19. The Impact of Emigration on Source Countries

Much of the literature on cross-border migration has focused on the impact of immigration on receiving countries with less attention paid to the impact of emigration on sending countries. Ghosh and Weinstein provide an overview of the push and pull factors that play a role in the decision to emigrate. The chapter draws attention to the linkages between the underlying factors that cause emigration and the impact of emigration on sending countries. Though the global impact of international migration may be positive, the efficiency gains from labor mobility are not shared equally across countries or across regions within sending countries. By specifically examining provinces across China, Ghosh and Weinstein find that, while there are short-term effects from the loss of labor and brain drain, the long-term effects accrue via emigrant networks that can promote trade, foreign direct investment and entrepreneurial activities, remittances and possibly brain gain, if emigrants return to their native country. Still, emigration in China likely exacerbates inequality between wealthier coastal provinces and inland areas. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the policy implications of emigration.