International Migration

International migration has substantial positive impacts on migrants, their families, and their origin communities. The income gains from migration dwarf the impacts of virtually any other economic development intervention. These gains benefit origin countries through multiple channels: remittances that finance education and entrepreneurship, improved insurance against negative shocks, diaspora networks that facilitate trade and investment, knowledge transfer that spur innovation, and transmission of social norms that can strengthen institutions and governance. Contrary to concerns about ‘brain drain’, migration opportunities can actually increase human capital accumulation in origin countries. The long-run gains for origin areas from international migration opportunities are particularly striking: migration can initiate virtuous cycles of human capital investment and structural transformation that persist for decades.

This body of evidence has several policy implications. First, policies facilitating legal migration – whether via temporary worker programmes, reduced financial barriers, or innovative mechanisms such as Global Skill Partnerships – have enormous potential to reduce poverty and facilitate economic development in migrants’ origin countries. Second, protecting migrant workers by improving their working conditions, informing them about their legal rights, and formalising their immigration status not only furthers human rights goals but also enables migrants to earn more and make positive contributions to their origin societies. Third, interventions increasing migrant control over remittance uses – via directed giving mechanisms, matched savings programmes, or improved communication with families – can channel migrant resources towards savings as well as productive investments in education and entrepreneurship back home.

Future research should pursue several outstanding questions. We need more evidence on the full costs of migration, including financial costs, worker abuse, and the psychological and other costs of family separation. A fuller understanding of these costs can allow us to assess net welfare effects of migration more completely. Research should also investigate conditions under which outmigration of skilled workers leads to brain gain rather than brain drain; such investigations could study the key role of educational system dynamism and flexibility, for example, in facilitating educational investments in response to international labour migration opportunities. Many other policies – from pre-migration training programmes to diaspora engagement initiatives to return migration facilitation – remain incompletely understood and should be studied rigorously in the future, potentially with randomised controlled trial methods. Finally, as climate change increasingly affects migration patterns, research can investigate questions such as how migration serves as an adaptation mechanism, and the role of policy in facilitating climate-related mobility. By pursuing these and related research questions and building on the strong existing evidence base, scholars can continue to inform policies that harness international migration as a powerful tool for economic development.

References

Abarcar, P, and C Theoharides (2024), “Medical worker migration and origin-country human capital: Evidence from U.S. visa policy,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 106(1): 20–35.

Adema, J A H, C G Aksoy, and P Poutvaara (2022), “Mobile internet access and the desire to emigrate,” Unpublished manuscript.

Agrawal, A, D Kapur, J McHale, and A Oettl (2011), “Brain drain or brain bank? The impact of skilled emigration on poor-country innovation,” Journal of Urban Economics, 69(1): 43–55.

Akram, A, S Chowdhury, and A M Mobarak (2025), “Experimental evidence on the network effects of migration,” Unpublished manuscript.

Ambler, K (2015), “Don’t tell on me: Experimental evidence of asymmetric information in transnational households,” Journal of Development Economics, 113: 52–69.

Ambler, K, D, Aycinena, and D Yang (2015), “Channeling remittances to education: A field experiment among migrants from El Salvador,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(2): 207–232.

Anelli, M, G Basso, G Ippedico, and G Peri (2023), “Emigration and entrepreneurial drain,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 15(2): 218–252.

Angelucci, M (2015), “Migration and financial constraints: Evidence from Mexico,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 97(1): 224–28.

Ashraf, N, D Aycinena, C Martinez, and D Yang (2015), “Savings in transnational households: A field experiment among migrants from El Salvador,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 97(2): 332–351.

Bah, T, and C Batista (2020), “Why do people migrate irregularly?: Evidence from a lab-in-the-field experiment in West Africa,” Unpublished manuscript.

Bah, T, C Batista, F Gubert, and D McKenzie (2023), “Can information and alternatives to irregular migration reduce “backway” migration from The Gambia?,” Journal of Development Economics, 165: 103153.

