{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T05:04:00Z","timestamp":1779685440626,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":83,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779667200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Sociol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>While economic reasons are predominantly considered as drivers of brain drain in the existing literature, the present study demonstrates that migration decisions are substantially shaped by structural misalignments between individuals\u2019 value orientations and the institutional, cultural, and social environments of their home countries. Drawing on 25 in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion, the study integrates Bourdieu\u2019s theorisations of habitus, field, and taste with Inglehart\u2019s theory of post-material value shift to understand how higher education cultivates durable dispositions oriented toward personal autonomy, quality of life, social justice, and self-actualisation that home-country context structurally fails to accommodate. The analysis reveals that highly educated (potential) migrants constitute a latent social class, defined not by a conscious collective identity but by the objective homology of their capital compositions, shared habituses, and convergent migration trajectories. This latent class formation helps explain not only why migration persists beyond economic motivation, but also why diaspora engagement and transnational knowledge transfer remain limited among these immigrants: when migration resolves a deep incompatibility between habitus and social context rather than a temporary material deficit, the motivational conditions for sustained home-country engagement are fundamentally weakened. Existing return and diaspora policies in South Asia have largely failed in this context, because they often prioritise financial incentives while disregarding the value transformations that originally produced emigration. Therefore, the findings call for a reorientation of policy frameworks toward addressing the structural field conditions, including institutional trust, professional recognition, political openness, and quality-of-life infrastructure, that drive value-motivated human capital flight.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2026.1775599","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T04:44:25Z","timestamp":1779684265000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Post-material values and brain drain: how value transformation shapes the migration mindset among highly educated South Asians?"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Samitha","family":"Udayanga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of Bremen","place":["Bremen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty","author":"Acemoglu","year":"2012"},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Brain drain in Pakistan: causes, consequences, and way forward","volume":"22","author":"Ahsan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Bus. Recorder"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.22617\/TCS179082","article-title":"Human capital development in South Asia: achievements","year":"2017","journal-title":"Prosp. Policy Challenges"},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"Population movements in Afghanistan: a historical overview, Migration trends under the Taliban regime, and future outlooks","author":"Barlas","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101353","DOI":"10.1016\/j.poetic.2019.02.004","article-title":"The ambivalence of cultural homophily: field positions, semantic similarities, and social network ties in creative collectives","volume":"78","author":"Basov","year":"2020","journal-title":"Poetics"},{"key":"ref6","first-page":"228","volume-title":"India\u2019s educated emigrants are proof of its brain-drain problem. Quarts","author":"Bhattacharya","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref7","first-page":"223","volume-title":"Gulf Studies","author":"Bortolazzi","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511812507","volume-title":"Outline of a Theory of Practice","author":"Bourdieu","year":"1977"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1515\/9781503621749","volume-title":"The Logic of Practice","author":"Bourdieu","year":"1990"},{"key":"ref10","volume-title":"Distinction: A Social Critque of the Judgement of Taste","author":"Bourdieu","year":"2002"},{"key":"ref11","first-page":"589","volume-title":"Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health","author":"Braun","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.1080\/14780887.2024.2382244","article-title":"Reporting guidelines for qualitative research: a values-based approach","volume":"22","author":"Braun","year":"2025","journal-title":"Qual. Res. Psychol."},{"key":"ref13","volume-title":"Social Research Methods","author":"Bryman","year":"2008"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"909","DOI":"10.1080\/1369183X.2017.1384134","article-title":"Aspiration, desire and drivers of migration","volume":"44","author":"Carling","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Ethn. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref15","author":"Cloete","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s40878-020-00210-4","article-title":"A theory of migration: the aspirations-capabilities framework","volume":"9","author":"de Haas","year":"2021","journal-title":"Comp. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1777","DOI":"10.1080\/1369183X.2024.2315356","article-title":"Highly skilled and highly skeptical? How education and origin shape newcomers\u2019 relationship with their new home*","volume":"50","author":"Diehl","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Ethn. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.15185\/izawol.31","volume-title":"The brain drain from Developing Countries","author":"Docquier","year":"2014"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1093\/wber\/lhm008","article-title":"Brain drain in developing countries","volume":"21","author":"Docquier","year":"2007","journal-title":"World Bank Econ. Rev."},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.1258\/JRSM.98.11.487","article-title":"Brain drain from developing countries: how can brain drain be converted into wisdom gain?","volume":"98","author":"Dodani","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. R. Soc. Med."},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s40878-025-00439-x","article-title":"Brain drain in Bhutan: its impacts and countermeasures","volume":"13","author":"Dorji","year":"2025","journal-title":"Comp. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref22","first-page":"228","article-title":"Migration: causes and effects","volume":"5","author":"Dubey","year":"2015","journal-title":"Bus. Manage. Rev."