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On June 12, the GMF Brussels office co-hosted a seminar entitled “Security and a Dilemma of Brain Drain/Gain in the EU and the United States – a Chance or a Threat for the Neighbors” together with the Center for International Relations in Warsaw.   The seminar topics ranged from the economics of brain drain, which was presented by Professor Oded Stark, and what Europe should do to attract more skilled labor, presented by Jakob von Weizsacker from Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank, to concrete examples of how brain drain is viewed by Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.   The consensus among presenters was that the conventional wisdom which holds that permitting high-skilled workers to emigrate reduces the welfare of poor countries is probably incorrect.  The models presented suggest that this is often not the case, and the opportunity for such immigration can improve the welfare of those left behind.  Opening an economy to migration offers workers the opportunity for incentives to better educate themselves, improve their skills, and acquire more human capital.  Since not all of these workers will end up migrating to the better foreign jobs, some will remain behind equipped with a higher level of human capital than would have been the case had the migration opportunity been absent.   The speakers from Russia, Ukraine, and Poland, though supporting the economic evidence of advantages of migration, also drew attention to the more negative aspects of migration and the impact it has on the source countries.  The discussion centered on source countries losing young, active people who could benefit the economics of their countries, and the fact that many educated workers often end up in unskilled jobs, thus reflecting the political debate around this issue.