Bahar, D, A Hauptmann, C Ozguzel, and H Rapoport (2024), “Migration and knowledge diffusion: The effect of returning refugees on export performance in the former Yugoslavia,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 106(2): 287–304.

Bahar, D, and H Rapoport (2018), “Migration, knowledge diffusion and the comparative advantage of nations,” The Economic Journal, 128(612): F273–F305.

Banerjee, A, and E Duflo (2009), “The experimental approach to development economics,” Annual Review of Economics, 1(1): 151–178.

Banerjee, A, E Duflo, N Goldberg, D Karlan, R Osei, W Pariente, J Shapiro, B Thuysbaert, and C Udry (2015), “A multifaceted program causes lasting progress for the very poor: Evidence from six countries,” Science, 348(6236).

Barsbai, T, H Rapoport, A Steinmayr, and C Trebesch (2017), “The effect of labor migration on the diffusion of democracy: Evidence from a former Soviet republic,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9(3): 36–69.

Barsbai, T, V Licuanan, A Steinmayr, E, Tiongson, and D Yang (2024), “Information and immigrant settlement,” Journal of Development Economics, 170: 103305.

Barsbai, T, V Bartoš, V Licuanan, A Steinmayr, E, Tiongson, and D Yang (forthcoming), “Picture this: Social distance and the mistreatment of migrant workers,” Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics.

Barsbai, T, M Demriel, M, Pérez-Alvarez, and M Sutter (2025b), “The Malengo program: Moving to opportunity abroad,” Unpublished manuscript.

Baseler, T (2023), “Hidden income and the perceived returns to migration,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 15(4): 321–52.

Batista, C, and P C Vicente (2011), “Do migrants improve governance at home? Evidence from a voting experiment,” The World Bank Economic Review, 25(1): 77–104.

Batista, C, A Lacuesta, and P C Vicente (2012), “Testing the “brain gain” hypothesis: Micro evidence from Cape Verde,” Journal of Development Economics, 97(1): 32–45.

Batista, C, D Silverman, and D Yang (2015), “Directed giving: Evidence from an inter-household transfer experiment,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 118: 325–343.

Batista, C, and G Narciso (2018), “Migrant remittances and information flows: Evidence from a field experiment,” The World Bank Economic Review, 32(1): 203–220.

Batista, C, J Seither, and P C Vicente (2019), “Do migrant social networks shape political attitudes and behavior at home?” World Development, 117: 328–343.

Batista, C, and G McKenzie (2023), “Testing classic theories of migration in the lab,” Journal of International Economics, 145: 103826.

Batista, C, L Bohnet, J Gazeaud, and J Seither (2024), “Integrating migrants: Experimental evidence on cross-border spillovers,” Unpublished manuscript.

Batista, C, and P C Vicente (2025), “Is mobile money changing rural Africa? Evidence from a field experiment,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 107(3): 835–844.

Batista, C, D Han, J Haushofer, G Khanna, D McKenzie, A M Mobarak, C Theoharides, and D Yang (2025a), “Brain drain or brain gain: Effects of high-skilled international emigration on origin countries,” Science, 388(6749): eadr8861.

Batista, C, D Costa, P Freitas, G Lima, and A B Reis (2025b), “What matters for the decision to study abroad? A lab-in-the-field experiment in Cape Verde,” Journal of Development Economics, 173: 103401.

Batista, C, D Costa, P Freitas, G Lima, and A B Reis (2025c), “Providing information at origin: Experimental evidence on migration intentions and decisions from Cape Verde,” Unpublished manuscript.

Battiston, G, L Corno, and E La Ferrara (2025), “Informing risky migration: Evidence from a field experiment in Guinea,” Unpublished manuscript.

Bazzi, S, L Cameron, S Schaner, and F Witoelar (2022), “Information, intermediaries, and international migration,” Unpublished manuscript.

