Return Migrants’ Impact in Economic Development of the Origin Country

Abstract

Migration has reciprocal economic implications between the origin and host countries. While scholars draw attention to the globalization of migration, since the 1960s there is a perpetual debate about the migration and development nexus. The role of international migrants and their i¬ nancial remittances are identified as having a highly positive effect on the home country’s development. Emigrants’ remittances tangibly benefit the income for the families in the home country and investments in different sectors (housing, education, health, entrepreneurship, etc.). Next to remittances, returned migrants, especially those highly skilled are recognized as actors and drivers of significant economic development in the homeland. The contribution of return migrants to the development in origin countries can be beneficial not simply by investing the financial capital they accumulated during the migration cycle but also by the transferring of expertise, knowledge and new skills acquired abroad, and acting as social change agents in the home society. Empirical studies indicate a positive relationship between return migration and entrepreneurial activity, therefore enterprises can be a substantial contributor, among others, to economic growth and alleviating poverty of the origin country. Governments and policymakers are increasingly interested in the issue of return migration and return migration policies that attract and facilitate the returnee’s reintegration. Reintegration programs, especially those in the business sector, benefit the development of the origin country through savings, investments, easing of entrepreneurial opportunities and the expertise of returnees. This paper aims to identify whether return migration is beneficial for the origin country and especially to analyze the role of return migrant’s in the economic development of the origin country through engaging in entrepreneurial activity