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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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Migrant Workers

First round of seasonal workers finishes in Australia

Submitted by Tomas Martin Ernst on Fri, 10/30/2009 - 16:59

I've just returned from country Australia evaluating the impact of one of the World Bank's (WB) recent development programs in the region. A WB initiative on the ground in Australia? What is the relationship between country Australia and the Bank's mandate of a world free of poverty?

Photo © Tomas Ernst/World Bank

Following several year's of research and advocacy, the Australian government opened its borders this year to the short-term supply of labour from the Pacific Islands (PIs). Evidence from New Zealand showed that when temporary labour mobility programs are well managed - with the appropriate level of monitoring to prevent worker exploitation and with the right incentives to minimize overstaying - the scheme is win-win for growers and PI workers. Growers enjoy a steady, reliable source of labour and PI workers receive income at least 4-5 times the GDP/capita of their home country.

My colleague Nathan and I travelled to Griffith, New South Wales where six ni-Vanuatu workers were preparing to head home following a six-month assignment picking, pruning and packing fruit. All workers reported a significantly improved financial position, with the majority sending regular remittances to their family members and local villages. In terms of skills acquisition, the training workers received on farms in Australia will benefit them when they return home to agriculture dependant economies of the South Pacific.

Turnaround in migrant employment in the US?

Submitted by Ani Silwal on Mon, 08/17/2009 - 13:44

We had suggested earlier the bottoming out of remittances to Latin America in response to stabilizing construction activity in the US. The latest employment numbers for June 2009 from the Current Population Survey (CPS) hint at a turnaround in employment levels in the US, particularly for migrants. 
 

 *3 month moving averages           Source: Current Population Survey

 

The sectoral breakdown of employment data show that employment in the construction sector is picking up faster than other major occupations. Employment in other major occupations also seems to be stabilizing. 

Dune bashing in Dubai...with a hawaladar!

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 15:00

Dubai is a must for any one working on migration and remittances. One of the seven Emirates, but one that depends more on trade, finance and real estate than oil and gas, Dubai is a wonder in the desert. It has a large – perhaps the largest – migrant population relative to natives (no pun intended) in the world. If you ask me which is the most developed Indian city, I would say Dubai!

   Photo © Curt Carnemark / World Bank

For sure, Dubai has some of the best Indian food. (As an aside, London used to be the city with the best Indian food. I was there a couple of weeks ago, and was a bit disappointed with the Indian (actually Bangladeshi) restaurants. Perhaps the recent visa restriction on hiring cooks from other countries is beginning to have an impact!)

With all the photos in the media of migrants leaving Dubai (abandoning cars on the airport parking lot), I was forced to visit Dubai in April, and once more after that. The level of activity seemed to me as high as the skyscrapers, although the locals reported a slowing down in the pace of construction. I visited a few embassies and remittance service providers. Dubai is slowing, but only for a while, and not all sectors are affected the same way by the crisis. For example construction workers are more affected than hotel workers. Migrants from Kerala (India) and Bangladesh are more affected than those from Nepal and the Philippines. Pakistani drivers are also affected, not the least because rising house prices in Dubai has forced many of them to send their wives and children home. It occurred to me that this could be a reason for the surge in remittance flows to such separated families in South Asia.

Money transfer companies - many of which are also exchange houses and employers of registered hawaladars - were doing brisk business. Remittances to South Asia seemed to be booming.

A highlight of the Dubai trip was a ride to the desert. Sanket and I went dune bashing with a hawaladar/money transmitter friend!