Files
Abstract
We examine the potential gains for India from increased temporary migration of skilled worker between India and its major labor importing partners, in light of potential productivity gains from return migration. The paper uses the GMig2 Global Bilateral Labor Migration Model and its supporting database. The paper explores the impact of liberalizing the temporary movement of skilled workers on the Indian economy; and compares the welfare effects of this liberalization to those from domestic services sector liberalization in India. The results show that the welfare of Indian workers remaining behind in India improves as a result of temporary skilled labor migration. Although there is a welfare loss from the loss of labor, this is outweighed by the substantial increase in remittances. There is also a clear improvement in total real income – brain gain – from the increased productivity brought back to India by the returning workers.