Converting Migration Drains Into Gains

Developing country governments and international donors are taking notice of diasporas' potential contributions to economic development. Attention has primarily focused on the impressive totals of economic remittances, whose global estimates now outpace official development assistance. Three case studies of diaspora knowledge exchange/transfer: Afghanistan, People's Republic of China and the Philippines provide empirical and anecdotal data relating to: (a) knowledge exchange/transfer; (b) its potential relationship to economic remittances; (c) diaspora motivations; and (d) home country policies and programs. The potential for diaspora knowledge exchange suggests greater opportunities for gain than may be currently recognized and realized.

Part II examines the consequences of brain drain for the sending countries.

The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region has an international emigrant population of more than 21 million people who remitted US$112 billion to their home countries in 2013. The region also hosts more than 7 million migrant workers, mostly from other Asian countries. These migrant workers account for 20 percent or more of the labor force in economies such as Malaysia and Singapore and thus play a significant role in the economies of the labor-receiving countries. An aging population in many East Asian countries will create significant labor shortages, leading to greater demand for migrant workers. For these reasons, international labor mobility is emerging as an important development issue in East Asia, with important implications for reducing poverty and supporting sustainable economic development in the region. In this context, International Migration and Development in East Asia and the Pacific analyzes the impact of migration on development of the EAP region and examines how international migration should be managed in East Asia in a way that supports development goals while simultaneously protecting the rights of migrants. The study covers trends in international migration in East Asia and overarching regional issues such as the links between macroeconomic management and remittances and the role of demographic trends in migration; the economic impact of migration and remittances on labor-sending countries and labor-receiving countries; the migration industry; and the policies and institutions that govern migration. This report shows that in labor-sending countries remittances help reduce poverty significantly by increasing income for migrants’ families. At the country level, remittances have a significant role in helping finance trade deficits and in bolstering reserves, not only in the small Pacific Island economies but also in large economies such as Vietnam and the Philippines. For labor-receiving countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong SAR, China, migrant workers form a significant part of the workforce, especially in labor-intensive manufacturing, construction, plantation agriculture, fishing, and household services. Migrant workers thus help relieve labor shortages, boost output, and maintain competitiveness. The role of migrant workers will become more important in the future given the rapid population aging in many labor-receiving East Asian countries. Given these factors, the key question concerning international migration in East Asia and the Pacific is not whether it is desirable but how it should be managed in the future. International Migration and Development in East Asia and the Pacific discusses a range of policy options in both labor-sending and labor-receiving countries to address this question.

This book seeks to explore the development and policy implications of South-South migration, specifically with regard to the role and challenges for social policy. It examines the linkages and impact of migration on gender and care regimes, human resource flows, remittances, poverty, and political organizations by or for migrants.

Network diasporas are but the latest bridge connecting developing economy insiders, with their risk-mitigating knowledge and connections, to outsiders in command of technical know-how and investment capital. This book examines the interaction of expatriate talent with institutions in expatriates' countries of origin in an attempt to make the potential of diasporas and their knowledge a reality. The question of how to trigger and sustain such a virtuous cycle is a central concern of this book. The focus is on the "how to" details of how to design effective diaspora networks and transform brain drain into brain gain.

This book provides insights into how new ventures in emerging economies and developing countries generate social innovation. It showcases new forms of business and how they are different from traditional business models. With increasing drive for innovation in emerging markets and lack of knowledge of how these markets work, this book enriches existing literature by looking at how such businesses in developing economies break new ground in a daunting, resource constrained environment. The book examines successful individual entrepreneurs, social relationships, product innovation, processes, systems and markets through cases. It navigates across key theoretical elements including individual initiative-taking, agency, and opportunity contexts. This book will be a useful reference to understanding the dynamics of new ventures in emerging markets and how they fuel social innovation and sustainable development.

This book examines current policy discussions around the migration-development nexus and subjects them to rigorous conceptual and empirical criticism through a transnational lens, placing the current re-discovery of migrants as agents of development nexus into theoretical and historical perspective.

Economics of Immigration provides students with the tools needed to examine the economic impact of immigration and immigration policies over the past century. Students will develop an understanding of why and how people migrate across borders and will learn how to analyze the economic causes and effects of immigration. The main objectives of the book are for students to understand the decision to migrate; to understand the impact of immigration on markets and government budgets; and to understand the consequences of immigration policies in a global context. From the first chapter, students will develop an appreciation of the importance of immigration as a separate academic field within labor economics and international economics. Topics covered include the effect of immigration on labor markets, housing markets, international trade, tax revenues, human capital accumulation, and government fiscal balances. The book also considers the impact of immigration on what firms choose to produce, and even on the ethnic diversity of restaurants and on financial markets, as well as the theory and evidence on immigrants’ economic assimilation. The textbook includes a comparative study of immigration policies in a number of immigrant-receiving and sending countries, beginning with the history of immigration policy in the United States. Finally, the book explores immigration topics that directly affect developing countries, such as remittances, brain drain, human trafficking, and rural-urban internal migration. Readers will also be fully equipped with the tools needed to understand and contribute to policy debates on this controversial topic. This is the first textbook to comprehensively cover the economics of immigration, and it is suitable both for economics students and for students studying migration in other disciplines, such as sociology and politics.