The Determinants of the Migration Decision of IT-graduates from Pakistan: Empirical Evidence for the Design of a German "Green Card"

We analyse determinants of migration decision of the 1,500 IT-Graduates from Pakistan. The results show a high migration propensity and that economic factors such as better career positions, high income and a better living standard tend to be significantly more important than the socio-political as well as institutional factors (such as residence permit, racial tolerance, language/culture and social networks). A location comparison between Germany and the USA shows that the interviewees consider income, social networks, residence permit and language/culture significantly higher for the USA than for Germany. Other factors do not show any statistically significant differences between Germany and the USA. We find evidence for a competition between countries for “high potentials” from Pakistan. Accordingly we discuss some implications for the design of a German “Green Card”.