Globalization, Internal Migration, and Political Change in Emerging Economies

• In Event: Political Economy of Internal Migration

Abstract

Global economic integration can introduce high-wage employment opportunities to developing countries in multinational corporations and exporting firms. Who is best positioned to take advantage of these benefits? We start from the premise that accessing lucrative opportunities often requires individuals to internally migrate toward centers of globalized production. We first use micro-level data in India to explore who can migrate in reaction to globalization. We find that advantaged individuals - those belonging to higher-caste groups - are disproportionately geographically mobile compared to historically marginalized groups. This finding suggests that the already-advantaged can most rapidly react to globally oriented opportunities. Next, we analyze political change in areas that experience a disproportionate out-migration of historically advantaged groups, focusing in the Indian context on caste-based discrimination and the representation of marginalized groups in elected office. Our project identifies internal migration as a novel mechanism through which globalization drives political change even in areas not directly exposed to the external positive shock.

Authors

• Benjamin Clay Helms, Texas A&M University

• Junghyun Lim, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill