Drain: The Merits and Limits of Furthering Normative Solutions in Source Countries", Moral Philosophy and Politics 3 (2016), 1-117. 

The radically unequal world distribution of skilled professionals that provide essential goods is a staggering dimension of global inequality. Sierra Leone, one of the countries hardest hit by the recent Ebola outbreak, has 0.2 doctors per 10,000 people. Compare that level of deprivation to the health care prospects of the same number of German citizens served by 39 doctors. Apart from being deeply regrettable, a number of hard moral questions arise when we learn that this inequality is on the rise, partly due to the fact that highly skilled workers emigrate in great numbers from poorer regions to live and work in the affluent world. Despite international commitments to "close the gap," the complex structural causes that prompt people to leave and the incentives to recruit them in destination countries are difficult to counteract. Gillian Brock and Michael Blake’s new book, Debating Brain Drain: May States Restrict Emigration? (Oxford University Press 2015)  is a landmark contribution in applied political philosophy addressing this urgent problem and furthering normative solutions within source countries. This symposium is devoted to critical discussion of Debating Brain Drain, and brings together contributions by its authors and critical interventions by Lea Ypi, Eszter Kollar, Darrel Moellendorf, David Owen, Merten Reglitz, and Daniel Callies. It has been guest edited by Eszter Kollar. Further information