Putting a price on education

The parliamentary elections in Portugal on Sunday highlighted a problem that has also been taking its toll on Greece in the last few years: Between 2011 and 2014, almost half a million Portuguese left their homeland in search of work. Of particular concern is the fact that most of these people were under the age of 30 and many among them were scientists.

In Greece, it is estimated that 20,281 scientists have emigrated since the start of the crisis five years ago out of a total of 300,000 people seeking a better future elsewhere.

While it is positive that so many young people from crisis-battered countries have all the qualifications to find work abroad, it would also be good if the countries that are benefiting from their knowledge would also calculate what they owe to the countries that invested in these scientists’ educations. The economy, at the end of the day, is not just about money.