Transcript Migration Information Source

Migration and Development:
A New Policy Arena for the Americas
Kathleen Newland
Migration Policy Institute
Presentation to the OAS Special
Committee on Migration Issues
December 1, 2008
Foreign-born in the US by Region of
Birth, 1960 to 2006
0.6
0.7 3.3
Share of the Foreign Born
9.8
5.0
9.3
1.3
8.4
0.0
4.1
6.3
6.1
2.0
3.8
8.6
18.0
25.2
2.7
0.0
2.3
26.4
26.8
51.7
53.5
15.8
13.3
2000
2006
4.1
18.8
31.1
42.5
74.5
59.7
36.6
22.0
1960
Europe
2.4
3.4
1970
Latin America
1980
Asia
1990
North America
Other Regions
Not Reported
Source: 2006 American Community Survey, Census 2000 and Gibson, Campbell and Emily Lennon, US Census Bureau, Working
Paper No. 29, Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850 to 1990.
Notes: The “Other regions” category includes Africa and Oceania.
Billions of US Dollars
Global Remittance Flows by Region, 1980 to
2007
250
200
East Asia and Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
Latin America and Caribbean
Middle-East and North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
150
100
50
Note: Includes on formal remittance flows.
Source: Development Prospects Group, World Bank.
20
06
20
04
20
02
20
00
19
98
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
19
82
19
80
0
Remittances Linkages
Remittances
Basic Needs
Capital Investment
Savings
Food
Housing
Financial Investment
Housing
Education
Future
Consumption
Retail consumption
Healthcare
Collateral
Poverty reduction: Mexico

Mexico estimates that migrant remittances lowered the level of
food poverty in the country from 15.9 to 13.8 percent of the
population in 2006 -- stated otherwise, remittances lifted 2.3
million people out of food poverty.

Households in "food poverty" do not have sufficient income to
purchase a minimum basket of food products.

Source: Consejo Nacional de Evaluacion de la Politica de
Desarrollo Social, Informe de Evaluacion de la Politica de
Desarrollo Social en Mexico, 2008 (Mexico: 2008).
New Housing Construction in Mexico…




Accounts for 2% of GDP
Totals 50.7% of all activity in the construction
industry
Benefits 37 other economic sectors, and
Uses inputs that are almost entirely (95
percent) produced domestically
Source: Calderon 2006
Development Benefits (1)
Wider labor market access in higher-wage markets
 Higher income for migrants and their families, leading
to better human development indicators
 Poverty reduction
 Reduced unemployment/underemployment
 Foreign exchange earnings for CoOrigin: positive
impact on balance of payments and (potentially) on
sovereign credit rating
BUT IS IT DEVELOPMENT OR JUST THE SYMPTOMS
OF DEVELOPMENT?
Development Benefits (2)
Human Capital Development (at all levels of skill)
 Education (for children at origin)
 Language acquisition
 Relevant skills--sometimes
 Experience
Development Benefits (3)
Integration into the Global Economy
 Creation of transnational networks
 FDI
 Overcoming ‘reputational barriers’
 Diaspora members as ‘first movers’ in trade,
investment, tourism
 Technology transfer
 Development of migration-related sectors of the
economy: telecommunications, travel, money transfer
BUT….

The benefits of migration are no substitute for a
development policy in the country of origin
Time Required to Start a Business, 2005
Low Income
60.4
Lower Middle
Income
50.4
Upper Middle
Income
41.4
High Income OECD
19.5
0
10
20
30
40
Days
Source: World Development Indicators
50
60
70
Doing Business in LAC
Starting a business
County
Procedures
(number)
Time
(days
Dealing with licenses
Procedures
(number)
Time
(days)
Registering property
Procedures
(number)
Time
(days
Argentina
15
32
23
288
5
44
Brazil
17
152
19
460
14
47
Chile
9
27
12
171
6
31
El Salvador
10
26
22
144
6
33
Guatemala
13
30
23
390
5
37
Haiti
12
203
12
141
5
683
Honduras
13
44
14
199
7
36
Mexico
8
27
12
142
5
74
Panama
7
19
22
121
7
44
Peru
10
72
19
201
5
33
Source: World Bank 2007
AND…
Migration has costs as well as benefits
 Brain drain is especially problematic for small
states, though brain-drain is often over-rated
 Dependency on remittances flows may divert
efforts from local development
 Family separation
 Entrenchment of low expectations from local
employment possibilities
Defining circular migration
PRESCRIPTIVE
 Global Forum on Migration and Development: “Circular migration
is the fluid movement of people between countries, including
temporary or more permanent movement which, when it occurs
voluntarily and is linked to the labor needs of countries of origin
and destination, can be beneficial to all involved.”
 European Commission: “a form of migration that is managed in a
way allowing some degree of legal mobility back and forth
between two countries.
 CARIM: Temporary, renewable, circulatory (offers freedom of
movement during each term), legal, respectful of migrants’ rights,
matches labor supply in one country with labor needs in another
 MPI.2: A pattern of migration characterized by a migrant’s
continuing engagement in both home and adopted countries,
usually involving both return and repetition
How is circular migration in the 21st century
different from temporary migration?




Return and Repetition (usually)
Migrants continuously engaged in Country of
Origin and Country of Destination
Explicitly addresses developmental concerns
Responds simultaneously to different priorities
of CoOs and CoDs and provides a framework
for reconciling them
“Inward” circular migration
The cynical view
 Priority of countries of destination
 Focused on avoiding permanent migration
 Development content as a “sweetener”
The positive view
 Co-development
 Provides an alternative to illegal migration
 Recognizes cross-national or regional ties and
complementarity of labor markets
“Outward” circular migration
The cynical view
 Compensating for the brain drain (a bit)
 Reluctance on the part of receiving countries?
 Tokenism
The positive view
 Recognizing transnationalism
 Common interests
 Institutional ties
Defining success
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Compliance with rules
Participation (migrants, employers, states)
Cost-effectiveness
Development impact
Brings in workers with appropriate skills for
labor market gaps
Self-enforcing
Workers’ rights are protected
For more information, contact
Kathleen Newland
Migration Policy Institute
1400 16th Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 266 1940
[email protected]
www.migrationpolicy.org
www.migrationinformation.org