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Diaspora Engagement and Development in South Asia (Book)
Palgrave Macmillan, 2013
Increasingly, countries with extensive diasporas have sought to connect with these extended, transnational communities in order to tap into the resources and networks they offer for the domestic developmental purposes. The myriad of approaches adopted for such engagements, from raising awareness to offering incentives and providing mechanisms for members of the diaspora to engage or re-engage with the home country have become part of the development strategy of many emerging economies. The South Asian region offers many examples of such practices. By focusing on the manner and means by which the diaspora communities engage and contribute to their country of origin, the chapters in this volume seek to broaden the scope of diaspora studies beyond migration and settlement. Rather than seeing the diaspora as an outflow of human resources, this volume shows how diaspora communities often serve as critical bridges that facilitate movements of capital and funds, sharing of know-how and generate useful transnational networks for various socio-economic initiatives. This volume particularly addresses a relatively new approach to diaspora studies by shifting the focus from conventional diaspora studies, which has so far been dominated by questions of how various diaspora groups adapt to the social, economic and political domains in the countries of settlement while seeking to maintain their own traditions and cultures, to the ways in which diaspora communities engage with origin countries and contribute to these countries economically and socially over time. The current thinking by academics, policy-makers and donor-agencies is to foster diaspora engagement to stimulate development in origin countries. In line with this global thinking about diaspora engagement, this book addresses the engagement of South Asian diasporas and their implications on development in South Asia. While countries in the region face different development challenges and have different diaspora policies, questions of what roles their diaspora can play in the development of their origin countries and how to leverage diaspora engagement in development are now matters of concern. This volume deals with these concerns by exploring various forms of diaspora engagement and its implications on development in South Asia.
Diaspora and Development World Economy
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.
Flow of skilled migrants from the developing to the developed world-once viewed merely as brain 'drain'-may in fact be more accurately described as an imperfect circular flow of skilled workers, knowledge, finance, and development. The skilled Diaspora can invoke its capabilities, networks, and access to financial resources to catalyze economic development in the home country. In Somaliland, these factors culminated in the creation of a knowledge-based institution that has the potential to substantially contribute to the development of local human capital. Migration is an old and natural phenomenon. Many civilizations flourished due to migration of people. Today what we call Diaspora are the migrants of few years back and who are adapted to the new environment without separating their links with the country of origin. Diasporas are capturing the transnational as well as national space day by day because of their role in socio-cultural, economic as well as political spheres. Globally many Diasporas are playing a constructive role in bringing cultures across nations. People of Indian origin constitute a global community of over 25 million people. It is bigger than many countries of Europe. It has been estimated that, PIOs living outside India has a combined yearly economic output of about $250 billion, about one third of the GDP of India. While India government would like to attract business and investments from the Indian Diaspora, there are other areas where India government should take interest and need to address issues such as those related cultural, economic, political and social. Diaspora in recent years is being recognized as a