Diaspora policies and co-development: A Comparison between India, China and Mexico

Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of co-development as related to diaspora diplomacy and its implications for public policies for skilled migration in the countries of origin. We consider the cases of two Asian countries – India and China - that stimulate migration as a way to relieve the lack of jobs and skilled population surplus, but which also have strong policies of networking and return. The case of Mexico is different since it is a country with less tradition in diaspora programs and Mexican expats tend to be more politically and culturally active than economically involved. In the three cases studied we find different problems relating to diaspora programs in accordance with their historical progress, such as poor results due to the lack of financial resources, inadequate institutional background or weak diaspora organization.