Brain Circulation: The Educational Profile of Return Migrants

Chen Chen (), Aude Bernard, Ryan Rylee and Guy Abel
Additional contact information
Chen Chen: Asian Demographic Research Institute, Shanghai University
Aude Bernard: The University of Queensland
Ryan Rylee: Independent Scholar
Guy Abel: Asian Demographic Research Institute, Shanghai University

Population Research and Policy Review, 2022, vol. 41, issue 1, No 14, 387-399

Abstract: Abstract Countries increasingly compete to attract and retain human capital. However, empirical studies, particularly those of migrants moving back to developing countries, have been limited due to the lack of education-specific migration flow data. Drawing on census microdata from IPUMS, we derive flow data by level of education and age group to quantify the level of return migration and examine the educational and age profile of return migrants for a global sample of 60 countries representing 70% of the world population. We show that return migrants account for a significant share of in-migration flows, particularly in Africa and Latin America, and, in all countries but six, return migrants are more educated than the population in the migrants’ country of birth. Our age decomposition reveals that young adults contribute the most to the positive educational selectivity of return migrants, particularly in Africa and Asia. While this paper does not quantify the net effect of return migration on education levels, it underlines the importance of the human capital contributions of young adult returnees.

Keywords: Return migration; International migration; Brain circulation; Brain drain; Educational selectivity; IPUMS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s11113-021-09655-6

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