Diaspora Econ To IJM 2016 1

Purpose-Introduce a new field and suggest a new research agenda Findings-Diaspora economics is more than a new word for migration economics. It opens a new strand to political economy. Diaspora is perceived to be a well-defined group of migrants and their offspring with a joined cultural identity and ongoing identification with the country or culture of origin. This implies the potential to undermine the nation-state. Diasporas can shape policies in the host countries. Design/methodology/approach-Combine ethnicity, migration and international relations into a new thinking. Provide a typology of diaspora and a thorough evaluation of its role and the roles of the home and host countries. Originality/Value – Provide a new understanding of global human relations. 1. Introduction The meaning and understanding of diaspora has evolved and broadened over the years to reflect the many different cases of diasporic people. As a word, diaspora entered the parlance of the economics of migration only in the last five years. We recognize diaspora economics as much more than a new word for migration economics. It opens a new strand to political economy. We perceive diaspora to be a well-defined group of migrants and their offspring with a joined cultural identity and ongoing identification (active or dormant) with the country or culture of origin as they envision it. However, diaspora are heterogeneous and complex populations. We allow for the potential of diaspora to undermine the nation-state, since diasporas can shape policies in the host countries and remain deeply related to the politics and economics of the origin country.

Economica

The process of diaspora formation is usually conditioned by migration processes and the creation of migrant communities abroad is one of the effects of migration that bring with it a series of advantages for the countries of origin. Diaspora represents an active power, involved in almost all fields of activity of a society, therefore, in the specialized literature, the term itself is treated differently, depending on the field of study that addresses it. However, how can diaspora be defined, how can its size be assessed, how is this term different from migration, how the interest in the study of diaspora has evolved and what are the economic ramifications of diaspora actions for the countries of origin, are just some of the aspects that we propose to address during the research.

IZA Journal of Development and Migration

Besides effects on economic well-being, migration of people with distant cultural backgrounds may also have large effects on people’s cultural identity. In this paper, the identity economics of Akerlof and Kranton (2000) is applied to migration. Accordingly, it is assumed that the utility of both the immigrants and the native population encompasses economic well-being and cultural identity. The migration effect on cultural identity depends, among others, on the distance between cultures. In a simple immigration game it is shown that immigrants may prefer to live rather in diaspora communities than to integrate into the host countries’ culture. This subgame-perfect equilibrium choice of immigrants seems the more likely the greater the cultural distance between their country of origin and the destination country is. Among the available policy instruments, restrictions on the freedom of movement and settlement of immigrants may be the most effective way to prevent the setup of large di...

Jagdish Bhagwati's proposal for a 'brains tax' to be levied on the incomes of the diaspora from developing countries residing in the developed countries and the proceeds to be remitted to the countries of origin of the diaspora is well known. In recent years the voluntary contributions or remittances from the diaspora to their countries of origin have often been higher than the aid monies given to these countries. It is now increasingly recognised that the diaspora may have an active role to play in the development process of their countries of origin. They are not only a source of funds; they are also a rich source of skills and know how. This paper analyses the potential of the diaspora as agents of change in their countries of origin and argues that the social rate of return to a unit of diaspora investments may be higher than that for a unit of foreign direct investment from non-diaspora sources.

Quote from India and its Diaspora (website MOIA) " To view the Diaspora only through the looking glass of remittances and financial flows is to take a myopic view. Not all expatriates need to be investors and their development impact measured only in terms of financial contributions to the home country. An overseas community can and does serve as an important 'bridge' to access knowledge, expertise, resources and markets for the development of the country of origin. The success of this bridge is often predicated upon two conditions: the ability of the Diaspora to develop and project a coherent, intrinsically motivated and progressive identity and the capacity of the home country to establish conditions and institutions for sustainable, symbiotic and mutually rewarding engagement. Home countries are now beginning to recognise the need to pursue and promote the dynamic of the Diaspora and development. " MOIA, website Abstract This paper is about the role the diaspora can play in the development of its country of origin (former home country) and in the strengthening of relations between their country of residence (present home country) and the country of origin.. The focus is on Suriname, which has a dual role, namely as a destination or host country for immigrants (different groups of diasporas, such as Afro-Surinamese, Indians (Hindustanis), Chinese and Indonesians (Javanese) to mention the older diasporas. There are also the new Diasporas consisting of

2009

The workshop was supported by funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, Cycle 4. The report reflects the authors' views and not necessary those of the workshop sponsors. ... Whilst migration has long been a ...

Human mobility and migration is not a recent phenomenon rather it is one of the survival strategies adopted since the dawn of human civilization. Migration is the most important and natural phenomena leading to human progress and development. The International Migration Report (2015) brought out by UNDP underscores the importance of migration and development linkages. It mentions that there are more than 244 million people or 3.3 percent of world's population live outside their country of origin. Most of them are youth population with median age 39 years. Unlike earlier migration, the recent decade has seen growing feminisation of migration. The migration flow cannot be ignored in an interconnected global world considering its impact on the social, economic and political arena

Journal of Development Economics, 2011

Migration ‡ows are shaped by a complex combination of self-selection and out-selection mechanisms. In this paper, we analyze how existing diasporas (the stock of people born in a country and living in an another one) a¤ect the size and human-capital structure of current migration ‡ows. Our analysis exploits bilateral dataset on international migration by educational attainment from 195 countries to 30 OECD countries in 1990 and 2000. Based on simple micro-foundations and controlling for various determinants of migration, we …nd diasporas increase migration ‡ows, lower their average educational level and lead to higher concentration of low-skill migrants. Interestingly, diasporas explain majority of the variability of migration ‡ows and selection. This suggests that, without changing the generosity of family reunion programs, education-based selection rules are likely to have moderate impact. Our results are highly robust to the econometric techniques, accounting for the large proportion of zeros and endogeneity problems.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

International Migration Institute, 2013

Why do states establish and empower diaspora engagement institutions? Origin-state institutions dedicated to emigrants and their descendants have been largely overlooked in mainstream political studies, perhaps because they fall in the grey area between domestic politics and international relations. Now, diaspora institutions are found in over half of all United Nations member states, yet we have little theory and broad-sample statistical evidence to guide our understanding about when they are more likely to emerge and increase in importance. In response, we identify and then investigate empirical support for three theoretically-grounded perspectives on diaspora institution emergence and importance: instrumentally rational states tapping resources of emigrants and their descendants; valuerational states embracing lost members of the nation-state; institutionally-converging states governing diasporas consistent with global norms. We document support for these alternative perspectives in regression and related analyses modelling diaspora institution emergence and importance in 144 states observed from 1990-2010. Tapping perspective estimations exhibit better overall model fit compared to estimations based on other perspectives. Estimations combining perspectives exhibit the best model fit. Individual terms exhibiting signs contrary to prediction suggest new directions for theoretical and empirical research from different perspectives. We advance international relations research by identifying, distinguishing and testing alternative perspectives explaining diaspora institution emergence and importance. We also advance international relations practice and policy with evidenceguided insight on near-term trends in institution emergence and importance.