An analysis of the characteristics of return migrant’s and their participation in the development of their country of origin: the case of Returnee’s investors

In North Africa particularly in Tunisia, researchers have highlighted the role of international migration on the development of the country of origin (Fourati, 2009; Khachani, 2004; Nassar, 2005; Labdellaoui, 2009; Haffad, 2006). Through this work we try to contribute to this literature. We attempt to explore data availability in particular population census 2004 in order to answer some research questions still until today not well explored. We try through the analysis developed on return migration to evaluate the participation of migrants in the development of their country of origin. In fact, our work will focus on return migrants in Tunisia, particularly those who have invested. We study their socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Many questions are raised: Who are Tunisian return migrants? What are their characteristics? Who are return migrants who have invested in Tunisia? What are the principal regions and activity sectors attracting the returnees’ investors? Using data from Census 2004 we developed descriptive and comparative analyses, taking into account the sex and the region of origin of migrants, and multivariate analyses based on logistic regression to study the probability for the return migrants to develop an investment.