Influence of Diasporas on Post-war Social Mobility: The Case of Sri Lanka

The link between diaspora remittances and economic recovery in origin countries is well known. This also alludes to an association between social mobility and migration as poverty reduction and development can catalyse social mobility. This paper explores the complex interlinks between diasporan influence and social mobility in the post-war homeland. Social mobility as an important element of post-war recovery can be related to various elements of diaspora engagement. The focus of the paper is on the direction and strength of recovery following the end of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009 and how much of it could be related to the changes in diaspora engagement. The study uses data from a survey of 262 households and 100 in-depth interviews in five sites in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. A mixed method approach was used to analyse the data. The findings of the study revealed that the end of the war in 2009 had evidently created conditions where the sampled households were able to substantially improve their socioeconomic status (SES) which is tantamount to upward social mobility. More importantly, the paper demonstrates that part of this social progress is accounted for by changes in diaspora engagement which had taken place after the end of the war.