Migration Development And Poverty Reduction In Asia

The East Asia and Pacific region has an international emigrant population of over 21 million people, who remitted more than USD 90 billion to their home countries in 2010. 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. The aging of the 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 the Bank’s mission of poverty reduction and supporting sustainable economic development in the region. In this context , this study analyzes the impact of migration on development of the region and 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 book is Open Access under a CC BY license. This volume offers an essential resource for economic policymakers as well as students of development economics focusing on the interrelationships of migration, urbanization and poverty in Asia. The continent’s recent demographic transitions and rural-urban structural transformations are extraordinary, and involve complexities that require in-depth study. The chapters within this volume examine those complexities using a range of traditional and non-traditional measures, such as multidimensional poverty, gaps and polarization, to arrive at the conclusion that poverty is now an urban issue. In short, the book will help students of development economics and policymakers understand the interrelationships between internal migration, urbanization and poverty, paving the way for the improved management of internal migration and disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.

This book looks at the major policy challenges facing developing Asia and how the region sustains rapid economic growth to reduce multidimensional poverty through socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable measures. Asia is facing many challenges arising from population growth, rapid urbanization, provision of services, climate change and the need to redress declining growth after the global financial crisis. This book examines poverty and related issues and aims to advance the development of new tools and measurement of multidimensional poverty and poverty reduction policy analysis. The book covers a wide range of issues, including determinants and causes of poverty and its changes; consequences and impacts of poverty on human capital formation, growth and consumption; assessment of poverty strategies and policies; the role of government, NGOs and other institutions in poverty reduction; rural-urban migration and poverty; vulnerability to poverty; breakdown of poverty into chronic and transitory components; and a comparative study on poverty issues in Asia and other regions. The book will appeal to all those interested in economic development, resources, policies and economic welfare and growth.

This publication presents a comprehensive discussion on the impact of the global financial crisis (2008–2009) on certain Asian economies at different levels of analysis---showcasing cross-country regression, computable general equilibrium modeling, and microeconometric modeling for Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. Using different measures of remittances, cross-country regression analyses suggest that a 10% increase in remittances leads to a 3%–4% rise in real gross domestic product per capita. At the same time, the analyses show that remittances exert a negative impact on aggregate poverty. Moreover, these money transfers from abroad exert important impacts on the macroeconomy that include improving external current accounts, alleviating debt burdens, appreciation of domestic currencies, and moderating inflation.

China has achieved remarkable progress in poverty alleviation since the start of its reforms. Rural-urban labour migration on an unprecedented scale played a vital role in rural income growth, poverty reduction and economic development. The present publication argues that although migration in China has unique institutional characteristics, the experiences and lessons to be drawn from considering migration as a development approach have important implications for the shaping of appropriate developmental policies.

This joint publication from the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute features selected papers from the September 2009 conference on the social and environmental impact of the global economic crisis on Asia and the Pacific, especially on the poor and vulnerable. The publication is designed with the needs of policy makers in mind, utilizing field, country, and thematic background studies to cover a large number of countries and cases. This publication suggests that the crisis is an opportunity to rethink the model of development in Asia for growth to become more inclusive and sustainable. Issues that need to be more carefully considered include: closing the gap of dualistic labor markets, building up social protection systems, rationalizing social expenditures, addressing urban poverty through slum upgrading, promoting rural development through food security programs in pro-poor growth potential areas, and concentrating climate change interventions on generating direct benefits for the environments of the poor.

This book provides practical policy recommendations that are useful for developing Asia and for accelerating poverty reduction plans in the rest of the world. Poverty reduction in all its forms remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. In developing Asia, rapid growth in countries and sub-regions such as China, India, and Southeast Asia has lifted millions out of poverty, but progress has been uneven. On the other hand, the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the global economic recession that it has caused are pushing millions of people back into poverty. Poverty reduction, inclusive growth, and sustainable development are inseparable, and poverty reduction is the premise for sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a bold commitment to finish what we started and end poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030. However, because of the current global recession, the world is not on track to end poverty by 2030. Given the aforementioned situation, if we plan to achieve the no-poverty target in line with the SDGs, governments need to reconsider their policies and economies need to allocate their resources for this aim. Owing to the importance of the topic, this book provides several thematic and empirical studies on the roles of small and medium-sized enterprises, local businesses and trusts, international remittances and microfinance, energy security and energy efficiency in poverty reduction, and inclusive growth.