Based on household survey data from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, this study
provides preliminary evidence on the scale of recent emigration from the South Caucasus
and its impact on the economic development of the region. The analysis suggests
that current migration from the South Caucasus does not involve mass emigration of
the skilled. The large emigration flows consist primarily of older male labor migrants
to Russia. Household income gains from migration are large, but despite the higher incomes
earned abroad, emigration is not associated with higher propensity to spend on
education among the migrants’ households. However, a significant correlation between
having a migrant household member and presence of a family business in Armenia suggests
that the migrants’ earnings and remittances have the potential to relieve liquidity
and risk constraints and contribute to the development of the private sector in the South
Caucasian economies.