International Migration and Economic Development: Lessons from Low-Income Countries

Amidst mounting global policy attention directed toward international migration, this book offers an exhaustive review of the issues and evidence linking economic development in low-income countries with their migration experiences. The diversity of outcomes is explored in the context of: migration from East Europe and from the Maghreb to the EU; contract labor from South Asia in the Persian Gulf; highly skilled migrants moving to North America; and, labor circulation within East Asia. Labor market responses at home, the brain drain, remittances, the roles of a diaspora, and return migration are each addressed, as well as an exploration of the effects of economic development upon migration and the implications of long-term dependence on a migration nexus. Robert Lucas concludes with an assessment of the winners and losers in the migration process, both at home and in the destination regions, before summarizing the main policy options open to both. This accessible and topical book offers invaluable insights to policy makers in both industrialized and developing countries as well as to scholars and researchers of economics, development, international relations and to specialists in migration.