},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"642","DOI":"10.1177\/0038038510369363","article-title":"Migrating cultural capital: Bourdieu in migration studies","volume":"44","author":"Erel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sociology"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"248","DOI":"10.9734\/ajeba\/2025\/v25i31707","article-title":"Brain drain in Bangladesh: exploring key factors, impacts and strategic policy recommendations","volume":"25","author":"Farzana","year":"2025","journal-title":"Asian J. Econ. Bus. Accounting"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gloenvcha.2016.02.007","article-title":"Economic development and prosperity patterns around the world: structural challenges for a global steady-state economy","volume":"38","author":"Fritz","year":"2016","journal-title":"Glob. Environ. Chang."},{"key":"ref001","first-page":"840","article-title":"The Emigration State and the Modern Geopolitical Imagination","volume-title":"Pol. Geog.","author":"Gamlen","year":"2008"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"339","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-0297.2012.02498.x","article-title":"The economic consequences of \u2018brain drain\u2019 of the best and brightest: microeconomic evidence from five countries","volume":"122","author":"Gibson","year":"2012","journal-title":"Econ. J."},{"key":"ref27","volume-title":"Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age","author":"Giddens","year":"1991"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.5000121","article-title":"Healthcare exodus: understanding and addressing brain drain in India","author":"Gupta","year":"2024","journal-title":"SSRN Electron. J."},{"key":"ref29","first-page":"357","article-title":"Pakistan\u2019s brain drain dilemma: a content analysis","volume":"5","author":"Hijazi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Annal. Hum. Soc. Sci."},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"310","DOI":"10.1016\/j.worlddev.2014.10.023","article-title":"Reversing the brain drain: is it beneficial?","volume":"67","author":"Hussain","year":"2015","journal-title":"World Dev."},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1017\/9781108613880.003","volume-title":"Cultural Evolution","author":"Inglehart","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1093\/ijpor\/1.1.45","article-title":"The rise of postmaterialist values and changing religious orientations, gender roles and sexual norms","volume":"1","author":"Inglehart","year":"1989","journal-title":"Int. J. Pub. Opinion Res."},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.2307\/2657288","article-title":"Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values","volume":"65","author":"Inglehart","year":"2000","journal-title":"Am. Sociol. Rev."},{"key":"ref34","volume-title":"Welfarism and Politics in Sri Lanka","author":"Jayasuriya","year":"2000"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1177\/2158244019832703","article-title":"The evolution of social constructivism in political science: past to present","volume":"9","author":"Jung","year":"2019","journal-title":"SAGE Open"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0300343","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0300343","article-title":"Unveiling Sri Lanka\u2019s brain drain and labour market pressure: a study of macroeconomic factors on migration","volume":"19","author":"Kaluarachchi","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1401","DOI":"10.1007\/s10734-022-00896-8","article-title":"Higher education and the importance of values: evidence from the world values survey","volume":"85","author":"Koshy","year":"2023","journal-title":"High. Educ."},{"key":"ref38","first-page":"47","volume-title":"IMISCOE Research Series","author":"Labrianidis","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1111\/imig.12388","article-title":"Highly-skilled Migration from China and India to Canada and the United States","volume":"57","author":"Lo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. Migr."},{"key":"ref40","first-page":"1","article-title":"Migration of highly skilled persons from developing countries: impact and policy responses","volume":"44","author":"Lowell","year":"2001","journal-title":"Int. Migr. Papers"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.4324\/9781351139205-7","volume-title":"Higher Education in Nepal: Policies and Perspectives","author":"Mainali","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref42","first-page":"67","volume-title":"Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Methodology and design","author":"Malterud","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"600","DOI":"10.1080\/09548963.2023.2241414","article-title":"Turning post-materialism on its head: self-expression, autonomy and precarity at work in the creative industries","volume":"33","author":"Mar\u010deta","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cultural Trends"},{"key":"ref44","first-page":"209","volume-title":"International Scholarships in Higher Education: Pathways to Social Change","author":"Marsh","year":"2017"},{"key":"ref45","volume-title":"The changing dynamics of Afghan Migration after august 2021 (issue august 2021)","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1163\/09763457-bja10037","article-title":"It is our motherland too: transnational engagement, religious identity and mobilisation of Muslims of Sri Lankan origin in the UK","volume":"16","author":"Munas","year":"2023","journal-title":"Diaspora Studies"},{"key":"ref47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"986","DOI":"10.1068\/a45287","article-title":"Does migration make you happy? A longitudinal study of internal migration and subjective wellbeing","volume":"45","author":"Nowok","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ Plan A"},{"key":"ref48","volume-title":"Wellbeing and policy","author":"O\u2019Donnell","year":"2014"},{"key":"ref49","volume-title":"International Migration Outlook 2024","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref50","volume-title":"Indicators of immigrant integration 2023: settling in","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref51","volume-title":"Branching out: the economic potential of south Asians abroad","author":"Ohnsorge","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref52","volume-title":"The System of Modern Societies","author":"Parsons","year":"1971"},{"key":"ref53","volume-title":"Overlooked: Canada\u2019s Fastest Emerging, Highest-Educated Workforce","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1177\/1468018117703443","article-title":"Migration and the SDGs","volume":"17","author":"Piper","year":"2017","journal-title":"Global Soc. Policy"},{"key":"ref55","volume-title":"India-Europe labour Migration","author":"Poulain","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref56","volume-title":"International movements of the highly skilled. OECD social, employment and Migration working papers","author":"Salt","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02686293","article-title":"From brain drain to brain circulation: transnational communities and regional upgrading in India and China","volume":"40","author":"Saxenian","year":"2005","journal-title":"Stud. Comp. Int. Dev."