Read here and here for articles in Techcrunch on the contribution of immigrants into the US and how they are powerful innovation and employment generators, especially in the tech sector. There is a powerful case, xenophobia aside, that such immigrants are extremely important building blocks of the innovation engine that drives silicon valley.

From businessweek:

Although they represent just 12% of the U.S. population, they have started 52% of Silicon Valley’s tech companies and contributed to more than 25% of U.S. global patents. They make up 24% of science and engineering workers with bachelor’s degrees and 47% of those with PhDs.

Businessweek also mentions a survey, which tracked 1203 Indian and Chinese immigrants who had gone back home, that 30% of them had permanent US residency or were US citizens. A large proportion of respondents mentioned “better quality of life” even at lower dollar income level.

Such a population demographic would be in the top socio-educational 1% of the pyramid. In India, the IITs produce the best and the brightest and the most subsidised graduates. Up until recently, a large percentage of these graduates ended up in the US. I wonder if the donor governments in the brain drain game are doing anything to accelerate the reverse brain drain?

Incentives could include:

1. Tax rebates/holidays for individuals or for firms being set up by them

2. Software parks or Export promotion zones earmarked for such individuals

3. Funding tenures for those returning to academia after leaving tenured posts in the US

The sleeping giants have woken up – we need to poke them in the right directions.