[From passive to active: policies for Latin American emigrants]. / Del pasivo al activo: una politica para los emigrados de America Latina.

ABSTRACT

PIP The conventional view of emigration holds that it represents a loss of resources from a country and that the only possible policy response is to discourage new emigration while promoting return of those who have left. A new policy is needed based on a fuller understanding of the potential benefits of emigration for the country of origin. The cost of emigration is usually counted as the loss of educational investment, the loss of labor force, and the loss of the contributions to development that would have been made by talented emigrants. But such views usually do not include a serious treatment of the economic problems of labor supply and demand in general or of skilled labor in particular. Underemployment or unemployment of highly educated persons and overproduction of educated persons are problems throughout Latin America and much of the developing world. A truer evaluation of the costs of education which considered decreasing marginal costs rather than average costs per student, nominally variable costs that actually behave as fixed costs, and an adequate assignment of costs for students leaving school before graduating would lead to much lower estimates of average cost per university student in Latin America. Significant emigration may actually result indirectly in an increase in national income by reducing pressure on the labor market and allowing wages to rise for remaining workers. Remittances for emigrants and repatriation of savings may contribute significantly to national income and balance of payments, and may compensate for or even exceed the economic losses of emigration. National policy for emigrants should aim at maximizing the economic benefits of emigration by providing incentives for the accumulation of capital obtained abroad and its transfer to the country of origin. The 1st major goal of emigration policy should be to maintain affective and social ties between the emigrant and the country of origin as a necessary condition for channeling benefits to the country. Such factors as inclusive citizenship policies for spouses and children born abroad, provisions for absentee voting, communication and information programs, and recognition of education and professional title conferred abroad would help motivate a continuing interest in the country of origin. The 2nd policy goal should be to create concrete channels for different types of emigrant activities that would benefit the country of origin. This operational side of emigration policy would provide channels for the return to the country of capital and goods accumulated by the emigrant and would provide for cooperation in scientific endeavors, business and investment, and for social and humanitarian projects.^ieng