The Age of Mass Migration (c. 1850–1920) witnessed substantial circular migration flows, with roughly one-fifth of Swedish emigrants eventually returning from the United States. This presentation examines return migration from two complementary perspectives: individual economic outcomes and aggregate effects on sending regions.
Using linked individual-level data from Swedish historical censuses (1880–1930), emigration registers, and death records, we analyze the returns to temporary migration by comparing returnees to stayers, including within-family sibling comparisons. We find substantial wealth effects but limited evidence of increased labor income or occupational upgrading. Male returnees held nearly double the wealth of stayers, with effects concentrated among those with longer stays abroad, suggesting wealth accumulation through overseas savings. Female returnees gained wealth primarily through marriage to higher-status spouses.
Turning to regional effects, we present exploratory evidence on the impact of returnee migration on Swedish industrial growth using city-level data for 1900–1965. To address the endogeneity concern that returnees might be attracted to regions already experiencing economic growth, we employ a Bartik-style instrumental variable strategy. Our indicative findings suggest that municipalities with higher returnee rates experienced stronger subsequent industrial growth, with effects driven by return migration rather than emigration per se. Together, these analyses point toward return migration generating economic benefits both for individuals—through wealth accumulation—and potentially for home communities through capital and knowledge transfers, though the regional effects warrant further investigation.
Kerstin Enflo is a Professor in Economic History at Lund University
and 
by