Female Brain-Drain or Female Empowerment? A panel data analysis of brain-drain rates to OECD countries from 1980 to 2010

Abstract: Women make up most of the high-skilled workers in OECD countries, a trend that has been on the rise since the 80’s. The main hypothesis of this paper is that women migrate more than men due to the cultural impositions of gender roles on their freedom. This paper benefits from using the most comprehensive dataset on brain-drain available, that contains data for 193 countries throughout 30 years, and so far not quoted for any gendered migration studies. Through, a fixed effects panel estimation, this dissertation found that indeed freedom rights are the most important determinant, rebuking the hypothesis of previous studies that attributed brain-drain to women’s rights violations. In addition, this dissertation found that there tends to exist a linear relationship between the importance of freedom rights’ violation and the level of education of women, and an inverse one for women’s rights, that are most important for low-skilled women. Ultimately, it is argued that fleeing human rights violations’ is empowering those who would be powerless at home, women.