Exodus: How Migration Is Changing Our World

Collier contrasts micro- and macro-level migration effects, showing how emigration can both enhance and weaken political engagement. In Cape Verde, migrant households participate more in politics, while in Zimbabwe, large-scale emigration reduced opposition, helping Mugabe retain power. This contrast challenges the assumption that migration inherently promotes democratization. While exposure to democratic institutions can encourage civic participation, emigration can also remove key actors needed for internal reform. Collier frames migration as a process shaped by political conditions rather than a guaranteed force for democratization.

Collier also examines The Balance Between Humanitarian Goals and National Interests, but now through the lens of migrants’ countries of origin. He states that migration can allow political stagnation to continue while easing economic hardship. In Nepal, where remittances make up nearly 30% of GDP, migration reduces pressure for reform. With much of the workforce abroad, labor movements weaken, and political engagement declines, allowing ineffective governance to persist. This creates a contradiction—migration alleviates economic struggles while making institutional change less likely. Whether migration sustains or disrupts political systems depends on how it interacts with existing structures.

Collier questions whether diasporas drive social and political change. While migrants exposed to democratic norms may influence political attitudes in their home countries, he argues that those who remain are often better positioned to implement reforms. He describes diasporas as often focused on past grievances and idealized versions of their homelands rather than practical solutions. He also challenges the idea that diasporas are essential to spreading governance models, noting that movements like the Arab Spring and Eastern European revolutions were led primarily by those within the countries rather than by exiles abroad.

Collier states that migration does little to reduce overpopulation and can, in some cases, weaken economies by shrinking the labor force rather than easing demographic strain. He disputes the idea that emigration meaningfully relieves population pressure, arguing that it primarily removes skilled and capable individuals while leaving behind a still-growing population with fewer resources for economic development. He maintains that poverty is not caused by population size alone, but by the inability of economies to absorb expanding labor forces. By focusing on labor market dynamics rather than overall population numbers, he moves away from the notion that migration is a solution to overcrowding.

Collier also considers how migration policies in host countries shape demographic trends in the countries migrants leave behind. He argues that policies favoring skilled workers drain talent from poorer nations without addressing broader population growth. This supports his claim that migration does little to manage overpopulation, as it removes those best equipped to drive economic progress rather than lowering birth rates or easing labor market pressures in a lasting way. Rather than acting as a solution, migration can slow economic development if not carefully regulated.