On the Law of Return in Rural–Urban Interactions: An Economic Approach to Solidarity with Return Migrants

Abstract

Community solidarity with return migrants is commonly observed in the rural areas of developing countries. In this paper, we briefly review the evidence from sociological studies on this issue and suggest a new economic approach to such solidarity. We show that an implicit institutional arrangement, whereby migrants have no obligations (e.g., no obligation to remit) but may nevertheless enjoy equal ownership rights on collective resources upon return, enhances economic efficiency via an optimal regulation of migration flows. We also address enforceability issues since, within each generation, time consistency problems may give rise to opportunistic behavior among non-migrants.

Citation

Drapier, C., Jayet, H. and Rapoport, H. (2006), "On the Law of Return in Rural–Urban Interactions: An Economic Approach to Solidarity with Return Migrants", Polachek, S.W., Chiswick, C. and Rapoport, H. (Ed.) The Economics of Immigration and Social Diversity (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 427-448. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-9121(05)24013-X