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Emigration of “crème de la crème “ in Uzbekistan.
A gender Perspective
marina Kayumova
1
(2015)
International migration displays two interesting
tendencies: the increasing migration of the highly
skilled workforce and the growing feminization of
migration flows.
2
This type of human capital flight
mostly affects developing and low-income coun-
tries.
3
It is also an important challenge faced by
Central Asian states. The World Bank estimates that
the total number of emigrants from Uzbekistan since
1991 is 2 million people.
4
However, exact statistics
are not available, and there is speculation that the
real number of migrants is closer to 6 million. Data
for the level of education of emigrants is similarly
unreliable. The World Bank has estimated that one
in three Uzbeks living abroad has a tertiary educa-
tion degree. This would mean that around 1 million
Uzbeks with higher education live outside the coun-
try.
5
That said, Docquier and Rapoport
6
report that
between 1990 and 2000 the highly skilled emigration
rate more than doubled in eight post-Soviet coun-
tries, with Uzbekistan displaying one of the highest
rates (59.5%), of highly skilled emigrants of the total
emigration stock.
7
The gender aspect of highly skilled emigration
has only recently started to receive attention.
8
Since
the 1990s, experts have witnessed a steady increase
of women emigrating. The literature explains this in
terms of the transformation of labor, changing gen-
der roles, including increased gender equality.
9
That
said, the study of highly skilled female migration is
complicated because of the lack of reliable statistics
and harmonized gender-disaggregated data on emi-
grants’ educational background.
10
This paper examines the consequences of the em-
igration of the “crème de la crème” from Uzbekistan.
I use the “brain drain/brain gain” debate as my analyti-
cal framework. The first section of this paper describes
the methodology of my study. The second section ex-
plains why it is important to examine highly skilled
female emigration in Uzbekistan. Drawing on the
empirical data, I collected through a series of in-depth
interviews, I examine both negative and positive con-
sequences of the emigration of highly skilled profes-
sionals. The final section concludes with recommen-
dations on how to turn “brain drain” into “brain gain.”
1 Marina Kayumova (Uzbekistan) has considerable international work experience, during which she was exposed to a variety of projects within
public and private sectors. Her previous assignments include work in GSM Association, European Parliament and Patent Office. She has also
worked as a strategy consultant for SMEs. Marina holds MPhil degree in Innovation, Strategy and Organization from the University of Cambridge
and BA from the University of Westminster. She also received Masters in International Relations from the European Institute, where she explored
EU-Russia and Central Asia relations in the domain of energy cooperation.
2 J. Dumont, J. Martin, and G. Spielvogel, “Women on the Move: The Neglected Gender Dimension of the Brain Drain,” IZA Discussion Paper
No. 2920. Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn, 2007.
3 Y. Kuznetsov and C. Sabel, “International Migration of Talent, Diaspora Networks, and Development: Overview of Main Issues,” in Y. Kuznetsov,
ed., Diaspora Networks and the International Migration of Skills, How Countries can Draw on Their Talent Abroad (Washington, D.C.: The
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, 2006), 3–19; F. Docquier and H. Rapoport, “Quantifying the Impact of
Highly Skilled Emigration on Developing Countries,” in T. Boeri, H. Brucker, F. Docquier, and H. Rapoport, eds., Brain Drain and Brain Gain: The
Global Competition to Attract High-Skilled Migrants (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 209–302.
4 “Country Partnership Strategy for the Republic of Uzbekistan,” Report No. 65028-UZ. World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2011.
5 “Uzbekistan. Modernizing Tertiary Education,” Report No. 88606-UZ. World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2014.
6 Docquier and Rapoport, “Quantifying the Impact of Highly Skilled Emigration on Developing Countries.”
7 F. Docquier and A. Marfouk, “International Migration by Educational Attainment, 1990-2000,” in Ç. Özden and M. Schiff, eds., International
Migration, Remittances and the Brain Drain (Washington, D.C.: World Bank and Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), 151–99.
8 N. M. Nejad and A. T. Young, “Female Brain Drains and Women’s Rights Gaps: A Gravity Model Analysis of Bilateral Migration Flows,” IZA
Discussion Paper No. 8067. Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn, March 2014, http://ftp.iza.org/dp8067.pdf.
9 L. Beneria, C. Deere and N. Kabeer, “Gender and International Migration: Globalization, Development and Governance,” in L. Oso and N. Ribas-
Mateos, eds., The International Handbook on Gender, Migration and Transnationalism: Global and Development Perspectives (Cheltenham, UK;
Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2013), 45–66.
10 J. Dumont, J. Martin, and G. Spielvogel, “Women on the Move: The Neglected Gender Dimension of the Brain Drain,” IZA Discussion Paper No.
2920. Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn, 2007; Beneria, Deere, and Kabeer, “Gender and International Migration”; Docquier and
Marfouk, “International Migration by Educational Attainment.”
Emigration of “Crème de la Crème “ in Uzbekistan. A Gender Perspective
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