Economic development and highly skilled returnees : the impact of human capital circular migration on the economy of origin countries ; the case of Jordan

Education, training and experiences are keys to investment in human capital formation, and migration of highly skilled is considered an investment involving costs and rendering returns. Migration of people endowed with a high level of human capital could be risky for the sending countries under the nomenclature of the brain drain phenomenon; rather there are conditions under which this drain can be converted into a gain. The case study of Jordan shows that return on investment in its human capital which has been encouraged at both the household and the governmental level since 1960s and 1970s, through out-migration of its graduate students to achieve their PhDs from distinguished western universities worldwide and afterwards returning back to Jordan as “circular migrants” have managed through the years from building a strong reputation of Jordanian universities in the Middle East region. Those “returnees” with new skills, experiences and higher education levels bringing back home have ultimately attracted international students and generated a service export reve nues that constituted a new source of income and of a foreign currency in a country lacking of resources, such as Jordan.