Talent abroad a review of German emigrants

148 Pages·2015·2.47 MB·English

by  OECD

Talent Abroad: A Review of German Emigrants
Contents
Chapter 1. Numbers and locations of German emigrants
Chapter 2. Potential of German emigrants for the labour market Talent Abroad: A Review
Chapter 3. Emigration from and return to Germany: Patterns and motivations
of German Emigrants
Chapter 4. German emigrants engaged in study and research abroad
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Talent Abroad:
A Review
of German Emigrants
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3
FOREWORD –

Foreword
Emigrants are often considered a loss for their country of origin but they
can also play an important role for fostering trade and economic
development, notably because of the skills and contacts they have acquired
abroad. If they choose to return their re-integration in the labour market and
in society will be facilitated by the fact that they speak the local language,
have specific social capital and possess local qualifications that employers
readily recognise.
Drawing on the human resources of emigrants, however, necessitates
maintaining links with them and pursuing policies adapted to the specific
needs of each expatriate community. This implies, as a prerequisite, to be
able to identify precisely where, when and why people have left and what
their socio-demographic characteristics and skills are, as well as
understanding the dynamics of the phenomenon and of individual behaviour.
Because statistical systems in countries of origin are generally poorly
equipped to undertake this monitoring exercise it is necessary to compile
information directly from destination country data sources. This is
particularly challenging because it implies collecting data from a large
number of countries across which emigrants are scattered, based on
comparable definitions and concepts. The OECD Database on Immigrants in
OECD Countries (DIOC) that pools census and register data allows
identifying people across the world by place of birth as well as by education
and labour market status at several points in time. It is a powerful tool to
undertake this mapping exercise, especially when complemented by
available national sources (e.g. consular data, specific surveys, analyses of
social networks) and many other international data sources.
This series of country reviews entitled “Talent abroad” aims at
providing an accurate, updated and dynamic picture of the diasporas from
OECD and selected non-OECD countries. On this basis, and building on
cumulated experiences regarding diaspora policies, it is possible to
formulate policy recommendations on how best to engage with emigrants
and better mobilise their skills to support economic development in the
country of origin.
TALENT ABROAD: A REVIEW OF GERMAN EMIGRANTS © OECD 2015
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– FOREWORD

The first volume in this series focuses on Germany. Germany is facing
rapid population ageing and already experiences occasional shortages of
skilled labour. In this context, German authorities are considering all
possible options to increase the local supply of skills through a
comprehensive set of policies including activation, education and training as
well as immigration. However, taking into account the large number of
Germans abroad, it appears important to be able to also draw from this pool
of talent abroad.
The in-depth analysis of the German diaspora presented in this
publication allows one to determine the potential of emigrants as a source of
labour supply. How many emigrants are there, and where are they located?
Are they of working age, and what is their education level? Do they
participate in the host country’s labour market, and in which occupations?
What is their motivation to emigrate, and who returns? What is the specific
evidence regarding researchers, health professionals and students? What are
the implications in terms of public policies?

TALENT ABROAD: A REVIEW OF GERMAN EMIGRANTS © OECD 2015
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS –

Acknowledgements
This review was written by Friedrich Poeschel. It incorporates important
contributions from Emily Helmeid at earlier stages of the work, and valuable
comments were received from Jean-Christophe Dumont, Theodora
Xenogiani and Thomas Liebig. The OECD Secretariat would like to thank
the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, without whose
support this review would not have been possible. Special thanks go to
Cansin Arslan, Véronique Gindrey and Philippe Hervé for their help with
OECD data sources. The editorial assistance provided by Marlène Mohier,
Lucy Hulett, Sylviane Yvron and Nathalie Bienvenu is greatly appreciated.
The Secretariat would like to thank Xing AG for kindly providing additional
data, and Andreas Ette from the Federal Institute for Population Research
for help with data from German sources. A draft of this report was presented
at the OECD Working Party on Migration in Paris on 13 June 2014. Thanks
are also due to the OECD Working Party on Migration for their comments.
TALENT ABROAD: A REVIEW OF GERMAN EMIGRANTS © OECD 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS –

Table of contents
Acronyms and abbreviations ................................................................................... 13
Executive summary ................................................................................................. 15

