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Can the Diaspora contribute to the creation of jobs in the Middle East and North Africa?

Submitted by Sonia Plaza on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 13:58

Recent attention has shifted from analyzing the impact of skilled migration on sending country labor markets to a broader agenda that also considers the channels by which diasporas promotes trade, investment, innovation and technological acquisition. Several developed and developing countries are increasing their ties with their Diasporas to take advantage of these transfers beyond remittances. It will be important to assess what could be the potential of strengthening the linkages with their Diasporas for countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Can these countries tap into their Diasporas as a source and facilitator of innovation, research, technology transfer, trade, investment and skills development?

Nolland and Pack (2007) have analyzed whether Arab-communities in North America and Europe can play a similar role as countries in Asia (China, India, South Korea and Taiwan, China) in revitalizing the Middle East. The authors also indicated that “given the limited extent of manufacturing activity in the Middle East and the lack of equivalents to the Indian Institutes of Technology, it would make difficult to benefit from this option.”

Diaspora bonds for development financing during a crisis

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 08:45

On September 16 Greece announced that it plans to issue a diaspora bond. In the past the governments of India and Israel have raised over $35 billion dollars, often in times of liquidity crisis. Preliminary estimates suggest that Sub-Saharan African countries can potentially raise $5-10 billion per year by issuing diaspora bonds. Countries that can potentially consider diaspora bonds are Bangladesh, Colombia, El Salvador, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (and also Greece, Ireland, Italy, South Korea and Spain). 

The Other Indian

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Mon, 07/12/2010 - 16:24

“Name’s John. Hi!” he said.

“Thanks. Glad to meet you. My name is Dilip,” I replied as I put my carry-on bag on the seat and moved aside the pillow and the blanket to make space for myself. After a hectic week at Dakar, I was hoping the seat next to me would be empty. But it wasn’t.

John, my co-traveler, was short, brown, and middle-aged. There was a nondescript baseball hat on his head through which his pony tail hung behind him, long, more pepper than salt. He was wearing brown jeans and blue shirt. He had taken off his shoes and was wearing socks from the travel kit provided by the airline.

      Photo/istockphoto.com

“You going to DC?” I asked.

“Yes. And from Washington DC, to New Mexico.” He said he lived in the Navajo Nation just south of Colorado.

“Are you returning from the game in South Africa?” I asked.

“Yeah. The first time I saw a soccer game in my life. It was great. I’m a coal miner, in New Mexico. My company sent me to watch the World Cup. We were 150 of us from all over the world. We were there for 5 days.”

I opened the overhead locker to put my bag in before the take-off. “Is that your vuvuzela?” I asked.

“No. Probably belongs to the lady over there.”

“Football, or soccer, is the number one game in the world,” I said.

India's remittances data until third quarter of 2009 show gains

Submitted by Sanket Mohapatra on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 18:34

The Hindu cites data by India's Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council which suggest that remittance flows to India will grow strongly in the 2009/10 fiscal year (which runs from April through March). Inward private transfers reached $27.5 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year, a 4.3 percent increase on a year on year basis (see story). The PMEAC predicts that India will receive $30 billion in the second half of the fiscal year, which will take the annual figure to over $57 billion, a nearly 30 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

Labor Mobility and Circular Migration: What are the challenges of the Stockholm Program?

Submitted by Sonia Plaza on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 19:35

I recently gave a presentation and participated in a conference organized by the Swedish Presidency of the European Union(EU) on “Labor Migration and its Development Potential in the Age of Mobility"on October 15-16. The conference focused on two main themes: a) Labor immigration, and b) Circular migration and its development potential.

Speakers and participants discussed the importance of improving labor mobility in Europe given demographic changes. New players such as China and India are competing for global talent. The EU should become an attractive market for immigrants if it wants to remain competitive in the coming decades.  Within this context mutual recognition of skills and accreditation becomes key for developing countries. (See my previous post)