Early departures: The emigration potential of Zimbabwean students

This study examines the causes of Zimbabwe's brain drain focusing on college and university students. 77% of students said that they were being encouraged or strongly encouraged to leave the country by their families, so that they could send remit funds, just for survival. The paper concludes that a coercive approach to the brain drain would only intensify the level of discontent and for most of the students would make absolutely no difference to their emigration intentions. It suggests that the best way to curb the high rates of skilled labour migration lies in addressing the economic fundamentals of the country in a way that will ultimately improve living standards.