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International Migration and Human Development

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  • Dean Yang

    (Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan)

Abstract

This paper reviews the relationship between international migration and human development. First, it reviews what we know about the factors that drive migration from developing to developed countries. Second, it reviews existing knowledge about the impact of international migration and remittances on the economic and human development of migrants’ source countries. These first two sections of the paper are accompanied by an assessment of the gaps in our knowledge that need to be filled with further research. The last section of the paper outlines policies that could help raise the development impact of migration and remittances. First, governments should extend absentee voting rights to overseas citizens. In addition, facilitating migrants’ access to and use of financial services could bring substantial benefits. Furthermore, governments can profitably devote self-discovery and enterprise promotion efforts to small-scale activities. Finally, there could be substantial benefits from encouraging overseas citizens to retire at home while taking advantage of accumulated retirement benefits from their migration host countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Dean Yang, 2009. "International Migration and Human Development," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-29, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Jul 2009.
    • Handle: RePEc:hdr:papers:hdrp-2009-29
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    Cited by:

    1. Michele Bruni & Claudio Tabacchi, 2011. "Present and Future of the Chinese Labour Market," Center for the Analysis of Public Policies (CAPP) 0083, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    2. Matthieu Delpierre & Bertrand Verheyden, 2014. "Remittances, savings and return migration under uncertainty," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-43, December.
    3. Marco Caselli, 2019. "“Let Us Help Them at Home”: Policies and Misunderstandings on Migrant Flows Across the Mediterranean Border," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 983-993, November.
    4. Guangzhong Cao & Ming Li & Yan Ma & Ran Tao, 2015. "Self-employment and intention of permanent urban settlement: Evidence from a survey of migrants in China’s four major urbanising areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(4), pages 639-664, March.
    5. Kristina A. Schapiro, 2009. "Migration and Educational Outcomes of Children," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-57, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Oct 2009.
    6. Wei Ha & Junjian Yi & Junsen Zhang, 2009. "Inequality and Internal Migration in China: Evidence from Village Panel Data," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-27, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Jul 2009.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International migration; remittances; human development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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