Chapter 1. Numbers and locations of German emigrants .................................. 19
A large pool of emigrants ....................................................................................... 20
Where have they gone? ........................................................................................... 24
Trends and developments ....................................................................................... 26
References ............................................................................................................... 34

Chapter 2. Potential of German emigrants for the labour market .................... 37
Educational attainment ............................................................................................ 38
Labour market participation .................................................................................... 48
Occupations of German emigrants .......................................................................... 53
Career prospects ...................................................................................................... 62
Notes ....................................................................................................................... 71
References ............................................................................................................... 72

Chapter 3. Emigration from and return to Germany:
Patterns and motivations ....................................................................................... 75
The motivation to emigrate: Survey evidence ........................................................ 76
Previous findings on the reasons to emigrate .......................................................... 80
Emigrants’ satisfaction abroad and willingness to return ....................................... 83
An analysis of return flows to Germany ................................................................. 87
Previous findings on return to Germany ................................................................. 94
Notes ....................................................................................................................... 98
References ............................................................................................................... 99

Chapter 4. German emigrants engaged in study and research abroad ........... 103
International students from Germany ................................................................... 104
Internationally mobile researchers from Germany ................................................ 113
Researchers’ emigration and return flows ............................................................. 116
References ............................................................................................................. 123

Annex A. Additional tables and figures ................................................................. 125

TALENT ABROAD: A REVIEW OF GERMAN EMIGRANTS © OECD 2015
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– TABLE OF CONTENTS

Figures
Figure 1.1. Main origin countries for emigration to the OECD area, 2010/11 ....... 20
Figure 1.2. Stock of German emigrants by sex and age, 2000/01
and 2010/11 ............................................................................................................ 24
Figure 1.3. Main destination countries for German emigrants, 2010/11 ................ 25
Figure 1.4. Recent German emigrants by age group, 2012 and 2013 ..................... 29
Figure 1.5. Flows of German emigrants received by selected
OECD countries, 2000-12 ....................................................................................... 30
Figure 1.6. Accumulation of the total German emigrant population over time,
2000-13 ................................................................................................................. 32
Figure 1.7. Percentage changes in German emigrants’ duration of stay in
European OECD countries, 2005-12 ...................................................................... 33
Figure 2.1. Educational attainment among emigrants from selected origin countries,
2010/11 ................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 2.2. Working-age German emigrants with high and medium levels of
education in the main destination countries, 2010/11 and 2000/01 ........................ 44
Figure 2.3. German emigrants with doctoral degrees in selected countries,
2000/01 and 2010/11 ............................................................................................... 45
Figure 2.4. Employed German emigrants by duration of stay in selected
destination countries, 2013 ..................................................................................... 50
Figure 2.5. Distribution of German-born persons across occupations in Germany
and abroad, 2010/11 ................................................................................................. 55
Figure 2.6. Employment situation of German-speaking Xing users abroad, 2014 ..... 61
Figure 2.7. Employment and unemployment of the highly educated, working-age
population in selected destination countries by place of birth, 2010/11 ................. 64
Figure 2.8. Employment and unemployment rates of German emigrants
in selected destination countries, 2005/06 and 2010/11 .......................................... 66
Figure 2.9. Percentage point difference between the labour market outcomes
of highly educated, working-age men and women, by place of birth,
in selected OECD countries, 2010/11 ..................................................................... 67
Figure 2.10. Over-qualification rates among workers by place of birth
and place of residence, 2010/11 .............................................................................. 69
Figure 3.1. German-born persons who consider emigrating from Germany,
by education, 2009-13 ............................................................................................. 78
Figure 3.2. German-born persons who consider emigrating from Germany,
by employment status, 2009-13 .............................................................................. 79
Figure 3.3. German-born persons holding a job that is “ideal” for them, 2009-13 .... 84
Figure 3.4. Flows of German citizens between Germany and selected
destination countries, 2008-13 ................................................................................ 88
Figure 3.5. Net emigration of German citizens from Germany, 2000-13 ............... 89
Figure 3.6. Flows of German citizens from and to Germany by age group, 2007-12 . 90
TALENT ABROAD: A REVIEW OF GERMAN EMIGRANTS © OECD 2015