Aaron M. Renn

Beyond brain drain

Urban analyst, Urbanophile blogger, Mar 28, 11.

Tagged with economy, education, people, movement

Much of the anxiety around human capital in places like Indiana revolves around the so-called “brain drain,” or loss of educated young people after they leave school. But while many would-be brain drain plugs are without question valuable, especially those focused on boosting education, the problem is actually much more complex than that simple idea suggests.

Firstly, a lot of the regions and states that have bled population don’t have especially high out-migration rates. My research based on IRS tax return data shows that Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and yes, Indiana rank among the bottom ten states in America for out-migration rates. The problem is that many of these states perform even worse at in-migration, such as dead last Michigan. Indiana isn’t doing that much better, though metro Indy is a bright spot.

The real problem is less a matter of too many people leaving than too few people coming. People are constantly leaving Manhattan, but it remains full because there’s a constant stream of newcomers rolling in behind them. That human capital circulation is what’s missing in the Midwest. Without that healthy churn, the talent pool stagnates, with predictable results.

Brain drain also almost implies that the only people who would want to live in Indianapolis are those who were born there or went to school there. But Indy needs to be more bold in believing that even people with no connection might want to live there. Don’t sell the city short, and don’t be afraid to go out and compete in the marketplace. Indy is no longer a sleepy, backwater state capital. While it certainly has a way to go in some departments, it is at the point where it can compete at a much higher level than many think. Indy has a lot to offer in the here and now, and is only going to get better over time.

And think about this: there are only 1.7 million people in the region to retain, but there are six billion people out there in the world to attract. What pond would you rather be fishing in? Silicon Valley didn’t get to be the high tech capital of the world by retaining the graduates of Palo Alto High School. It got there by hoovering up everybody else’s talent…

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Source: The Urbanophile, March 20, 2011

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