Spurring Development through a Seasonal Migration Program

Lack of mobility of labor is likely the biggest distortion in global factor markets, resulting in large differences in the productivity and income a given worker can have in different places. As a result of this fact, facilitating emigration has the potential to be one of the most effective development interventions available. Seasonal worker programs are seen as one way to overcome many of the concerns associated with migration, thereby offering a 'triple-win' in which migrants, the sending country, and the receiving country can all benefit. Research provides the first rigorous evaluation of the impact of a seasonal migration policy on households in the sending country, and finds gains in household well-being which greatly exceed those measured for other popular development interventions like microfinance and conditional cash transfers.