Better and more coherent migration policies can contribute to the fight against global poverty. This is the main conclusion of "Migration and Developing Countries", a new report by the OECD.
France, French Republic (Press Release) November 23, 2007 --
Migration can reduce poverty in developing countries if migration policies are effectively linked with development strategies. This is the main conclusion of a new report by the OECD Development Centre entitled Migration and Developing Countries.
Already, migration is supporting the development process in many countries, lowering unemployment among low-skilled workers in migrant-sending countries and fuelling domestic consumption and investment though the money sent home by migrants abroad. In 2006, these remittances to developing countries totalled more than $ 200 billion, more than twice the amount of official development assistance by OECD countries. “Remittances can become an important instrument to fuel the development process” confirms co-author Jeff Dayton-Johnson.
Migrants and their families tend to use remittances to finance private consumption, such as improving the quality of their houses, or for health care and education expenses. While such spending improves their standard of living, the development impact of remittances will increase if people choose to channel a larger share to investments. “Some countries have achieved good results with programmes that encourage the use of remittances for community investments”, says Dayton-Johnson. In Mexico, for example, various levels of government chip in three pesos for each remitted peso that flows into community projects such as road improvement or school building.
Migration of the highly skilled — "brain drain" — on the other hand, poses several risks to developing countries. Highly skilled workers — teachers, engineers, nurses, doctors — often face difficulty finding good jobs at home in the sectors for which they were trained, so they benefit from emigration. But skilled workers often remit less money: they often migrate with their families and stay abroad longer, compared to their less skilled compatriots, thus facing weaker incentives to send money home. What is more, the loss of skills in the sending countries can scarcely be compensated by remittances. Rich countries are encouraged to link their efforts to recruit such workers with development assistance to increase training and improve working conditions for those sectors most affected by the brain drain.
While migration can contribute to development, development does not immediately halt international migration. “Aid is not necessarily, therefore, a means of influencing migration flows”, according to Dayton-Johnson. But international development assistance can help developing countries to gain more from international migration.
Already, migration is supporting the development process in many countries, lowering unemployment among low-skilled workers in migrant-sending countries and fuelling domestic consumption and investment though the money sent home by migrants abroad. In 2006, these remittances to developing countries totalled more than $ 200 billion, more than twice the amount of official development assistance by OECD countries. “Remittances can become an important instrument to fuel the development process” confirms co-author Jeff Dayton-Johnson.
Migrants and their families tend to use remittances to finance private consumption, such as improving the quality of their houses, or for health care and education expenses. While such spending improves their standard of living, the development impact of remittances will increase if people choose to channel a larger share to investments. “Some countries have achieved good results with programmes that encourage the use of remittances for community investments”, says Dayton-Johnson. In Mexico, for example, various levels of government chip in three pesos for each remitted peso that flows into community projects such as road improvement or school building.
Migration of the highly skilled — "brain drain" — on the other hand, poses several risks to developing countries. Highly skilled workers — teachers, engineers, nurses, doctors — often face difficulty finding good jobs at home in the sectors for which they were trained, so they benefit from emigration. But skilled workers often remit less money: they often migrate with their families and stay abroad longer, compared to their less skilled compatriots, thus facing weaker incentives to send money home. What is more, the loss of skills in the sending countries can scarcely be compensated by remittances. Rich countries are encouraged to link their efforts to recruit such workers with development assistance to increase training and improve working conditions for those sectors most affected by the brain drain.
While migration can contribute to development, development does not immediately halt international migration. “Aid is not necessarily, therefore, a means of influencing migration flows”, according to Dayton-Johnson. But international development assistance can help developing countries to gain more from international migration.
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