Several explanations have been offered. One is “relative deprivation,” a perception that greater wealth is possible for everybody, plus envy of neighbors who have done even better than oneself. It is a form of emulation—keeping up with the Zhangs—hence is rational behavior in a status system built on wealth and conspicuous display. Returned emigrants build elegant houses, hold lavish funerals for their parents, and bury them in princely tombs, all paid for by years of toil in a restaurant or leather workshop in Europe. Why not go there and do likewise?