Beam, E (2016), “Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance,” Journal of Development Economics, 120: 32–40.

Beam, E A, D McKenzie, and D Yang (2016), “Unilateral facilitation does not raise international labor migration from the Philippines,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, 64(2): 323–368.

Beaman, L (2012), “Social networks and the dynamics of labour market outcomes: Evidence from refugees resettled in the US,” The Review of Economic Studies, 79(1): 128–161.

Beine, M, F Docquier, and H Rapoport (2008), “Brain drain and human capital formation in developing countries: Winners and losers,” The Economic Journal, 118(528): 631–652.

Beine, M, F Docquier, and M Schiff (2013), “International migration, transfer of norms and home country fertility,” Canadian Journal of Economics, 46(4): 1406–1430.

Beine, M, F Docquier, and Ç Özden (2015), “Dissecting network externalities in international migration,” Journal of Demographic Economics, 81(4): 379–408.

Bossavie, L, J S Görlach, C Özden, and H Wang (2025), “Temporary migration for long-term investment,” Journal of Development Economics, 174: 103360.

Bouguen, A, Y Huang, M Kremer, and E Miguel (2019), “Using randomized controlled trials to estimate long-run impacts in development economics,” Annual Review of Economics, 11: 523–571.

Bryan, G, S Chowdhury, and A M Mobarak (2014), “Underinvestment in a profitable technology: The case of seasonal migration in Bangladesh,” Econometrica, 82(5): 1671–1748.

Bryan, G, S Chowdhury, A M Mobarak, M Morten, J Smits (2023), “Encouragement and distortionary effects of conditional cash transfers,” Journal of Public Economics, 228: 105004.

Buchardi, K, T Chaney, and T A Hassan (2019), “Migrants, ancestors, and foreign investments,” The Review of Economic Studies, 86(4): 1448–1486.

Bucheli, J R, and M Fontenla (2022), “The impact of return migration on economic development,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 107(2): 393–407.

Caballero, M E, B C Cadena, and B K Kovak (2023), “The international transmission of local economic shocks through migrant networks,” Journal of International Economics, 145: 103832.

Chand, S, and M Clemens (2023), “Human capital investment under exit options: Evidence from a natural experiment,” Journal of Development Economics, 163.

Chauvet, L, and M Mercier (2014), “Do return migrants transfer political norms to their origin country? Evidence from Mali,” Journal of Comparative Economics, 42(3): 630–651.

Choudhury, P (2016), “Return migration and geography of innovation in MNEs: A natural experiment of knowledge production by local workers reporting to return migrants,” Journal of Economic Geography, 16(3): 585–610.

Clemens, M A (2011), “Economics and emigration: Trillion-dollar bills on the sidewalk?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(3): 83–106.

Clemens, M (2013), “Why do programmers earn more in Houston than Hyderabad? Evidence from randomized processing of US visas,” American Economic Review, 103(3): 198–202.

Clemens, M (2015), “Global skill partnerships: A proposal for technical training in a mobile world,” IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 4(1): 1–18.

Clemens, M A, and E R Tiongson (2017), “Split decisions: Household finance when a policy discontinuity allocates overseas work,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 99(3): 531–543.

Clemens, M A, E G Lewis, and H M Postel (2018), “Immigration restrictions as active labor market policy: Evidence from the Mexican Bracero exclusion,” American Economic Review, 108(6): 1468–87.

Clemens, M, C Montenegro, and L Pritchett (2019), “The place premium: Bounding the price equivalent of migration barriers,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 101(2): 201–213.

Cohen, L, U G Gurun, and C J Malloy (2017), “Resident networks and corporate connections: Evidence from World War II internment camps,” Journal of Finance, 72(1): 267–306.

Coluccia, D M, and L Spadavecchia (2024), “Emigration restrictions and economic development: Evidence from the Italian mass migration to the United States,” Unpublished manuscript.

