Return Migration to India: Decision‐Making among Academic Engineers and Scientists
| Date | 01 August 2016 |
| Author | Meghna Sabharwal,Roli Varma |
| Published date | 01 August 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12265 |
Return Migration to India: Decision-Making
among Academic Engineers and Scientists
Meghna Sabharwal* and Roli Varma**
ABSTRACT
The decision-making process among migrants, whether to leave their country of birth for a for-
eign country or deciding to return to their native country is complex and laden with chal-
lenges. This article seeks to understand the decision-making process by which immigrant
engineers and scientists select to return to India after study and work in the United States. It is
based on in-depth interviews conducted with 54 returned engineers and scientists. Results indi-
cate that the decision to return is anything but a linear process as highlighted in rational choice
theory. Prospect and planned behaviour theories are better positioned to explain the decision-
making process among returned migrant engineers and scientists.
INTRODUCTION
International migration from developing to developed countries is seen as a one-way move. How-
ever, there is increasing evidence of return migration from developed to developing countries,
which makes international migration rather dynamic. Migration is a complex decision, however, the
choice to return to one’s country of origin can be even more daunting and complex (S
ßeny€
urekli
and Menj
ıvar, 2012). Most decision-making models for migrants focus on the decision to immi-
grate; there is, however, a gap in the research examining the decision-making process of reverse
migration. Moreover, most research investigates the motives of return rather than the individual
decision-making process, which can be conceptualized in three phases: pre-decision, the decision
itself and post-decision. Typically, scholarly literature breaks down decision-making process into
multiple steps, namely information gathering, assessing choices, the narrowing of alternatives, mak-
ing a decision and evaluating the decision.
In this article, we examine one of the most important decisions taken by immigrants from devel-
oping countries; that is, to move back to their home country. We focus on return migration of engi-
neers and scientists because they contribute enormously to the nation’s prosperity, economic
growth, industrial productivity, scientific discoveries, technological innovations, and overall knowl-
edge of science and engineering (S&E) fields. We present decision-making among immigrant engi-
neers and scientists to return to India permanently after study and work in the United States. We
chose to focus on Indian returnees mainly because India has been the leading country of origin
among immigrant engineers and scientists in the US In 2013, India accounted for 20 per cent of
the foreign-born holding a science or an engineering degree and 14 per cent of those holding doc-
torates in the same fields in the US (National Science Board, 2016). The US, therefore, relies on
these individuals for its S&E and human capital needs. In recent years, there has been a noticeable
* University of Texas, Dallas
** University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
doi: 10.1111/imig.12265
©2016 The Authors
International Migration ©2016 IOM
International Migration Vol. 54 (4) 2016
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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