Samenvatting

This dissertation was conducted at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the programme of European Studies. The document analyses the current situation of brain drain in Lithuania. Lithuania is a small European country in the Baltic region with a rather small population that faces significant losses in its demographics due to emigration. Brain drain is a phenomenon when highly skilled and educated people leave their country and go abroad for various reasons. This is exactly what has been happening in Lithuania because among the leavers there was a significantly large amount of people who were not just unqualified workers. To explore the chosen topic of brain drain, a central question has been formulated: What measures has the Lithuanian government taken to address the issue of brain drain that affects the country since 2004 and what was the effectiveness of these measures? This dissertation will list and explore the measures of the Lithuanian government that were taken to solve brain drain. First, a look will be taken at the two educational reforms that were performed in the country. Such reforms had a purpose of modernising the Lithuanian educational system from the primary level until the university level and assure that the quality of teaching does not diminish. What is more, the reforms served a purpose of modernising the funding for scientific research and salaries for the academia for a reason to attract more scientists to stay and work in Lithuania. Then, to understand what other measures were taken to reduce emigration and brain drain in Lithuania, a look will be taken at the new subsidy system for real estate for young families establishing in Lithuania.
Currently brain drain and emigration are sensitive issues for countries like Lithuania because the rising number of leavers is a threat to Lithuania’s small population. The 2004 accession to the European Union has accelerated the flows of people to the older member states because visa and work permits were no longer required. The research found that the measures taken by the Lithuanian government to solve brain drain and reduce emigration were not quite effective based on yearly increasing number of Lithuanian inhabitants leaving the country. The ineffectiveness to reduce brain drain and emigration comes from the government’s incapability to prioritise education and bettering the salaries of Lithuanian labour which consequently decide to relocate to older European Union’s member states where salaries are reasonable. All in all, the research argues that even though the return migration and immigration in Lithuania are increasing, the net migration in the country is still quite high because the number of emigrants is not decreasing. Therefore, the research suggests that the measures of the Lithuanian government to address brain drain were not as effective as one anticipated.

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