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30/09/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Fear of the Brain Drain

Rod Liddle argues that we need to be sceptical of claims of a brain drain.

Rod Liddle argues that we need to be sceptical of claims of a brain drain, which he says is used by all sides of the political debate for their own ends.

Our elite universities claim that an alarming number of the most talented British youngsters are heading out of the country for their education, driven by the stick of domestic fees and the carrot of better facilities abroad. 

Meanwhile City banks say they have to pay enormous bonuses and wages to keep staff in a global market. 

What is the reality of the emigration of highly skilled people?

Some research indicates that the UK has benefitted from a "brain gain" in the last decade, as young academics have returned here from abroad. Rod Liddle argues that we need to be sceptical of claims of a Brain Drain, which he says is used by all sides of the political debate for their own ends. Rod looks at the evidence, talks to the fleeing, the returning, the immigrants and the emigrants.

Interviewees include former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, and businessman Martin Sorrell who has received vociferous criticism for his own pay packages.



Producer: Steve Kyte
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