Home, Sweet Home: Returns to Returning in the Age of Mass Migration

Despite significant circular migration flows historically and today, their economic impacts remain understudied. Using data on predominantly rural Swedish migrants who returned from the US during the Age of Mass Migration we estimate returns to temporary migration in terms of wealth, income, demographic and social outcomes. We find substantial wealth effects but limited evidence of increased labor income or occupational upgrading. Male returnees held nearly double the wealth of stayers, likely due to overseas savings, while female returnees gained wealth mainly through marriage. These findings highlight the need to consider wealth when evaluating the economic returns of temporary migration.