"Brain Drain" : Education in Samoa

Abstract

The Independent State of Samoa is a group of volcanic islands located in the South Pacific. Samoa is identified by the United Nations as a Least Developed Country (http://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ldc/list.htm). In addition, Samoa is described by the Asian Development Bank as a MIRAB state (Connell and Brown 5). The International Monetary Fund ranks Samoa among the twenty leading developing countries who receive the largest amounts of remittances in relation to their gross domestic product (Browne and Mineshima 3; Gosh 19). Meanwhile, Samoan analysts suggest that the emigration of laborers, which implies the sending of remittances, is temporarily necessary for the survival of the country?s economy (Muagututi'a 67). But, international discourse on Samoan migration and remittances centers on its temporary and inefficient solution to the development of Samoa. Cultivating sustainable livelihoods in Samoa, however, involves "ways of earning a living that are secure and do not deplete the local resources that the Samoans depend upon" (So?o et al. 20). What does this mean to an island nation where resources are limited and access to the global market is difficult? Emigrants and their resources (economic, intellectual, etc.) prove to be a sustainable and resourceful form of development for Samoa.