From Brain-Drain to Brain-Gain: The African-Diaspora Community and Development in Africa (original) (raw)
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In this article two sources of socio-economic development finance, African Diaspora remittance funds and Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) funds, for Africa are compared. It is argued that Diaspora remittance funds constitute a better alternative to ODA funds for the development of Africa for a number of reasons. Not only have Diaspora remittance funds outpaced ODA funds but they are more efficiently deployed for the development of the African continent in three main ways. The funds are less likely to be misspent as compared to the misappropriations and legendary inefficiencies in the foreign aid industry. Diaspora remittance funds, as gifts of love, are better focused on building the family and hence the nation. The distribution of these Diaspora remittance funds is far more efficient than ODA funds since these monies go directly to paying school fees, building houses, and growing businesses. Some proposals are made to indicate how African governments can facilitate more remitt...
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The perceived factors of economic growth in developing economies have ranged from surplus labor to capital investment and technological change, trade, foreign aid, foreign direct investment, investment in human capital, increasing returns from investment in new ideas, and research and development. Other researchers have also considered the importance of institutional factors such as the role of political freedom, political instability, and voice and accountability on economic growth and development. Despite the increasing importance of remittances in total international capital flows, however, the relationship between remittances and economic growth has not been adequately studied. This study explores the aggregate impact of remittances on economic growth within the conventional neoclassical growth framework using panel data spanning from 1980 to 2004 for 36 African countries. We find that remittances positively impact economic growth by providing an alternative way to finance inves...
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Review of World Economics, 2019
While the dominant collective belief asserts that brain drain is detrimental to the development of small economies, new studies hold the reverse view. This paper aims at studying the role of the African Diaspora in the economic development of Africa. It analyzes both the overall effect and the specific effect of emigration according to the level of education of emigrants. Then, through a deeper investigation, the paper analyzes the main channels through which the Diaspora influences economic development in Africa. The results show that the African Diaspora contributes positively, significantly and robustly to the improvement of real per capita income in Africa. These findings challenge the dominant collective belief since the higher the educational level of the emigrants, the greater the impact of the Diaspora on the level of economic development. Improvement in human capital, total factor productivity and democracy are effective transmission channels of this impact. Finally, the results show that while high-skilled emigrants have an overall greater impact on economic development and democracy, those with a low level of education contribute more to remittances to Africa. The establishment of an annual African Diaspora Summer School (ADSS) by the AfDB in partnership relevant international and regional stakeholders as a channel for the transfer of knowledge, technology and experience would further strengthen the role of the Diaspora in Africa's economic development.
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