High-Skilled Migration from Myanmar: Responses to Signals of Political and Economic Stabilization

Yashodhan Ghorpade, Muhammad Saad Imtiaz and Theingie Han

No 10878, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: In recent years, Myanmar has witnessed considerable economic and political instability, leading many young people, particularly the higher-skilled, to consider migrating abroad for improved prospects. This paper employs an innovative method to quantify migration intentions among high-skilled youth by analyzing the take-up of migration at different wage premia. A randomized survey experiment then evaluates how hypothetical political and economic stabilization scenarios impact these intentions. The findings show that 35 percent of the respondents would be willing to take a similar job abroad for pay equal to their current income. Randomization within the survey indicates that political stabilization would potentially reduce high-skilled workers’ desire to migrate by about 15 percent, especially among men, those living in high-conflict areas, and persons with lower absolute income but higher perceived relative income. In contrast, prospects of economic stabilization do not have a significant effect on migration intentions. In the absence of political stability and a reduction in conflict, economic stabilization is unlikely to reduce talent outflows among the young.

Date: 2024-08-21
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac, nep-mig and nep-sea
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Working Paper: High-Skilled Migration from Myanmar: Responses to Signals of Political and Economic Stabilization (2025)
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