A medida que la crisis financiera en el mundo se agudiza algunos países empiezan a tomar medidas en el campo laboral para reducir el número de empleos ofertados a los inmigrantes.

España acaba de anunciar una reducción en el catalogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura en un 15% para el trimestre de 2009. El catalogo contiene las ocupaciones en las que los Servicios Públicos de Empleo de España han encontrado dificultad para gestionar las ofertas de empleo que los empleadores les presentan cuando quieren cubrir puestos de trabajo vacantes y entonces se las pueden ofertar a trabajadores extranjeros. (Ver  catalogo adjunto para las posiciones ofertadas para el primer trimestre del 2009)

World Development Report 2009, the World Bank's annual flagship, has devoted a significant chapter to the migration of people. “Throughout history, mobility has helped people escape the tyranny of poor geography or poor governance,” argues Indermit Gill, the lead author, “...mobile people and products form the cornerstone of inclusive, sustainable globalization.”

The chapter presents an excellent summary of the literature on migration. A new insight it offers is that "while the returns to scale in agriculture are constant, the returns to scale in manufacturing and services are increasing...A policy maker persuaded by the classical view would restrict the movement of labor...In contrast, a policy maker who recognizes the external benefits of human capital would do exactly the opposite, facilitating migration and clustering, particularly of workers with skills."

Since the 1960s, much of the literature on the development impact of migration has focused on ‘brain drain,’ the emigration of qualified professionals from developing countries and the subsequent loss of skills (which occurs faster than the replacement rate).

In the late 1990s, the literature shifted from brain drain to ‘brain gain,’ exploring the potential benefits of skilled migration arising from remittances, return migration, creation of trade and business networks, and the possible incentive effects of migration prospects on human capital formation at home.  You can see an extensive review of these issues here.

The questions related to the global mobility of high skilled workers can be grouped into two areas:

More restrictive immigration policies by developed country governments are being implemented as the financial crisis deepens. For example, the United Kingdom just published a bill which contains some of the following measures:

1) Migrants who are not citizens or permanent residents of the UK will not have access to full services benefits and social housing; and

2) Migrants will have to pay a levy towards schools, hospitals, and other local services so that that the new flows of UK immigrants do not put pressure on the community.

According to the UK Visa bureau, “the bill is part of the new Australian-style points –based system for immigrants introduced in stages last year, which aims to control UK immigration so that only those needed in the British economy move to the UK and no more.”

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the launch of the “Indo-Nepal Remittance Scheme” for Nepali migrants in India.  This scheme allows migrants, including those who don’t have bank accounts, to send up to Rs. 50,000 (about $1000) in a single transaction. At the receiving end, the scheme allows recipients who don’t have a bank account to receive the transfer through a designated money transfer company.  This is indeed welcome news for those interested in reducing the burden on migrants and increasing the development impact of remittances in Nepal!  
 
There is no fee for a bank-to-bank transfer through any Indian commercial bank that participates in the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) to any bank in Nepal. For receivers who don’t have a bank account, there is a minimal charge of Rs 50 for a Rs 5000 transfer (1 percent of the transfer amount) and a flat fee of Rs. 75 for larger amounts upto Rs. 50,000. 
 

Ethiopia announced perhaps the first sub-sovereign corporate bond aimed at the diaspora. A release by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the bond launched on December 23rd will provide funds to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) for investments which will increase power supply to the nation, where only 27 percent of the people currently have access to electricity.

The government-guaranteed bond will be issued for a minimum denomination of US$500, maturing in 5, 7 or 10 years (with interest rates of 4%, 4.5% and 5% respectively). The interest earned would be free of income tax.  The news that companies in developing countries are starting view migrants as a potential source of external (hard currency) finance is indeed noteworthy. I will post more details as they become available.

Sri Lanka recently announced that it would open up the government securities market for its migrants abroad. Sri Lankan diaspora and migrant workers would be allowed to invest in rupee denominated treasury bills and treasury bonds.

The press release by the Sri Lanka central bank suggests that this measure “…is expected to widen the investor base, diversify the Government Securities market, make it more convenient for Sri Lankans living abroad to access Government Securities, and to create a more stable Government securities market. This scheme will also provide a safe and highly liquid investment opportunity for Sri Lankans living abroad, while providing them with an attractive return on their investments.”

On this International Migrants Day, I would like to focus on female migrants and labor migration policies that affect them.

I took a one day field trip to Arlington, Virginia last summer to observe how international migrant women contribute to development in their home countries, particularly through remittances and tapping the skills of diaspora communities.

It is evident that women (young and old) send remittances often to their home countries. Several of my younger friends from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and other Latin American countries do this. In the case of African countries, I noticed that older women tend to send money to their countries.  They continue to work in order to support their families, even though it might be time for them to retire. 

Today marks the celebration of the unquestionable contribution and sacrifices that many international migrants make to both destination and origin countries.  Migrants work hard, fill jobs that are needed, and send a large portion of their earnings to support their families at home.  Despite all of their contributions, native populations’ opinion and the policies developed by their governments continue to be mixed.