Expatriate Economic Development

Regions invest considerable resources into human capital. That communities do little to nothing to reap some returns from talent that moves somewhere else is bizarre. On an international scale (hat tip Richard Herman), the opposite is true:

More than ever, diasporas — the "scattered seeds" most governments previously ignored and in some cases even maligned — are increasingly seen as agents of development.

Aware of this potential, some developing countries have established institutions to more systematically facilitate ties with their diasporas, defined here as emigrants and their descendants who have maintained strong sentimental and material links with their countries of origin.

Perhaps American sub-national governments are just behind the curve. That's still no excuse for ignoring best practices. Developing countries have already assumed most of the risk associated with a novel initiative. We needn't remake the wheel.

For communities heavily dependent upon eds and meds (such as Pittsburgh), a rethinking of out-migration is critical. Talent churn will only increase. The lack of policy innovation on this front is glaring, particularly for shrinking cities. A tuition tax? That's myopic. Pittsburgh can and should do better.