Potential Contribution of African-American Migrants to Economic and Cultural Development in Africa

Abstract

This article discusses the potential contributions of African American migrants to the economic and cultural development of destination countries in Africa. The study explores the contributions of migrants to the gross domestic product (GDP), labor market, and fiscal impact—measures used by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to assess the impacts of migrants on the economy of a destination country. Migrants may share their own life experiences in community citizenship with traditional authorities when dealing with community issues. For example, land use-planning, allocation of urban-rural land, siting of sanitation facilities, health and safety of community, and community economic planning are within the competence of migrants given their education backgrounds and their decision to follow a traditional style of governance. African-American migrants present an opportunity to form backward linkages to sources of finance and investment capital in the country of origin. Our study found no existing institutional mechanism to grow these backward linkages, and there is no recognized privateprivate partnership between migrants and U.S. financial sources. The study recommends increased theoretical and empirical studies in support of the economic and cultural contributions of African American migrants in Africa.