Survey of Domestic Factors Contributing to the Academic Elite's Expatriation

The expatriation of the elites has undoubtedly been one of the most crucial national issues of the past two decades. From the early 1960s onward, brain drain has served as a problem, which researchers have studied form different perspectives using various approaches, so much so that giant global organizations such as the World Bank and the UNESCO conducted studies and attempted to offset its effects by offering recommendations for developing countries. These recommendations have now become universal. The first part of this article will briefly deal with the prevalent global theories and approaches toward brain drain. By studying the neoclassic theory, the push and pull factors, and terminology such as brain gain, the article will elaborate on terms such as "brain drain", "elite's expatriation", migration of academia and specialists, which is prevalent globally. The second part of the article will address brain drain or migration of the elites from Iran, fosusing on how it is different at the national level. All the research so far conducted on Iran's brain drain has been based on general analyses. In other words, what is globally known, as brain drain will remain a generalization if indigenous conditions are not taken into account? Based on available data, the most important factors leading to brain drain are reviewed under three headings: political and social, scientific and cultural, and economic.