E.g., 04/19/2024
E.g., 04/19/2024
Brain Waste & Credential Recognition

Brain Waste & Credential Recognition

_ImmHealth

Barriers to the recognition of foreign academic and professional credentials and experience are widely recognized as an impediment to the international mobility of skilled professionals and to immigrant integration. The result can be underemployment or unemployment for foreign professionals—a phenomenon referred to as "brain waste." As the research here demonstrates, the resulting waste of human capital represents a loss to employers, host communities, and immigrants themselves.

Recent Activity

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Reports
February 2017
Reinventing Mutual Recognition Arrangements: Lessons from International Experiences and Insights for the ASEAN Region
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Maria Vincenza Desiderio, Brian Salant, Kate Hooper and Taylor Elwood
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Multimedia
December 7, 2016
Doctors as Taxi Drivers: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States
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Multimedia
December 6, 2016
Brain Waste: Researchers Discuss Economic Costs of Skill Underutilization among Highly Skilled Immigrants
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Fact Sheets
December 2016
The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in Select States
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
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Reports
December 2016
Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and James D. Bachmeier
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Reports
October 2016
Digital Humanitarianism: How Tech Entrepreneurs Are Supporting Refugee Integration
By  Meghan Benton and Alex Glennie
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Reports
October 2016
Moving Beyond Crisis: Germany’s New Approaches to Integrating Refugees into the Labor Market
By  Victoria Rietig
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Reports
October 2016
Integrating Refugees into Host Country Labor Markets: Challenges and Policy Options
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio

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Reports
June 2011
Rethinking Points Systems and Employer-Selected Immigration
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
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Reports
June 2011
New Streams: Black African Migration to the United States
By  Randy Capps, Kristen McCabe and Michael Fix
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Reports
June 2011
Opportunities for Transatlantic Cooperation on International Migration
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
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Reports
October 2009
The Future of Migration and Integration Policy in Germany
By  Rita Süssmuth
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Reports
November 2008
Talent in the 21st-Century Economy
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Will Somerville and Hiroyuki Tanaka
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Reports
October 2008
Uneven Progress: The Employment Pathways of Skilled Immigrants in the United States
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and Peter A. Creticos
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Reports
October 2008
Hybrid Immigrant-Selection Systems: The Next Generation of Economic Migration Schemes
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Will Somerville and Hiroyuki Tanaka

Pages

Recent Activity

Reports
February 2017

Reinventing Mutual Recognition Arrangements: Lessons from International Experiences and Insights for the ASEAN Region

As Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States work to facilitate the movement of professionals, the experiences of other countries hold promise for policymakers and licensing bodies in Southeast Asia as they deepen implementation of mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) that seek to establish a uniform and transparent way of recognizing the qualifications of foreign workers. This report offers key lessons.

Video, Audio
December 7, 2016

Doctors as Taxi Drivers: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States

A presentation of the first-ever U.S. estimates on the economic costs of brain waste for highly skilled immigrants, their families, and the U.S. economy. The researchers discuss their findings in terms of the billions of dollars in forgone earnings and unrealized taxes when college-educated immigrants are relegated to low-skilled work.

Video, Expert Q&A
December 6, 2016

Brain Waste: Researchers Discuss Economic Costs of Skill Underutilization among Highly Skilled Immigrants

Nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants in the United States are stuck in low-skilled jobs or are unemployed—a phenomenon known as brain waste. In this brief video, MPI researchers discuss their key findings on immigrant skill underutilization and the resulting billions of dollars in unrealized wages and forgone federal, state, and local tax receipts.

Fact Sheets
December 2016

The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in Select States

Across the United States, nearly 2 million immigrants with college degrees are unemployed or stuck in low-skilled jobs. This skill underutilization, known as “brain waste,” varies significantly by state. These fact sheets offer a profile of these highly skilled immigrants and estimate their forgone earnings and resulting unrealized tax receipts in eight states: California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

Reports
December 2016

Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States

Nearly 2 million immigrants with college degrees in the United States—one out of every four—are employed in low-skilled jobs or unable to find work. This report explores this skill underutilization, often referred to as brain waste, and offers the first-ever economic costs of underemployment for immigrants in the United States: More than $39 billion in forgone wages and a resulting $10 billion in unrealized tax receipts.

Reports
October 2016

Digital Humanitarianism: How Tech Entrepreneurs Are Supporting Refugee Integration

Tech communities in Europe and North America have been spurred into action by the refugee crisis, developing apps and other tools that can be used along the journey, immediately upon arrival, and for longer-term integration into the host society. This report maps several types of emerging tools and considers how policymakers responsible for refugee integration might play a more active role in supporting the most promising.

Reports
October 2016

Moving Beyond Crisis: Germany’s New Approaches to Integrating Refugees into the Labor Market

A key question confronting German policymakers has been how to successfully integrate asylum seekers into the labor market after record numbers arrived in 2015. This report examines the challenges newcomers face in getting jobs at their skill level as well as accessing language and training courses. The report outlines the many integration initiatives created in Germany, and offers recommendations for greater effectiveness.

Reports
October 2016

Integrating Refugees into Host Country Labor Markets: Challenges and Policy Options

Countries receiving large numbers of asylum seekers are facing huge challenges in meeting newcomers' immediate needs, yet longer-term integration issues could prolong the crisis if not addressed. This report assesses the barriers refugees and asylum seekers face getting into jobs, and particularly at their skill level. The report identifies policies that support labor market integration, including early skills assessment and training. 

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