South-South Migration and Inequality: Effects of Paraguayan Migration in Sending Areas
Ratha and Shaw (2007) estimate that 74 million, or nearly half of the migrants from developing countries reside in other developing countries. In other words, South-South migration is nearly as large as South-North migration. While the policy debate and research on migration has focused on South-North flows, South-South migration is almost as prevalent: nearly half of the migrants from the South may be living in other developing countries; and developing countries face policy challenges not only as sending countries, but also as destination countries (Ratha and Shaw, 2007). Debates and research on the consequences of contemporary South-North migration have been overwhelmingly focused on the impact migration has on the nations and localities at the receiving end. Much less attention has been paid to the effects of such movements on the countries left behind (Portes, 2009). In this debate, South-South migration has become even less relevant, leaving significant gaps in understanding the consequences of the phenomenon in sending areas. Argentina has been historically the main destination for migration from the neighboring countries in the southern cone of Latin America, immigration from Paraguay to Argentina is currently the largest of all in Argentina. In spite of the importance of migration in this region, there are few studies which focus on the intra-regional migration flows and even fewer study the migration, development and inequality linkages. Combining information from the Permanent Household Survey of Paraguay 2006-2010 and primary data from the Survey of Paraguayans’ Emigration (EEP2008) the objective of this research is to present a study of the effects of Paraguayan migration in sending areas.