Engaging the diaspora for economic gain: what can Latvia expect?

ABSTRACT

Following the global trend of countries engaging with their diaspora populations, Latvia has expressed its commitment to its diaspora with the recent passing of the Diaspora Law. One of the stated aims of the legislation is the engagement of the diaspora in Latvia’s economic development. In this article, a thorough analysis of the existing literature highlights the available diaspora resources that countries of origin can draw upon, identifies the avenues of diaspora engagement for development, and outlines the necessary preconditions for successful diaspora engagement. Using secondary data analysis of available Latvian diaspora surveys, the article then establishes what Latvia can expect from its diasporas, both ‘old’ and ‘new,’ and identifies the most promising target groups for promoting economic development, pinpoints their geographical locations, and outlines the concerns and challenges that Latvia has to overcome in order to effectively engage with and harness the economic potential ofx its diaspora.

KEYWORDS:

• Diaspora
• economic development
• migration
• policy engagement
• return migration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Four different waves of Latvian diaspora have been identified, which can be roughly grouped into two before and two after the regaining of independence in 1991. See: SKDS (2006).

2. For an overview of other countries with diaspora laws, see: Mieriņa, Zača, and Buholcs (2018).

3. See: (Plaza 2013; Parsons 2005; White 2007).

4. See for example: (Modigsson and Nordlund 2012; Wescott and Brinkerhoff 2006).

5. The team does note that, for various reasons explained by Hazans (2013, 2016), the true magnitude of the Latvian diaspora is not fully known, and the totals are underestimated.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund Activity 1.1.1.2. ‘Post-doctoral Research Aid’, research agreement No. 1.1.1.2/16/I/001, under Grant No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/013 ‘Harnessing the Economic Potential of the Diaspora’.

Notes on contributors

Ieva Birka

Ieva Birka is a Senior Researcher at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Social Sciences and the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute. Ieva obtained her PhD in Political Science at the University of Latvia, MSc in Government from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Science from the University of Rochester in the United States. She is currently working on a three year post-doctoral research project ‘Harnessing the Economic Potential of the Diaspora’ aiming to establish the best practices in diaspora engagement, specifically concentrating on the use of information and communication technology. She has previously completed post-doctoral research projects at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland 2013–14, and as a Padegs Baltic Fellow at Yale University in 2015. She is the author and coauthor of several publications focusing on issues of migration, social integration, feelings of belonging, dual citizenship, and diaspora.