In the Philippines,emigration is a long-established tradition. Every year, a million Filipinos leave their island,hoping for a better life in Asia and the Middle East. As welcome as the $10b (5% of GDP) they send home to their families may be, a decade ago there were worries that emigration was slowing the country's development. In its search for ways to encourage foreign investment and growth, the government turned to India's call centre industry. Copying the Indian model,Manila introduced tax breaks and incentives for telecoms companies as well as sponsored training schemes to help students fine-tune their language and communition skills.