Conover, E, M Khamis, and S Pearlman (2023), “Declining outmigration and local labor markets,” Journal of Human Resources, 58(6): 1948–1973.

De Arcangelis, G, A Fertig, Y Liang, P Srouji, and D Yang (2023), “Measuring remittances,” Journal of Development Economics, 161: 103004.

Dinkelman, T, and M Mariotti (2016), “The long run effect of labor migration on human capital formation in communities of origin,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8(4): 1–35.

Dinkelman, T, G Kumchulesi, and M Mariotti (2024), “Labor migration, capital accumulation, and the structure of rural labor markets,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 1–46.

Diop, BZ (2025), “Upgrade or migrate: The effects of fertilizer subsidies on rural productivity and migration,” Unpublished manuscript.

Docquier, F, O Lohest, and A Marfouk (2007), “Brain drain in developing countries,” World Bank Economic Review, 21(2): 193–218.

Docquier, F, and H Rapoport (2012), “Globalization, brain drain, and development,” Journal of Economic Literature, 50(3): 681–730.

Docquier, F, E Lodigiani, H Rapoport, and M Schiff (2016), “Emigration and democracy,” Journal of Development Economics, 120: 209–223.

Doi, Y, D McKenzie, and B Zia (2014), “Who you train matters: Identifying combined effects of financial education on migrant households,” Journal of Development Economics, 109: 39–55.

Evagora-Campbell, M, A Zahidie, K Buse, F Rabbani, and S Hawkes (2022), “Promoting labour migrant health equity through action on the structural determinants: A systematic review,” Journal of Migration and Health, 5: 100082.

Facchini, G, and A M Mayda (2008), “From individual attitudes towards migrants to migration policy outcomes: Theory and evidence,” Economic Policy, 23(56): 651–713.

Fackler, T A, Y Giesing, and N Laurentsyeva (2020), “Knowledge remittances: Does emigration foster innovation?” Research Policy, 49(9): 103863.

Fargues, P (2011), “International migration and the demographic transition: A two-way interaction,” International Migration Review, 45(3): 588–614.

Fernández-Huertas Moraga, J, and H Rapoport (2014), “Tradable immigration quotas,” Journal of Public Economics, 115: 94–108.

Fernández Sánchez, M (forthcoming), “Mass emigration and human capital over a century: Evidence from the Galician diaspora,” Journal of the European Economic Association.

Fernando, N, and N Singh (forthcoming), “Regulation by reputation? Intermediaries, labor abuses, and international migration,” The Review of Economics and Statistics.

Fry, C V (2023), “Bridging the gap: Evidence from the return migration of African scientists,” Organization Science, 34(1): 404–432.

Gazeaud, J, E Mvukiyehe, and O Sterck (2023), “Cash transfers and migration: Theory and evidence from a randomized controlled trial,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 105(1): 143–157.

Gaikwad, N, K Hanson, and A Tóth (2024), “Bridging the Gulf: How migration fosters tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and support for globalization,” American Journal of Political Science, 69(3): 813–830.

Giannetti, M, G Liao, and X Yu (2015), “The brain gain of corporate boards: Evidence from China,” The Journal of Finance, 70(4): 1629–1682.

Gibson, J, and D McKenzie (2011), “The microeconomic determinants of emigration and return migration of the best and brightest: Evidence from the Pacific,” Journal of Development Economics, 95(1): 18–29.

Gibson, J, D McKenzie, and S Stillman (2011), “The impacts of international migration on remaining household members: Omnibus result from a migration lottery program,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 93(4): 1297–1318.

Gibson, J, and D McKenzie (2012), “The economic consequences of ‘brain drain’ of the best and brightest: Microeconomic evidence from five countries,” Economic Journal, 122(560): 339–375.

Gibson, J, D McKenzie, and H Rohorua (2013), “Development impacts of seasonal and temporary migration: A review of evidence from the Pacific and Southeast Asia,” Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, 1(1): 18–32.

