Making migration work. A study of the developmental impact of return migration in Romania and Republic of Moldova

• Applicant: Dr. Romana Careja
• Subject Area: Political Science
• Term: from 2010 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 191173100

In spite of the recognized relevance of migrants' resources for development, especially local development, there is relatively little research on how the Central and Eastern European governments capitalize on the emigrants' resources and how emigrants themselves respond to the sending countries' policies. Thepresent project aims to fill this gap in hwo steps. The pre-study focuses on policies and collects basic information on emigrants. It will result into a comprehensive description of the policy field targeting the labour emigrants and will provide the information needed for preparing the main study, a field study focusing on emigrants.The pre-study is guided by two questions: 1. Do the sending countries encourage entrepreneurial behaviours of emigrants? and 2. Does the state itself mobilize the emigrants' resources towards projects with developmental effects at local, regional and national level? The answer to these questions is sought for through an in-depth survey and analysis of the policies and programmes which influence the way migrants use the resources acquired while working abroad and of the programmes through which the states attract emigrants' resources in developmental projects in Romania and Moldova. The main study will collect quantitative and qualitative information from the emigrants themselves, and will investigate whether and how the emigrants react to the policies put forward by the sending countries.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Hans-Jürgen Andreß (†)