The first Enrichment Evening of Fall 2021 will take place on Wednesday, October 27th at 7:00pm (EDT). Dr. Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan, the Henry George Chair in Economics and Associate Professor of Economics at St. John’s University (NYC), will present a talk entitled “Diaspora, Homeland, and Economic Development.”
The Zohrab Center looks forward to welcoming you back in person!!
Diaspora, Homeland, and Economic Development
What do we mean by saying that diaspora is “the oil” of a developing nation? Can diaspora be the true “first mover” transforming and joining small economies with highly competitive international markets before multinational foreign investors? What is a diaspora? For some countries, like Armenia, these and related questions have been high on the agenda for centuries, if not millennia, of national history. However, it has taken the latest pandemic to elevate the largely academic research to more applied levels of policymaking across both industrialized and emerging markets. This presentation will address the problems of home country and diaspora relations in the context of mutual coexistence, national economic development, and sustainable future. Informed by an original survey of Armenian diaspora and examples of diaspora engagement across the world, this talk will review possible new diaspora development frameworks in practical and conceptual terms. Three essential elements formulate a diaspora network, requiring deeper reflection in business discussion seeking quick solutions: identity, trust, and engagement infrastructure. In the absence of transparent engagement infrastructure, diaspora’s links with a developing economy are short-lived and, usually, at best, sector, event, or location specific.
Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan, Ph.D. is a macroeconomist with research focus on open economy development, economic history, labor migration, diaspora, and post-socialist transition economics. He is the Henry George Chair in Economics and Associate Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and Finance of the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University in New York City. Dr. Gevorkyan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Vincentian Centre for Church and Society and a Research Fellow at the Center for Global Business Stewardship. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Henry George School of Social Science and a Board Member at the Armenian Economic Association. Dr. Gevorkyan also serves as Economics Subject Matter Expert for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See To the United Nations. Dr. Gevorkyan is the author of Transition Economies: Transformation, Development, and Society in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (Routledge, 2018). For a complete list of publications and ongoing research please see http://agevorkyan.com/
This hybrid event will take place in person and via Zoom.
Advance Zoom registration required: https://bit.ly/3AnnLXZ
Please note, as per the New York City Covid-19 Executive Order 225, proof of vaccination, as well as an I.D., will be required upon entry. Proof of vaccination may include a CDC Vaccination Card, an NYC Vaccination Record, NYC Covid Safe App, Excelsior Pass, or an official immunization record from outside NYC or the U.S., showing proof of receipt of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use or licensed for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization. Negative COVID 19 Tests are not accepted.