Are there Returns to Migration Experience? An Empirical Analysis Using Data on Return Migrants and Non-Migrants in West Africa

Does migrants’ experience abroad provide an earnings premium for wage earners and/or a productivity advantage for entrepreneurs? In terms of earnings, we find that experience abroad results in a substantial wage premium for migrants returning from an OECD country but not for other return migrants. Past migration in an OECD country also results in a productive advantage for returnees who became entrepreneurs upon returning. However, the low share of return migrants in the population of WAEMU countries suggests that the effectiveness of return migration as a driver of development is only moderate.