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A blog about migration, remittances, and development

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This blog is hosted by Dilip Ratha, lead economist at the World Bank. Its goal is to leverage migration and remittances for development.  
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October 2008

Should we develop welfare funds for other migrant origin countries?

Submitted by Neil Ruiz on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 14:03

Last week, we released a new brief, "Protecting Temporary Workers: Migrant Welfare Funds from Developing Countries."  This note describes how countries of origin governments can play a major role in protecting their migrants abroad through migrant welfare funds.  It shows that a welfare fund operated from the origin country and financed by migrants or their employers can offer a potential efficient solution to protecting migrants from vulnerable situations abroad.  Protecting migrant workers through welfare funds also comes with some challenges: finding the right balance of services, creating meaningful partnerships, building accountability with its members, and involving destination countries.  

The second meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development is now taking place in Manila from October 27th to the 30th.  The theme of this year's forum is "Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development."  One of the topics of discussion will be on how governments can share the responsibility of protecting migrants.  This topic begs the question on how governments can find ways of funding such activities. 

 

Africa Migration Project: Household surveys call for proposals

Submitted by Sonia Plaza on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 11:58

In collaboration with the African Development Bank, the World Bank is undertaking a comprehensive study of migration and remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa and destination countries outside Africa. The World Bank Household Survey of Migrants is part of this effort, and will be conducted in 10 countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Ivory Coast, and Uganda). 

Findings from these surveys will provide a better understanding of the characteristics of migrants in sending and receiving countries and thereby help inform national policy-makers about trends in migration and remittances, determinants and consequences, and development impacts.

The World Bank is inviting firms to submit expressions of interest to undertake a household survey focusing on internal and international migration in at least one of the above 10 Sub-Saharan countries.  The deadline for expressions of interest is November 7, 2008, and the high quality work should be completed by June 2009. 

More information on the proposed study and how to make a submission can be obtained by downloading the detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) from the World Bank eConsultant system website, where you can look for Selection Number 100019214, "Household surveys for the Africa Migration Project." You can also read the terms of reference for this call for proposals here.

Innovative financing through migration and remittances

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Thu, 10/16/2008 - 09:37

Perhaps one of the earliest utilitarians was Charvak (his name literally means "sweet talker" in Sanskrit) who a few centuries ago said, "live happily as long as you live/drink a lot of ghee, and borrow if need be!" Now in the thick of a financial crisis marked by excessive borrowing and lending, one might argue against the Charvak Doctrine. It's true that debt, like fire, can be dangerous ("Don't borrow, because you will get into debt"), but if managed prudently, it can also fuel new projects, new products, and growth and employment in many poor countries.

Last week we launched a book titled "Innovative Financing for Development." In this book we argue that poor countries need additional, cross-border capital channeled to the private sector to generate employment, growth, and poverty reduction. For that, innovative financing mechanisms are necessary. The volume brings together various market-based innovative methods of raising development finance including securitization of future flow receivables, diaspora bonds, and the role of shadow sovereign ratings in facilitating access to international capital markets.

While diaspora bonds (both as financial instruments, and as "ties" with the diaspora) are obviously linked to migration, the chapters in the book explain that (a) properly accounting for migrant remittances can significantly improve sovereign ratings; and (b) future migrant remittances can be used as collateral to further lower the borrowing costs and increase the tenor of loans.

A new Global Migration Barometer measures opportunities for migrants

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 08:42

Western Union and the Economist Intelligence Unit recently released a new Global Migration Barometer.  I was a member of the panel of peer reviewers as well as a panelist at the launch event held in Washington with my good friends Don Terry, Demetri Papademetriu, and Thomas Debass.

I am happy to see the outcome of this exercise. The first of its kind, the GMB makes a small but significant beginning towards fact-based analysis of migration policies and outcomes, opposed to policy-making based on anecdotes and personal likes and dislikes which appear to be the norm today. By pointing out where a country may stand in terms of attractiveness to migrants, accessibility for migrants, and its need for migrants, the GMB will help a country make informed decisions about whether to change migration policies or not.

As I stated in this WSJ article by Miriam Jordan, I was surprised to see that some countries which clearly need a lot of migrants appearing not accessible and not attractive to them. That's a sort of eye-opener for these countries. It goes to show that a country may open the gates, but migrants may not come in! That has serious implications for countries aspiring to move into the next phase of development in this globalized world.