Gibson, J, and D McKenzie (2014a), “The development impact of a best practice seasonal worker policy,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 96(2): 229–243.

Gibson, J, and D McKenzie (2014b), “Scientific mobility and knowledge networks in high emigration countries: Evidence from the Pacific,” Research Policy, 43(9): 1486–1495.

Gibson, J, and D McKenzie (2014c), “Development through seasonal worker programs: The case of New Zealand’s RSE Program,” International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development: 186–210.

Gibson, J, D McKenzie, H Rohorua, and S Stillman (2018), “The long-term impacts of international migration: Evidence from a lottery,” The World Bank Economic Review, 32(1): 127–47.

Giesing, Y, and N Laurentsyeva (2017), “Firms left behind: Emigration and firm productivity,” Unpublished manuscript.

Godlonton, S, and C Theoharides (2025), “Diffusion of reproductive health behavior through international migration: Effects on origin-country fertility,” American Economic Review, 115(10): 3597–3637.

Hanson, G H (2009), “The economic consequences of the international migration of labor,” Annual Review of Economics, 1(1): 179–208.

Hussam, R, E M Kelley, G Lane, and F Zahra (2022), “The psychosocial value of employment: Evidence from a refugee camp,” American Economic Review, 112(11): 3694–3724.

Ibáñez, A M, A Moya, M A Ortega, S V Rozo, and M J Urbina (2025a), “Life out of the shadows: The impacts of regularization programs on the lives of forced migrants,” Journal of the European Economic Association, 23(3): 941–982.

Ibáñez, A M, J Quigua, J Romero, and A Velasquez (2025b), “Responses to extreme temperatures: Migrant networks and international migration from El Salvador,” Unpublished manuscript.

International Labour Organization (2022), “Temporary labour migration.”

Ito, R, D Chavarro, T Ciarli, R Cowan, and F Visentin (2025), “From drains to bridges: The role of internationally mobile PhD students in linking non-mobile with foreign scientists,” Journal of Development Economics, 177: 103577.

Javorcik, B S, C Özden, M Spatareanu, and C Neagu (2011), “Migrant networks and foreign direct investment,” Journal of Development Economics, 94(2): 231–241.

Joseph, T, Y Nyarko, and S Y Wang (2018), “Asymmetric information and remittances: Evidence from matched administrative data,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 10(2): 58–100.

Kahn, S, and M MacGarvie (2016), “Do return requirements increase international knowledge diffusion? Evidence from the Fulbright program,” Research Policy, 45(6): 1304–1322.

Kerr, W R (2008), “Ethnic scientific communities and international technology diffusion,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 90(3): 518–537.

Khanna, G, and N Morales (2023), “The IT boom and other unintended consequences of chasing the American dream,” Unpublished manuscript.

Khanna, G, E Murathanoglu, C Theoharides, and D Yang (forthcoming), “Abundance from abroad: Migrant income and long-run economic development,” American Economic Review.

Kırdar, M G (2009), “Labor market outcomes, savings accumulation, and return migration,” Labour Economics, 16(4): 418–428.

Kleemans, M (2023), “Migration choice under risk and liquidity constraints,” Unpublished manuscript.

Kleemans, M, and J Magruder (2019), “Labor market changes in response to immigration: Evidence from internal migration driven by weather shocks,” The Economic Journal, 128(613): 2032–2065.

Lagakos, D, A M Mobarak, M E Waugh (2023), “The welfare effects of encouraging rural-urban migration,” Econometrica, 91(3): 803–837.

Lee, J N, J Morduch, S Ravindran, A Shonchoy, and H Zaman (2021), “Poverty and migration in the digital age: Experimental evidence on mobile banking in Bangladesh,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 13(1): 38–71.

Letta, M, P Montalbano, and A Paolantonio (2024), “Climate immobility traps: A household-level test,” Unpublished manuscript.

