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migration

Is it possible to send remittances to North Korea?

Sonia Plaza's picture

I participated in a panel on Informal Markets and Peacebuilding in North Korea at the United States Institute of Pace last Tuesday where we discussed remittances. There is no data available on how much remittance North Korea receives since the country does not publish remittance statistics. 

However, remittances are being sent from South Korea and China through informal channels (hand carried to the border by informal operators or wired). According to the Ministry of Unification in Seoul, North Koreans living in Seoul remit around 10 million dollars per year. Other estimates indicate that the annual amount is within the range of $5-$15 million per year.

The Impact of Low-Skilled Migrants on High-Skilled Women’s Work

David McKenzie's picture

Much of the debate about the effects of immigration on native workers focuses on possible negative consequences for wages or employment. However, a series of recent papers highlights a big positive effect – having immigrants as cleaners, nannies, and home-care assistants allows high-skilled women to work more.

Migration to cities can equalize household income in rural China

Xubei Luo's picture

With Nong Zhu

Migrant workers have been contributing to one-sixth of China’s GDP growth since the mid 1980s. The impact of rural migrants’ contribution is best seen in cities during the Chinese New Year, when they return to reunite with their families, leaving behind a massive urban labor shortage. This happens every year despite urban families and restaurant owners offering high bonuses.

There is a consensus that migration has contributed to increased rural income, but views differ on its impact on rural inequality. My view is that rural households with higher incomes are not more likely than poorer households to participate in migration or benefit disproportionately from it. Adding to my recent blog in People Move, I would like to discuss the reasons behind this.

The impact of studying abroad - and of being made to return home again

David McKenzie's picture

Studying abroad is becoming increasingly common in many countries – with almost 3 million students educated each year at the tertiary level in a country other than their own. For developing countries in particular, studying abroad offers many of the promises and fears of brain drain (both of which I think are overblown).

How migration affects youth - a view from the Philippines

It was a fine day when I left for Japan last year to attend a graduate student’s conference. As I was about to enter the airport gate, a heartbreaking scene made me stop --- a young girl, around seven years old, holding her mother so tightly and not letting her go.

The ECA diaspora can contribute to development

Sudharshan Canagarajah's picture

At approximately 46 million, the diaspora population originating from the ECA (Europe & Central Asia) countries is the largest of all the development regions. Over ten percent of the population of the ECA countries currently lives outside their home countries, a much larger share than the 3 percent of the world’s population who are defined as migrants. Even if some immigrants choose to fully assimilate in the recipient countries, there is still a significant number who maintains active links to their countries of origin. The flow of remittances in ECA coming from this Diaspora is also quite significant, more than 30 percent of GDP in some ECA countries. This financial contribution has led to a dialogue on potential Diaspora Bonds to attract much needed investment for capital projects (see Dilip Ratha’s work).

Remittances Rebound but Pressures Persist

Otaviano Canuto's picture

Remittances, or the money migrant workers send home to their countries of origin, are finally recovering to pre-crisis levels. In 2010, remittance flows to developing countries reached $325 billion, and they are poised to continue growing sustainably through 2013, according to the World Bank’s latest Outlook for Remittance Flows 2011-13.

This is very good news for developing countries. For many of them, money sent by their migrant workers living abroad is a very important source of external financing –sometimes even higher than the revenues obtained from oil exports or tourism. Thanks to the money being made in the U.S. by their relatives, millions of Mexican families can put food at their tables, just as Indians and Filipinos benefit the same way from the remittances sent from rich and oil producing countries in the Middle East.

Remittances Rebound but Pressures Persist

Otaviano Canuto's picture

Remittances, or the money migrant workers send home to their countries of origin, are finally recovering to pre-crisis levels. In 2010, remittance flows to developing countries reached $325 billion, and they are poised to continue growing sustainably through 2013, according to the World Bank’s latest Outlook for Remittance Flows 2011-13.

Russia’s Migration Reforms – Learning to look at the Glass Half Full

Sudharshan Canagarajah's picture

The more I work on migration issues, I have come to realize the uniqueness of the CIS region migration phenomena. Migration in what is currently called the CIS region (the former Soviet Union) includes both migration within the region and external migration. Although the CIS countries are now nation states, they were earlier part of one country. The migration phenomena, therefore, existed for more than 70 years before the fall of Soviet Union in 1991. Despite being ethnically different, almost all speak Russians (although the fluency in Russian is declining over time, especially in the younger generation). There is substantial movement of goods and services and trade integration across the region.

Impacts of migration on rural poverty and inequality in China

Xubei Luo's picture

with Nong Zhu.

In China, rural-to-urban migration and development of the rural non-farm sector strongly modified rural household income structure since the economic reform. In the mid 2000s, almost half of total rural income in China was from non-farm activities. Whether the decline in poverty was principally due to farm income growth or due to non-farm income growth and whether the rising share of non-farm income in total rural household income was the leading cause of the sharp increase in rural inequality have been key issues of debate.

Whither Malaysia’s brain drain?

Philip Schellekens's picture

Brain drain—the migration of talent across borders—has an impact on Malaysia’s aspiration to become a high-income nation. Human capital is the bedrock of the high-income economy. Sustained and skill-intensive growth will require talent going forward. For Malaysia to be successful in its journey to high income, it will need to develop, attract and retain talent. Brain drain does not appear to square with this objective: Malaysia needs talent, but talent seems to be leaving.

New data posted – household surveys for Burkina Faso, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda

Sonia Plaza's picture

We invite you to use open and free access to data collected through the Migration and Remittances Household Surveys conducted for the Africa Migration Project. Please access the household data here. We present the methodological apects and main finidngs of the surveys in our paper, Migration and Remittances Household Surveys: Methodological Issues and New Findings from Sub-Saharan Africa. For information on the report “Leveraging Migration for Africa: Remittances, Skills, and Investments” please visit our website.

As part of the Africa Migration Project, we conducted six Migration and Remittances Household Surveys in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. The surveys used a standardized methodology developed by the Migration and Remittances Unit of the World Bank and were conducted by primarily country-based researchers and institutions during 2009 and 2010.


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