Migration and development finance: A survey experiment on diaspora bonds.

When will members of a diaspora lend to the government in their country of origin? Diasporans make important contributions to developing countries by sending remittances and investment home. However, little is known about when and why diaspora communities are willing to invest in the governments of their country of origin. Diasporans may invest at home because of their affinity with their country of origin, whether in the form of national pride, stake in economic development, or political support. This paper investigates whether these different affinity-based motivations explain the interest of diaspora members in purchasing home country government bonds. We use a survey experiment fielded to members of the Pakistani diaspora living in the United States to investigate diaspora members' willingness to invest in home government bonds. We randomly manipulate the framing of the bond to measure heterogeneity in willingness to buy the home country government bond. We find that national pride and a stake in economic development are the strongest drivers for an individual's choice to invest in a home country bond. We corroborate these findings with follow-up interviews that reveal the resonance of appeals to national identity and developmental support. The findings have implications for the design and marketing of diaspora bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]