Magaloni, B, and M Morten (2025), “The effects of legal short-term migration: Evidence from the H-2A program,” Unpublished manuscript.

Mahajan, P, and D Yang (2020), “Taken by storm: Hurricanes, migrant networks, and US immigration,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 12(2): 250–277.

Manzoni, E, E Murard, S Quercia, and S Tonini (2024), “News, emotions, and policy views on immigration,” Unpublished manuscript.

Mayda, A M (2006), “Who is against immigration? A cross-country investigation of individual attitudes toward immigrants,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 88(3): 510–530.

Mayda, A M, C Parsons, H Pham, and P L Vézina (2022), “Refugees and foreign direct investment: Quasi-experimental evidence from US resettlements,” Journal of Development Economics, 156: 102818.

Maystadt, J F, K Hirvonen, A Mabiso, and J Vandercasteelen (2019), “Impacts of hosting forced migrants in poor countries,” Annual Review of Resource Economics, 11(1): 439–459.

McKenzie, D, and H Rapoport (2011), “Can migration reduce educational attainment? Evidence from Mexico,” Journal of Population Economics, 24(4): 1331–1358.

McKenzie, D, J Gibson, and S Stillman (2013), “A land of milk and honey with streets paved with gold: Do emigrants have over-optimistic expectations about incomes abroad?” Journal of Development Economics, 102: 116–127.

McKenzie, D, C Theoharides, and D Yang (2014), “Distortions in the international migrant labor market: Evidence from Filipino migrants and wage responses to destination country economic shocks,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 6(2): 49–75.

McKenzie, D, and D Yang (2015), “Evidence on policies to increase the development impacts of international migration,” The World Bank Research Observer, 30(2): 155–192.

McKenzie, D (2024), “Fears and tears: Should more people be moving within and from developing countries, and what stops this movement?” The World Bank Research Observer, 39(1): 75–96.

McKenzie, D, and D Yang (2024), “Field and natural experiments in migration,” Handbook of Research Methods in Migration, 4: 48–82.

Meghir, C, M Mobarak, C Mommaerts, and M Morten (2022), “Migration and informal insurance,” The Review of Economic Studies, 89(1): 452–480.

Mercier, M (2016), “The return of the prodigy son: Do return migrants make better leaders?” Journal of Development Economics, 122: 76–91.

Minale, L (2018), “Agricultural productivity shocks, labour reallocation and rural–urban migration in China,” Journal of Economic Geography, 18(4): 795–821.

Mobarak, A M, I Sharif, and M Shrestha (2023), “Returns to international migration: Evidence from a Bangladesh–Malaysia visa lottery,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 15(4): 353–388.

Mobarak, A M, and M I Haque (2024), “Developing scalable pathways for international migration: Harnessing ‘triple wins’ for global economic progress,” Unpublished manuscript.

Mobarak, A M, C Vernot, and A Kharel (forthcoming), “Remittance frictions and seasonal poverty,” Quantitative Economics.

Mountford, A (1997), “Can a brain drain be good for growth in the source economy?” Journal of Development Economics, 53(2): 287–303.

Munshi, K (2003), “Networks in the modern economy: Mexican migrants in the U.S. labor market,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(2): 549–599.

Munshi, K, and M Rosenzweig (2016), “Networks and misallocation: Insurance, migration, and the rural–urban wage gap,” American Economic Review, 106(1): 46–98.

Murathanoglu, E (2023), “When the weather turns: Coping with shocks through international migration in the presence of search frictions,” Unpublished manuscript.

Naidu, S, Y Nyarko, and S YWang (2024), “The costs and benefits of guest worker programs: Experimental evidence from the India–UAE migration corridor,” Unpublished manuscript.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017), “The economic and fiscal consequences of immigration,” The National Academies Press.

Ortega, F (2005), “Immigration quotas and skill upgrading,” Journal of Public Economics, 89(9–10): 1841–1863.

