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Flight Capital
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Flight Capital

The Alarming Exodus of America's Best and Brightest

David Heenan
Davies-Black Publishing, 2005
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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

David Heenan sounds a clarion call of alarm about educated immigrants who are now leaving the U.S. and returning to their home countries. His concern for America’s well-being comes through powerfully. His portraits of the different national groups who are now repatriating are vividly drawn and rich with quotations from representative individuals. Heenan is careful to specify how each group is unique as he describes the forces pulling Irish, Icelandic, Indian and numerous other immigrants back to their native nations. Most of his clear, straightforward suggestions about ways to address this crisis sound very logical. He argues quite persuasively for globalization, and for the ability to live and work anywhere and remain connected. However, he feels this trend presents a threat to the U.S., a threat he perhaps could have spelled out more clearly. When he illuminates the tremendous contributions immigrants have made to America, he warns of the problems their departure could cause. getAbstract recommends his book to executives who need to plan for a diminishing educated labor pool or who do business internationally, especially those who can sift these arguments to see which elements apply most fully to their industries or situations. Your workforce may be sailing away faster than you know.

Summary

The Rising Crisis: The “Reverse Brain Drain”

A global power struggle is under way, but it isn’t about land or oil. It’s being “fought over human capital” and it signals a reverse in a longstanding historical trend. For centuries, immigrants have come to the U.S. in hopes of better lives, bringing the power of their educated brains and focused wills. As a result, many American scientists, doctors and entrepreneurs are foreign-born. Recently things have changed: More and more members of this vital educated class are going home, taking their ideas and capital with them.

Some of the reasons educated people are leaving the U.S. are universal, like the draw of family or memories of a cherished home culture. But some reasons are internal to the United States, and not particularly positive. U.S. immigration policies drive foreign expatriates away and, even more powerfully, so does American culture. Numerous “returnees” are distressed by America’s relative lack of values and its emphasis on money. If this trend continues, the U.S. will lose a valuable resource. Each year many of the high school students honored for academic prowess, especially in math and science, are the children...

About the Author

David Heenan has taught at the Wharton School and Columbia University. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Co-Leaders: The Power of Great Partnerships.

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