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Dear Bruce,

Thanks for your post. Your efforts to try to estimate the size of the expat population in Thailand are very germane, as the economy clearly benefits from "brain gain" of many expats that contribute their expertise and skills (even if just in English - which are by the way very important skills as identified by firms). When we look at the stock of talent in a country, what matters is not the gross "brain drain" (i.e. the number of educated citizens who leave), but the "net" brain drain (immigrants - emmigrants). Singapore and Hong Kong have some of the highest levels of (gross) "brain drain" in the world, but they also have some of the highest levels of "brain gain" from expats that come and work there. You can read more about "brain drain" (mostly but not only in the Malaysian context) in the April Malaysia Economic Monitor (available at www.worldbank.org/my).

All the best,
Frederico