Return Migration and Institutional Change: The Case of Bulgaria
Return Migration and Institutional Change: The Case of Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the relation between the return migration flow and the effects for the sending country, especially for the socio-economic change. An institutional approach has been adopted to analyze the possible changes that returning migrants would bring to their homeland. The main goal is to reveal the possible positive effect of international migration on the Bulgarian society and especially on the social institutions. The assumption that returnees may be agents of change is analyzed within the broad framework of institutionalism and data from a sociological survey of returned migrants. The micro and macro level of the “return-socio-economic change” relation is discussed through the broader view of the human capital and social capital transfer. The article presents the migration experience as helpful for the returnee’s integration at home and as a possible influence on the institutional environment in the country.

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