International Labour Migration And Remittances Between The Developing Escap Countries And The Middle East

This paper, published as part of the ESCAP series Studies in Trade and Investment, explores the linkages between trade, labour mobility and development in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper moves from an analysis of recent trends in regional labour mobility through an examination of the connections between trade, migration and development. Finally it considers how migration could be better governed at the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels. A central theme of the paper is that, when properly governed, labour mobility can deliver large and sustained development gains. Improving cross-border labour market access, particularly for people from developing countries, therefore needs higher prioritization by regional policymakers. At the same time, the concerns of receiving country populations around higher levels of immigration also need to be addressed. Striking this balance will require, in particular, the expansion and further adoption of co-operative agreements between sending and receiving countries which provide labour market access in return for more cooperation in migration management and enforcement.

International Remittance Payments are described mainly as money sent by immigrants to their families and friends in their home countries. These payments provide an important source of income that is mostly used to provide for a variety of basic needs of the non-migrating members of immigrant families and thus remittance payments can be considered as a tool to reduce the poverty level of the labor sending countries. However, remittances are also used for asset accumulation by some families and for some countries they constitute a good part of foreign funds coming into the country. In-spite of their increasing volume over the last few decades, a lot of things about remittances are not known and studies estimate that about half of these money transfers are not even recorded. Since these payments are shown to reduce poverty and help economic progress in the remittance receiving countries, a better knowledge about remittances would help the debates surrounding immigration, remittances and their relation to the global economy. This book provides an overview of remittances in different parts of the world over the last thirty years. It looks at the labor sending and labor receiving countries separately. The text examines the trends, uses, motivations behind sending remittances, cost of sending them and how they are affected by the nature and the development level of different institutional factors. The remittance flows are growing over time and they are used mostly for reducing the uncertainty of life in the less developed parts of the world. However, motivation for sending remittances could be improved and thus remittances could be more conducive to economic development if 1) the relation between the remittance decision and the migration decision is better understood and 2) the costs of international money transfers are reduced. More studies about those issues would benefit the international community. Efforts should be made in all fronts to encourage such international flow of funds not only to have a redistribution of income all over the world, but also to synchronize the efforts towards global economic development and a better integration of the world economy. This book is aimed researchers, policy practitioners and post graduates studying International Economics or International Economic Relations or Political Science or Economic Development.

Includes statistics.

The interrelationship between migration and development is complex. The causes of migration stem from the uneveness of the development process and the effects exert a powerful influence on the pattern and process of development. This volume explores both the concepts and facts behind the main forms of population movement in the third world today, particularly rural-urban migration. Examining the causes and consequences of migration, the author assesses the implications for planning and policy-makers.

This entirely new edition of a successful textbook provides a detailed understanding of Kerala’s economic backwardness, the reforms required, and the performance of the economy during the post-liberalisation period. This collection of 17 original essays, focusing on current economic problems and development issues affecting Kerala, will serve as a basic textbook for graduate and post-graduate students of Kerala’s economy.

International migration, the movement of people across international boundaries to improve economic opportunity, has enormous implications for growth and welfare in both origin and destination countries. An important benefit to developing countries is the receipt of remittances or transfers from income earned by overseas emigrants. Official data show that development countries' remittance receipts totaled 160 billion in 2004, more than twice the size of official aid. This year's edition of Global Economic Prospects focuses on remittances and migration. The bulk of the book covers remittances.