THE GLOBAL recession should be taken as an opportunity to reform migration policies and institute a “new deal” for international migrants, a report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has suggested.
The annual Human Development Report, which focused this year on migration, noted that tighter labour markets had led to a decline in the number of new migrants and to some destination countries taking steps to encourage or compel migrants to leave.
However, with economic recovery likely to cause many of the underlying trends driving movement to resurface, the report warned that governments should show political courage by putting in place more equitable policies.
Stressing the links between migration and development, the UNDP suggested opening existing entry channels for more workers, especially those with low skills; providing migrants with basic services and the right to vote; easing internal migration and making migration a component of origin countries' strategies for economic and social development. The report, Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development, is due to be officially launched this morning.
“The recession should be seized as an opportunity to institute a new deal for migrants – one that will benefit workers at home and abroad while guarding against a protectionist backlash,” said lead author Jeni Klugman. “With recovery, many of the same underlying trends that have been driving movement during the past half-century will resurface, attracting more people to move.”
On the short-term effect of the recession, Ms Klugman said migrants found themselves doubly at risk. “They are suffering unemployment, insecurity and social marginalisation, but at the same time they are often portrayed as the problem. This is not the time for anti-immigrant protectionism, but for reforms which promote longer-term gains. Convincing the public of this will take courage.”
Most migrants do not cross national borders, but instead move within their own country. According to the UNDP, 740 million people are internal migrants – almost four times the number of international migrants. The report does not advocate wholesale liberalisation, but argues that there is a strong case for increased access to sectors with a high demand for labour, including for the low-skilled. This is particularly important for rich countries with ageing populations, it suggests.
By easing access, reducing the cost of official documents and lowering other barriers to legal migration, governments can also stem the flow of irregular migrants.
The authors suggest that migration can benefit the people who move as well as destination communities and those who remain at home. Immigrants typically boost economic output in their adopted country, while countries of origin gain not only from remittances – which are four times the size of official overseas aid – but from new ideas, knowledge and resources. Such social remittances can include higher school enrolment rates and the empowerment of women.
The report also contends that the exodus of highly-skilled workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers – a major concern in a number of poor countries – is more a symptom rather than a cause of failing public systems.
“Migration can be a force for good, contributing significantly to human development,” said UNDP administrator Helen Clark. “But to realise its benefits, there needs to be a supportive policy environment.”
The link between migration and poverty reduction is especially significant for those who move within countries, the report concluded, with evidence from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Tanzania showing that poverty rates fell for households with at least one member who had moved elsewhere within the country.
On the move: migration in figures
- Nearly one billion of the world's estimated 6.7 billion people are migrants.
- 740 million of these are internal migrants; 214 million are international migrants.
- Fewer than 70 million international migrants move from a developing to a developed country. Most cross-border migrants move from one developing country to another, or between developed countries.
- Remittances (money sent home by migrants) to developing countries are four times the size of total official development aid. In more than 20 developing countries, remittances exceed the earnings from the main commodity export.
- Nearly six out of 10 migrants move to a country where the major religion is the same as in their country of birth, and four out of 10 move to a country with the same dominant language.
- 48 per cent of all international migrants are women, a share that has been fairly stable for 50 years: it was 47 per cent in 1960.
- More migrants in 2010 will be concentrated in developed countries. In 1960, the share of world migrants in North America, Europe and the Gulf States was, respectively, 18.4 per cent, 19.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent; in 2010 this share will be 26.6 per cent, 26.4 per cent and 8 per cent.
- Migration within Asia accounts for nearly 20 per cent of all migration, exceeding the sum total of movements that Europe receives from all regions.
Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2009