SKILLED MIGRATION AND CRISIS IN LATIN AMERICA: PERSPECTIVES, RETURN, EVIDENCE

This work aims to guide discussions on the return of highly qualified people in Latin America, with evidence to identify potential opportunities offered by the current crisis. Among the consequences of the crisis on skilled migration has dominated the view of host countries about making and maintaining protectionist quotas to favor the recovery of economic activity and innovation. We discuss the importance of skilled migration for development in Latin America, raising the issue of the return, a process while an alternative policy. Conditions are examined of return in the U.S. and Spain and, based on census information in the countries of Latin America, quantifies and describes the profile of highly qualified people who have returned in recent years. We analyze the return policy debate in Latin America, in particular as it relates to this workforce, and it uses census microdata from 7 countries conducted their census in the 2010 round. The findings identify the size and characteristics of the return qualified and return policy debate. Proposals are made to contribute to the research and design of appropriate policies.