},{"key":"ref58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1384","DOI":"10.1177\/01979183231170809","article-title":"The integration paradox: a review and Meta-analysis of the complex relationship between integration and reports of discrimination","volume":"58","author":"Schaeffer","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. Migr. Rev."},{"key":"ref59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-2601(08)60281-6","article-title":"Universals in the content and structure of values: theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries","volume":"25","author":"Schwartz","year":"1992","journal-title":"Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-349-01731-7_15","volume-title":"Science and Technology in Economic Growth","author":"Sen","year":"1973"},{"key":"ref61","volume-title":"Higher education in India: beyond Institutes of National Importance (23)","author":"Sharma","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref62","volume-title":"Origin of World\u2019s Largest Migrant Population, India Seeks to Leverage Immigration, Migration Information Source","author":"Singh","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"300","DOI":"10.1177\/0971721815597132","article-title":"Trends in brain drain, gain and circulation: Indian experience of knowledge workers","volume":"20","author":"Singh","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sci. Technol. Soc."},{"key":"ref64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-2435.2008.00484.x","article-title":"Of skilled migration, brain drains and policy responses","volume":"47","author":"Skeldon","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. Migr."},{"key":"ref65","first-page":"1","article-title":"Migration and development","volume":"6","author":"Sriskandarajah","year":"2005","journal-title":"World Econ.Global Commission on International Migration"},{"key":"ref66","first-page":"259","article-title":"Losses and gains to developing countries from the Migration of educated workers: an overview of recent research, and new reflections","volume":"8","author":"Stark","year":"2007","journal-title":"World Econ."},{"key":"ref67","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"562","DOI":"10.1177\/23780231221124562","article-title":"The effects of postmaterialist values on average life satisfaction at the country level: what generates differences in subjective wellbeing among European countries?","volume":"8","author":"Sudo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Socius"},{"key":"ref68","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1111\/area.12292","article-title":"Migration decision-making: a geographical imaginations approach","volume":"49","author":"Thompson","year":"2017","journal-title":"Area"},{"key":"ref69","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1007\/s10780-023-09493-9","article-title":"Higher education and its role for National Development. A research agenda with bibliometric analysis","volume":"54","author":"Trinh","year":"2023","journal-title":"Interchange"},{"key":"ref70","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-96-3368-5_6","volume-title":"Decoding the Chessboard of Asian Geopolitics: Asian Powerplay in South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia","author":"Tripathi","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref71","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1385664","article-title":"Challenges in navigating the education-migration pathways, and subjective well-being of highly educated immigrants: the case of Indian student immigrants in the United Kingdom","volume":"9","author":"Udayanga","year":"","journal-title":"Front. Sociol."},{"key":"ref72","first-page":"1","volume-title":"The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems","author":"Udayanga","year":""},{"key":"ref73","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1177\/14687941251377282","article-title":"Reflexive and iterative thematic analysis (RITA): a design-framework for qualitative research","volume":"26","author":"Udayanga","year":"2025","journal-title":"Qual. Res."},{"key":"ref74","volume-title":"World Migration Report","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref75","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0199560","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0199560","article-title":"Can education change the world? Education amplifies differences in liberalization values and innovation between developed and developing countries","volume":"13","author":"Van Hiel","year":"2018","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref76","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"315","DOI":"10.1080\/13876988.2013.810376","article-title":"Comparative analysis of brain drain, brain circulation and brain retain: a case study of Indian Institutes of Technology","volume":"15","author":"Varma","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Comp. Policy Anal. Res. Prac."},{"key":"ref77","first-page":"1094","article-title":"Understanding the dynamics of brain drain from Afghanistan: interplay of education and emigration decision","volume":"20","author":"Vrtana","year":"2023","journal-title":"Migr. Lett."},{"key":"ref78","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1177\/02685809241307918","article-title":"Fresh off the boat again? The conversion of cultural capital and distinction-making among Western-educated returnee scholars in China","volume":"40","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. Sociol."},{"key":"ref79","first-page":"9","volume-title":"IMISCOE Research Series","author":"Weinar","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref80","volume-title":"Annual World Bank report 2023","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref81","volume-title":"Brain drain countries","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref82","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"670","DOI":"10.1093\/migration\/mnac034","article-title":"Why do immigrants become less happy? Explanations for the decrease in life satisfaction of immigrants in Germany over time","volume":"10","author":"Yaman","year":"2022","journal-title":"Migr. Stud."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Sociology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2026.1775599\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T04:45:17Z","timestamp":1779684317000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2026.1775599\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]]},"references-count":83,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fsoc.2026.1775599"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fsoc.2026.1775599","relation":{},"ISSN":["2297-7775"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2297-7775","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]]},"article-number":"1775599"}}