人力资本跨国流动及其融资网络——基于特殊移民群体的历史考察与比较

Transnational Flow of Human Capital and Innovation of Financial Networks——Investigation and Comparison Based on Special Immigrant Groups

本文考察了三种移民群体及其融资网络:19世纪契约华工、17世纪-18世纪欧洲到美利坚的契约白奴、20世纪晚期的福州沿海无证移民。三者相互印证,从特殊的移民现象形成一般性的认识。历史考察与比较研究发现:跨越国界,移民通常经历身份的转换,往往意味着人力资本的边际价值提升。跨洋迁移成本与风险很高,但由于能够催生出特定群体的跨国融资网络创新,促成跨国移民及其人力资本的未来收益变现,因而利益相关方都能从中获得可观的投资回报。这些发现澄清了以往有关契约华工、无证移民的认识误区,揭示了跨国的民间融资体系的形成及其特征,解释了围绕特殊跨国移民所形成的信贷信用机制与跨国融资网络,也论证了人力资本的跨国实现路径,从而具有其理论贡献。

This paper examines three paradigmatic cases of Chinese emigration and their financial networks. The first is 19th century indentured Chinese from Guangdong and Fujian emigrating to Southeast Asia and the Americas,who are similar to the second group called indentured servants emigrating from Europe to the North America. The last case is the stowaway and their international financial networks in Fuzhou from 1980 to 2010. The comparative studies focusing on the latter finds that as emigrants cross national borders,they often experience a metamorphosis from farmer to worker and then to business owner,which usually entails an increase in the marginal value of human capital. International migrations are in high risk and cost. But the costliness can also give rise to a special kind of international financial network for migration,which can lead to an increase in human capital and sizable capital gains as well. These original findings bring to light the formation of international financial systems and their characteristics. The theoretical contributions of this paper include explaining the credit mechanism and transnational financing network formed around transnational emigration,demonstrating the transnational realization path of human capital,as well as clarifying certain misunderstandings about indentured Chinese and undocumented migration.