Global Diasporas and Development

​This volume discusses how diasporas have evolved and engaged in economic, social and cultural domains of their host and home countries across the globe. The volume is divided into six parts: Issues, Challenges and Development Experiences; Diaspora Finance and Economic Development; Knowledge Transfer and Diasporas; The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion; Gender and Diasporas; and Representation in Film, Theatre and Literature. It is truly a global representation of diasporic engagement. Its contributions come from experts in various disciplines across the globe, and the chapters cover socioeconomic, policy-related and cultural elements in countries as far apart as New Zealand and Zimbabwe. The contributors discuss major issues related to local communities' engagement with the diaspora and diaspora--home relations in Africa, West Asia, South and South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand, China, and the USA, providing a panoramic view of diasporic flows in the twenty-first century. The interdisciplinary thrust of the volume, together with its global focus, makes this volume useful to researchers, academics and experts from the social sciences, population sciences and development studies, as also to analysts and policymakers across the world.

Sadananda Sahoo is a sociologist, at present an Assistant Professor at the School of Inter-disciplinary and Trans-disciplinary Studies (SOITS), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. His PhD at the Central University of Hyderabad was on the role and contribution of diasporas to home country development, especially in the healthcare sector. It provided him with significant insights into the dynamics of diasporic engagement. Before joining IGNOU he worked with the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR), a Planning Commission think-tank for the Government of India. At IAMR, he completed several international projects on education, agriculture and employment. Dr. Sahoo has more than 20 publications and reviews on diaspora and ethnic studies, international migration, public policy, and rural development, among others. Besides, he has also co-edited a book on diasporas, development and education. He is the Founder Convener of the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), based in New Delhi, India. He teaches and supervises students on issues of media, culture, development, public policy and the global diaspora. Email: ssahoo@ignou.ac.in B.K. Pattanaik is a developmental economist and at present Director of the School of Extension and Development Studies (SOEDS), IGNOU, New Delhi. In the past twenty years, he has completed a number research studies, policy evaluations and consulting projects for global agencies like the UNDP, the UNICEF, Ford Foundation, USAID and the European Commission. In addition, he continues to work as a policy expert for several departments at the Government of India on issues of education, health and socio-economic development. He regularly contributes to policymaking as a member of working and drafting committees under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Planning Commission, Government of India. Professor Pattanaik has published seven books and more than 100 articles and reviews on public policy, agriculture, education, health and family welfare, rural development, migration, gender empowerment and international development. He has received international appreciation and awards for his contribution to the study of developmental economics. Email: bkpattanaik@ignou.ac.in