Abstract
-he problem of the brain drain-movement of highly skilled personnel across national borders-has been an object of increasing concern during the last two decades. International agencies, especially those linked with the United Nations, have seized the subject as one of the clearest manifestations of international imbalances in favor of the developed countries (United Nations, 1971; Kidd, 1967). It is clear, despite variations across countries, that loss of professionals represents a significant cost for many nations, especially less developed ones. Recent data from three widely different countries may be used to illustrate such costs: from 1955 to 1968 Colombia lost 20,506 professionals to the United States; at an estimated cost of U.S. $8,000 for the training of each individual, Colombia made a contribution to the "development" of the United States of $164,048,000 during the period. In a small country like Lebanon, costs of training those who emigrated in a single year, 1967, were estimated at U.S. $40,000,000. Similarly, in Trinidad-Tobago, the outflow of professionals represented a loss of U.S. $21,200,000 in 1968
