Migration contributes to the circulation of goods, knowledge, and ideas. Using community
and individual-level data from Moldova, we show that the emigration wave that started in the
late 1990s strongly affected electoral outcomes and political preferences in Moldova during
the following decade and was eventually instrumental in bringing down the last ruling
Communist government in Europe. Our results are suggestive of information transmission
and cultural diffusion channels. Identification relies on the quasi-experimental context studied
and on the differential effects arising from the fact that emigration was directed both to more
democratic Western Europe and to less democratic Russia.