Does Migration Support Technology Diffusion
in Developing Countries?
Michael Hübler
Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade
Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim, Germany
Agriculture and Rural Transformation in Asia, Bangkok 2017

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Underlying publications
Regression analyses using our TVSEP survey data for
Thailand, Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia in 2013:
 Hübler, Michael (2015). Labor Mobility and Technology Diffusion:
a New Concept and its Application to Rural Southeast Asia.
Journal of Asian Economics 39, 137-151.
 Village data
 Hübler, Michael (2016). Does Migration Support Technology
Diffusion in Developing Countries? World Development 83, 148-
162.
 Household data
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

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Trade literature
 Technology spillovers via trade & FDI
 Brain drain via migration
 Technology spillovers and „technology drain“ via
migration hardly explored
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
cliparts101.com

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Phone literature
 Determinants of wide-spread mobile phones
 Especially, Africa
 Effects of mobile phones, e.g., on market prices
 For example, India
 Southeast Asia hardly researched w.r.t. phones
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
cliparting.com

5Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

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Technology hypotheses
 Technology gain hypothesis: immigrants/
emigrants enhance technology use/diffusion
 Creation of technological knowledge and
preferences, or linkages to high-tech locations
 Technology impair/drain hypothesis: immigrants/
emigrants reduce technology use/diffusion
 Loss of local knowledge and preferences,
or linkages to low-tech locations
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

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Research questions
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
 Does migration support or hinder technology diffusion?
 Which other socio-economic factors are relevant?

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Migration results
 Technology drain via emigration to rural destinations (within
the same country) but technology gain for urban ones
 Also labor mobility, business relations etc.
 But effects not identifiable for daily commuters
 Also technology impairment via immigration possible
 Effect of migration beyond monetary remittances
 International migration plays a small role (in this survey)
 Technology gain via education & younger age of migrants
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

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Socio-economic results
 Migration often poverty-driven (in the survey)
 Strong rural technology diffusion (spatial correlation)
 Mobile phones shared within households
Technology diffusion (mobile phones) is enhanced by:
 Existing technologies: electricity, Internet, cars
 Complements – but also income indicators
 Geographic accessibility (infrastructure & distances)
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

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Conclusion
 Migration can help overcome social & geographic
obstacles to rural development via technology diffusion
 Mainly rural-urban migration relevant
 Also labor mobility, business relations etc.
 Connections with high-tech/high-income locations
 But there is also the risk of technology drain/impairment
 Policy: provide educational, infrastructural & financial
support
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

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Discussion & outlook
 Methodological difficulties:
 Reverse causality: technology → migration
 Transfer of knowledge, devices or money
(remittances)?
 Further research: smartphones, Internet & their
applications
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

Thank you very much
for your kind attention
Michael Hübler - Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
huebler@iuw.uni-hannover.de