Migrant Resource Flows and Development in the Global South

Abstract

This chapter looks at three types of resource flows in South–South migration—financial flows of remittances and diaspora investment, trade flows of goods and services, and knowledge flows relating to skills development and production and organisational technology for enterprises. The chapter provides an overview of each of the three flows, covering both formal and informal resource flows. The chapter argues that the South–South component of resource flows has barely been addressed in the existing literature, focusing overwhelmingly on North-South flows with greater aggregate value and ignoring the migrant and diaspora population from the Global South. Secondly, it argues that many resource flows are informal and that trying to “formalise” these will leave many—both migrants and citizens—in jeopardy because they will not have access to flows of finance, trade and knowledge. Finally, the chapter argues that there is a need to think about how the development impact of South–South flows differs from North-South flows, if at all, so that the potentially unequalising impacts of the flows can be addressed by governments, international institutions and migrant organisations.