The Economic Impacts of Labor migration: Case of Sri Lanka.

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a major labour sending country in Asia, with a high proportion of labour migrants employed as domestic and non-domestic with increasing remittances. Sri Lanka, being a low-middle income country with a total population of 20 million, is currently considered one of the foremost labour sending countries in the Asian region. Despite such financial gains for families and national economy, the left-behind families have limited exploration. The Sri Lankan government faces a dilemma. The major aims of this study to determine the trends, patterns and scale of labor migration and to analyze the impact of migration of skilled workers on economy. Data have been collected from primary and secondary data collection methods in addition to twenty in-depth interviews conducted with participants recruited through purposive sampling. Necessary Information was gathered from relevant books, treaties, scholarly journals, internet, newspaper articles and periodicals. Data was analyzed using content and thematic analyses used in the Neo- Classical Theory, the Situation Oriented Approach (Push-Pull Hypotheses), the World System Theory and the Dual Labour Market Approach. Pre-migration economic situation, economic difficulties and higher earning possibilities abroad were considered to be the major push and pull factors for labour migration. The process of theorization of migration began in the nineteenth century. It has been discussed by sociologists, geographers and economists who have respectively emphasized the social and cultural, the distance and economic factors as the causes of migration. The research explores the findings and suggests some recommendations in maximizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effect of labour migration on economies. It further argues that there is a need to explore best practice models, which not only support the families of migrant workers but also facilitate regular intimate contact between migrant and family while gaining economic advantages of migration.