Nativist political movements are globally ascendant. In advanced democracies, rising anti‐immigrant politics is in part a backlash against economic globalization. In emerging economies, where nativists primarily target internal migrants, there is little investigation of whether trade liberalization fuels antimigrant sentiment, perhaps because trade benefits workers in these contexts. I argue that global economic integration causes nativist backlash in emerging economies even though it does not dislocate workers. I highlight an alternative mechanism: geographic labor mobility. Workers strategically migrate to access geographically uneven global economic opportunity. This liberalization‐induced mobility interacts with native–migrant cleavages to generate nativist backlash. I explore these dynamics in the Indian textile sector, which experienced a positive shock following global trade liberalization in 2005. Using a difference‐in‐differences analysis, I find that exposed localities experienced increased internal migration and nativism, manifesting in antimigrant rioting and nativist party support. Liberalization can fuel nativism even when its economic impacts are positive.

International migration is a multifaceted process with distinct stages and decision points. An initial decision to leave one’s country of birth may be made by the individual or the family unit, and this decision may reflect a desire to reconnect with friends and family who have already moved abroad, a need to diversify the family’s access to financial capital, a demand to increase wages, or a belief that conditions abroad will provide social and/or political benefits not available in the homeland. Once the individual has decided to move abroad, the next decision is the choice of destination. Standard explanations of destination choice have focused on the physical costs associated with moving—moving shorter distances is often less expensive than moving to a destination farther away; these explanations have recently been modified to include other social, political, familial, and cultural dimensions as part of the transaction cost associated with migrating. Arrival in a host country does not mean that an émigré’s relationship with their homeland is over. Migrant networks are an engine of global economic integration—expatriates help expand trade and investment flows, they transmit skills and knowledge back to their homelands, and they remit financial and human capital. Aware of the value of their external populations, home countries have developed a range of policies that enable them to “harness” their diasporas.

Migration is among the central domestic and global political issues of today. Yet the causes and consequences - and the relationship between migration and global markets – are poorly understood. Migration is both costly and risky, so why do people decide to migrate? What are the political, social, economic, and environmental factors that cause people to leave their homes and seek a better life elsewhere? Leblang and Helms argue that political factors - the ability to participate in the political life of a destination - are as important as economic and social factors. Most migrants don't cut ties with their homeland but continue to be engaged, both economically and politically. Migrants continue to serve as a conduit for information, helping drive investment to their homelands. The authors combine theory with a wealth of micro and macro evidence to demonstrate that migration isn't static, after all, but continuously fluid.

Controlling immigration has become a central political goal in advanced democracies. Politicians across the world have experimented with a range of policies such as foreign aid in the hopes that aid will spur development in migrant origin countries and decrease the demand for emigration. We argue that internal policy tools are more effective, in particular, the use of policies that allow temporary migrants short-term access to host country labor markets. These policies provide migrants an opportunity to obtain higher wages, which, in turn, increases remittances back to home countries. This increase in financial flows to households decreases subsequent demand for migration into destination countries. We test this argument using data on migration to the United States and find that an increase in remittances from the United States decreases subsequent demand for entry in that country. Controlar la inmigración se ha vuelto un objetivo político central de las democracias avanzadas. Los políticos de todo el mundo han experimentado con un abanico de políticas, como la asistencia en el extranjero, con miras a que la ayuda fomente el desarrollo en los países de origen de los migrantes y reduzca la demanda de emigración. Sostenemos que las herramientas de política interna son más efectivas: en particular, el uso de políticas que permiten a los migrantes temporales el acceso a corto plazo a los mercados laborales del país de destino. Estas políticas brindan a los migrantes la oportunidad de obtener salarios más altos, lo que, a su vez, aumenta las remesas a los países de origen. Este aumento del flujo económico hacia los hogares reduce la subsecuente demanda de migración hacia los países de destino. Evaluamos este argumento con información de migraciones a EE. UU. y observamos que el aumento de las remesas desde EE. UU. disminuye la demanda de ingreso al país. Le contrôle de l'immigration est devenu un objectif politique central dans les démocraties avancées. Des politiciens du monde entier ont expérimenté toute une série de politiques telles que l'aide étrangère dans l'espoir que cette aide stimule le développement des pays d'origine des migrants et réduise la demande d’émigration. Nous soutenons que les outils de politique intérieure sont plus efficaces, en particulier, le recours à des politiques qui dotent les migrants temporaires d'd’un accès à court terme aux marchés du travail du pays d'accueil. Ces politiques donnent l'opportunité aux migrants d'obtenir des salaires plus élevés, ce qui, à son tour, augmente les fonds qu'ils transfèrent vers leurs pays d'origine. Cette augmentation des flux financiers vers leurs foyers dans leurs pays d'origine diminue la demande ultérieure de migration dans les pays de destination. Nous avons mis cet argument à l’épreuve à l'aide de données sur la migration vers les États-Unis et nous avons constaté qu'une augmentation des transferts de fonds en provenance des États-Unis diminuait la demande ultérieure d'entrée dans ce pays.

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