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Brain Gain in Late Colonial Indonesia? New Evidence on Chinese Migration and Wages

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  • Hup, Mark
  • de Zwart, Pim

Abstract

During the "Age of Mass Migration", many Chinese migrants came to the Netherlands Indies. We propose that these migratory flows included many skilled workers, contrary to the belief that they mostly consisted of unskilled labourers. We construct a new dataset of migration and potential surplus earnings for different types of work. Our analyses show that high earnings for skilled work, but not for unskilled work, strongly incentivized migration. Given the scarcity of skilled labour in the Netherlands Indies, the skilled migrants may have significantly contributed to economic growth in general and the booming trade-based sectors in particular.

Suggested Citation

  • Hup, Mark & de Zwart, Pim, 2024. "Brain Gain in Late Colonial Indonesia? New Evidence on Chinese Migration and Wages," CEPR Discussion Papers 18748, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:18748
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East

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