The title is tongue in cheek, but as we’ve seen in the movement of goods and capital around the globe, so too can we see the benefits of labor migration when we look closely. Dr Amitendu Palit of the Institute for South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, has a sharp column on the benefits of the Great India Diaspora, both for India and for the world.
For the West (primarily the US, Canada and Europe) the benefits from lots of smart Indians living and working in their countries is obvious. And for India? “Remittances have been the diaspora’s biggest contributions to the Indian economy. India is one of the major recipients of migrant remittances among developing countries. In the year 2008, India topped the chart with $52 billion of remittances, followed by $49 billion in China and $26 billion in Mexico. Assuming an Indian GDP of $1.2 trillion in 2008, the remittances amount to roughly 4% of GDP.”
However, when Dr. Palit looks to India’s neighbor to the East, he sees that the Chinese diaspora was even more successful:
The role of the expatriate Chinese in facilitating China’s ascent to economic prosperity is well known. Most of the foreign investment flowing into China in the early years of its opening up was from the expatriate Chinese. Those from neighboring Hong Kong and Taiwan made good use of tax benefits and other facilities offered in the special economic zones of Shenzhen and other coastal areas. By setting up new production facilities in mainland China, expatriate investors ensured that China did not lose out on the opportunities created by economic reforms and also acted as a ‘pull’ factor for multinational investors.
As a last note, I should note that Dr. Palit has become a one man operation in trying to facilitate Chinese/Indian peaceful relations, and has done a fantastic amount of work explaining to both Indian and Chinese audiences that there is much more to gain from free exchange than there is from military conflict.
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