The Impact of Migration on Areas of Limited Statehood in Sub-Sahara Africa (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Region: Africa, grade: 1,3, Hertie School of Governance (Master of Public Policy), course: Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood, language: English, abstract: (...) While Western economists and politicians discuss whether more or less migration benefits their countries, the other side of the medal, namely the impact of massive labour outflows on sending communities, is seldom devoted much attention (...). Every migrant that leaves an African country for another or for a destination off the continent takes valuable labour and economic potential away from
the sending community. This questions in how far vulnerable states will invest in education and youth employment when they see the return on their investments wander to new shores. Moreover, traditional ways of life are questioned when a great part of the young population departs and leaves the less mobile to care for themselves.

Failing and failed states are today to a great extent kept alive by remittances from migrants abroad. On the one hand, this might be the only way that people who stayed can survive in a war-torn economy but on the other hand it might also ease the population's deception with dictatorships and incapable political leaders and therefore impede necessary social uproar. (...).

Many of these specifics impacts of the African migration flows on the sendingn communities will be illuminated in the following (...). Various theoretical approaches will be compared to outline the inherently different approximations towards migration by neoclassical economics compared with the critical dependency theory to find feasible policy recommendations (...)

This paper follows the assumption that migration has overall positive effects and benefits for developed countries as well as some developing economies. The crucial point is nonetheless the fact that these benefits are not equally allocated. Positive effects on areas of limited statehood have to be questioned to a great extent as functioning institutions are lacking which inhibit diaspora investments in national development (...)

Policy recommendations should not be focused on impeding migrants to work or educate themselves abroad but should concentrate on easing the return of citizens to support the development of the sending communities e.g. through easer passage within African regions. Moreover, foreign aid has to be channelled in a way that it benefits institution building , creates investment opportunities, promotes return migration and generates employment possibilities to lower migration push factors.