Human capital flight is the emigration or immigration of individuals who have received advanced training at home. The net benefits of human capital flight for the receiving country are sometimes referred to as a "brain gain" whereas the net costs for the sending country are sometimes referred to as a "brain drain". In occupations with a surplus of graduates, immigration of foreign-trained professionals can aggravate the underemployment of domestic graduates, whereas emigration from an area with a surplus of trained people leads to better opportunities for those remaining. But emigration may cause problems for the home country if the trained people are in short supply there.

Research shows that there are significant economic benefits of human capital flight for the migrants themselves and for the receiving country. The impact on the country of origin is less straightforward, with research suggesting the impact can be positive, negative or mixed. Research also suggests that emigration, remittances and return migration can have a positive impact on democratization and on the quality of political institutions in the country of origin.