Kasyanenko O.O., PhD Panchenko O.I.

Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Ukraine

THE PROBLEM OF INTELLECTUAL EMIGRATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE

The term brain drain was coined by the Royal Society to describe the emigration of "scientists and technologists" to North America from post-war Europe. Another source indicates that this term was firstly used in the United Kingdom to describe the influx of Indian scientist and engineers. This term is determined by the encyclopedia of Britannica as "migration of well-educated people or scientific personnel from one country, sector of economy or area to another, usually for the better payment or conditions of life".

In Ukraine this problem was especially burning at the beginning of the 90s, and still remains serious. Since 1991 about 700 Doctors of Philosophy and more than 1150 Candidates of Sciences have driven out from Ukraine. The majority of them left the country in the 90s. According to the data of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine our country lost about 600 scientists during the last 15 years. Nowadays specialists continue to depart .

 Among the main reasons of the intellectual emigration in Ukraine it is possible to distinguish the following: low level of the remuneration of labour, unsatisfactory technical and device base, low prestige of the status of a scientist in the country. Under such conditions intellectual workers do not get possibility of self-realization, as a result of it a lot of them find a solution in emigration.

Specialists in physics, mathematics, computing engineering, biology, chemistry, medicine and space researches are in great demand abroad. These scientific areas determine the basic progress of the modern science and technology trends.

Host countries at the expense of emigrants raise the level of economy, safety and prestige on the world arena. A prime example is the USA that are an indisputable leader in the international relations. This country is the biggest magnet for intellectual migration, for the specialists in different areas from different countries.

Financing of science in our country leaves much to be desired: the government spends only 0,3 % of GDP, while for example the expenses for the development of science in the USA amounts about 2,7% of GDP. As a result material facilities for science in Ukraine are very poor. Scientific laboratories are not provided with a modern equipment, and the technical base of scientific institutes went out of date (the middle age of the most devices exceeds 15 years, while in the West such devices are considered out-of-date already in 5 years of exploitation) Many instruments (for example microscopes, options for molecular biology) cost hundreds thousands of dollars. Scientists do not have the opportunity to conduct research, to write theses, that’s why they go abroad where this becomes possible.

A serious problem is also the absence of the serious structures that would bring scientific developments into the commercial use in Ukraine. Scientific achievements in the majority of cases remain at the level of the theory and do not find the practical use.

The main source of the "brain drain" is a selection of students and graduate students by foreign universities, which offer to the perspective students to continue scientific work abroad. The gifted students try to win grants, enter the postgraduate course abroad and then to remain there. According to the data of the sociological researches, more than half of the Ukrainian students would like to continue studying abroad. But only a few people return home.

For Ukraine the problem of intellectual emigration remains very important, because with the increase of the stream of intellectual emigrants the rates of the development of education, science and economy begin to slow down, that forms a threat to the individual and national safety.

Because of emigration of skilled workers and technical staff, scientists and specialists a country-donor appears in a large loss. It loses all capital charges, spent in training of these people, whose creative potential served as a fundamental principle and guarantee of the development of economy in terms of the scientific and technical revolution.

According to the estimations of the independent experts, losses of our science caused by "brain drain” that has substantially strengthened scientific potential of the west countries, amount about $1 milliards a year.

Emigration of scientists who work in a such vitally important area as medicine is a serious problem that reflects on the health of the population of our country. Because of the lack of specialists and equipment the treatment of many illnesses in Ukraine is not carried out. People collect fantastic sums on treatment abroad, that is again transfer of money to the economy of other countries.

But there is also an opinion, that emigration can stimulate the growing of economy of the country. Diasporas can become the main "ambassadors" of the countries abroad, and those, who return after several years of work in more developed economies, will bring with them new standards, skills, resources and contacts. This process is called "cyclic migration". The supporters of this conception consider that such form of emigration will increase in the future, especially if economic differences diminish between countries. Similar cyclic migration was observed, for example, among people from Asia Minor, that studied in Australia. In China most large internet-companies were founded by ethnic Chinese that got education in the USA.

Today, for many scientists new ways and possibilities are opened abroad. Therefore in order to solve this problem it is necessary to apply complex methods of the improvement of the position of scientists. It should be done under an aegis of the government programs, aimed at creation of favourable legal, social and economic environment, that will assist research activity in our country. The main thing is that people will return the country with far greater resources and possibilities. Due to it many countries experienced a sharp jump in the development.

To retain scientists Ukrainian government should make budgetary sacrifices, financing scientific projects even unprofitable. It is necessary to carry out modernization of out-of-date scientific supplies that hamper the progress of Ukrainian science.

The next step that will help to solve the problem of brain drain is an adaptation of our science to the modern market relations. Not only state but also non-state organizations, joint-stock companies, non-state funds should be the customers of the scientific developments. Transformation of science in this direction creates conditions for a mutually beneficial collaboration with foreign scientific centers and firms, that produce science intensive products. This cooperation will lead to the stabilization of the scientific development and its growth.

Thus, having analysed the reasons and consequences of the problem of the intellectual emigration, it is possible to make conclusion, that it exerts considerable influence on the economy of the country and its population, that’s why it must not remain without attention otherwise it will increase and bring more negative effects.