Economic Development and International Migration in South Asia

• In Event: 321 - Section on International Migration Paper Session. International Migration and Development

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the relationship between international migration and economic development in South Asia, where approximately 20 percent of the world’s population resides and from where approximately 1.5 million labor migrant workers originated in 2010. We focus on four countries in the region (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) that began recording outmigration as early as the 1970s (India) and as late as 1995 (Nepal). Drawn from existing data sources, we examine how shifts in economic indicators correspond to shifts in international outmigration, and consider the ways in which environmental stressors and/or political instability underscore the development-migration nexus in South Asia. On the whole, our analysis suggests two key findings. First, economic development appears to promote, rather than impede, international migration in the short run. Second, shifts in some types of economic indicators appear strongly linked to environmental stressors whereas others are rooted in highly volatile political systems.

Authors

• Bhumika Piya, Vanderbilt University

• Amanda Carrico, University of Colorado-Boulder