Economics and Diaspora

Economics as a discipline and economists as professionals are not very visible in the studies of Diaspora. This is despite a record level of sustained global migration that contributes to the formation of Diasporas in advanced market economies of the world. The paper examines the reasons for such low voices, and, in some cases, silence, by economists in the studies of Diaspora and asks the question should economics and economists play a more active and visible role. If so, what should this be? The paper is organised as follows: The first part presents Diaspora as an on-going process, which is largely influenced by decisions individuals, and societies make. The second part of the paper advocates for the view that there is a pivotal role for economics in Diaspora. It is based on a premise that because evaluation of choices is a prerequisite for any decision making and as economics is basically a decision-making discipline, economists, therefore, need to play a fundamental role in Diaspora work. The third part of the paper examines the reasons for lack of active engagement of economists in these discourses. The fourth part of the paper provides directions about what ought to be the role of economists in the contemporary context. The paper concludes by describing the
role of economists as members of multidisciplinary teams engaging in interdisciplinary work on Diaspora.