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Synopsis What happens to a country when its skilled workers emigrate? The first book to examine the complex economic, social, and political effects of migration on India, Diaspora, Development, and Democracy provides a conceptual framework for understanding the repercussions of international migration on migrants’ home countries. Migration has influenced India far beyond a simplistic ‘brain drain’. Its impact greatly depends on who leaves and why. Devesh Kapur offers new methods and empirical evidence for measuring these traits and shows how data about these characteristics link to specific outcomes.

He argues that the positive selection of Indian migrants through education has strengthened India’s democracy by creating a political space for previously excluded social groups. The book demonstrates how education and training abroad has played an important role in facilitating the flow of expertise to India, integrating the country into the world economy, and positively shaping how India is perceived. Kapur highlights a paradox—while international migration is a cause and consequence of globalization, its effects on countries of origin depend largely on factors internal to those countries.