#2019-040 Return, circular, and onward migration decisions in a knowledge society
Amelie Constant
This chapter provides a state-of-the-art literature review about
research that aims to explain the return, repeat, circular and onward
migration of the highly-skilled migrants around the world. After it
describes the status quo in the knowledge economy and the international
race for talent, it presents the relevant theories and concepts of
migration in the social sciences and how these theories accommodate the
phenomena of return, repeat and onward migration. A special section is
devoted to selection. The chapter then summarizes, evaluates, and
juxtaposes existing empirical evidence related to theoretical
predictions. Observables such as education, income, gender and home
country as well as unobservables such as ability, social capital and
negotiating skills play a strong role in influencing return, repeat and
onward migration decisions. Yet, there is no consensus on the direction
of the effect. The chapter discusses shortcomings and limitations along
with policy lessons. It concludes by highlighting holes in the
literature and the need for better data.
Keywords: Return, circular, onward, international labor migration,
knowledge economy, high-skilled, public policy
JEL Classification F22, J15, J18, J20, J61