Parsons, C, and P L Vézina (2018), “Migrant networks and trade: The Vietnamese boat people as a natural experiment,” The Economic Journal, 128(612): F210–F234.

Postel, H (2022), “CGD and the development of Global Skill Partnerships,” Center for Global Development.

Prato, M (2025), “The global race for talent: Brain drain, knowledge transfer, and growth,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 140(1): 165–238.

Pritchett, L, and F Hani (2020), “The economics of international wage differentials and migration,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance.

Rehman, O U (2023), “Spousal communication and information sharing: Evidence from migrants and their spouses,” Journal of Development Economics, 165: 103148.

Rozo, S V, and G Grossman (2025), “Refugees and other forcibly displaced populations,” VoxDevLit, 14(1).

Ruiz, I, and C Vargas-Silva (2013), “The economics of forced migration,” Journal of Development Studies, 49(6): 772–784.

Saxenian, A (2007), “The new argonauts: Regional advantage in a global economy,” Harvard University Press.

Seshan, G, and D Yang (2014), “Motivating migrants: A field experiment on financial decision-making in transnational households,” Journal of Development Economics, 108: 119–127.

Shrestha, M (2020), “Get rich or die tryin’: Perceived earnings, perceived mortality rates, and migration decisions of potential work migrants from Nepal,” The World Bank Economic Review, 34(1): 1–27.

Shrestha, S, and D Yang (2019), “Facilitating worker mobility: A randomized information intervention among migrant workers in Singapore,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, 68(1): 63–91.

Spilimbergo, A (2009), “Democracy and foreign education,” American Economic Review, 99(1): 528–543.

Stark, O, C Helmenstein, and A Prskawetz (1997), “A brain gain with a brain drain,” Economics Letters, 55(3): 227–234.

Theoharides, C (2018), “Manila to Malaysia, Quezon to Qatar: International migration and the effects on origin-country human capital,” Journal of Human Resources, 53(4): 1022–1049.

Theoharides, C (2020), “The unintended consequences of migration policy on origin-country labor market decisions,” Journal of Development Economics, 142: 102271.

Tjaden, J, and F Dunsch (2021), “The effect of peer-to-peer risk information on potential migrants – evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Senegal,” World Development, 145: 105497.

Torero, M, and A Viceisza (2015), “To remit, or not to remit: That is the question. A remittance field experiment,” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 112: 221–236.

Tuccio, M, and J Wahba (2018), “Return migration and the transfer of gender norms: Evidence from the Middle East,” Journal of Comparative Economics, 46(4): 1006–1029.

United Nations (2019), “World population policies 2019: International migration policies and programs.”

United Nations (2020), “International migrant stock 2020.”

Vandana, C, E J Kim, S Plaza, D Ratha, and W Shaw (2023), “Leveraging diaspora finances for private capital mobilization,” Unpublished manuscript.

Verme, P, and K Schuettler (2021), “The impact of forced displacement on host communities: A review of the empirical literature in economics,” Journal of Development Economics, 150: 102606.

World Bank (2023), “World development report 2023: Migrants, refugees, and societies.”

Yang, D (2006), “Why do migrants return to poor countries? Evidence from Philippine migrants’ responses to exchange rate shocks,” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 88(4): 715–735.

Yang, D, and C Martinez (2006), “Remittances and poverty in migrants’ home areas: Evidence from the Philippines,” International Migration, Remittances and the Brain Drain, 3: 81–121.

Yang, D, and H Choi (2007), “Are remittances insurance? Evidence from rainfall shocks in the Philippines,” The World Bank Economic Review, 21(2): 219–248.

Yang, D (2008a), “Coping with disaster: The impact of hurricanes on international financial flows, 1970–2002,” The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy (Advances), 8(1).

Yang, D (2008b), “International migration, remittances, and household investment: Evidence from Philippine migrants' exchange rate shocks,” The Economic Journal, 118: 591–630.

Yang, D (2011), “Migrant remittances,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(3): 129–152.