Charles W. Stahl

Overseas workers remittances in Asian development.

In recent years, overseas workers from Asia have been sending remittances of about

Labor emigration and economic development.

8 billion annually to their home countries. These remittances are an important source of precious foreign exchange for the major labor-exporting countries. The overall development impact of remittances, however, has not been well established. Remittances are spent primarily on day-to-day consumption expenditures, housing, land purchase, and debt repayment. Although only a small proportion of remittances are directed into productive investments, this does not warrant the conclusion that the developmental value of remittances is negligible. In fact, remittances spent on domestic goods and services in Asia 1 provide an important stimulus to indigenous industries and to the economies of the labor supplying countries. 1 Our working definition of Asia thus does not include the countries of that region called West Asia which contains Turkey, a major labor exporter.

International Manpower Flows in Asia: An Overview

This article is concerned with the extent to which labor migration is advantageous to the labor exporting country. It focuses on development consequences of labor emigration with a view toward the formulation of policies which can shape those consequences into a positive force for development, discussing a wide variety of potential costs and benefits generated by labor emigration. The issue of private versus public choice relative to emigration is examined, as is the major economic benefits and costs of labor emigration and the influence of development objectives on the valuation of these costs and benefits. Policies by which emigration countries may increase the benefits from labor emigration and reduce the costs are outlined.

International Trade in Higher Education Services in the Asia Pacific Region: Trends and Issues:

Significant differentials in demographic and economic variables shape the nature, extent and direction of economic migration within the diverse Asian region. The Middle East and North Africa have been prime destinations for temporary labor from Asia. However, intra-Asian migration is increasing, characterized by movement of labor from countries at earlier stages of demographic and economic transition to the rapidly growing economies of the region. This article presents a country-by-country overview of historical, economic and sociodemographic variables; statistical data and assessments of the nature and impact of migration; and future trends. Regions covered include: 1) South Asia and the Indian Ocean Islands, 2) Southeast Asia, 3) Northeast Asia.

Singapore's Foreign Workforce: Some Reflections On Its Benefits and Costs

The expansion of trade and investment in the global economy since the 1980s has been accompanied by an associated growth in the international trade in education services, particularly higher education. In this paper we provide a detailed analysis of the expansion of higher educational mobility, measured by the burgeoning numbers of tertiary students going abroad to study. In particular, this paper investigates the increasing mobility of students from the Asia Pacific region undertaking study in Western Europe, North America and Australia. The paper argues that increasing international trade in education services in the Asia Pacific region reflects the strategic importance of these services to develop and maintain the long-term economic and social viability of these nations. Increasingly governments throughout the world now recognize the crucial role of education in fostering economic growth (especially in new knowledge-based sectors), personal and social development, as well as reducing inequality. Nations with well-established and prestigious higher education systems such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have been the main beneficiaries of this growing trade in education services. These countries have been at the forefront of educational exports as they have led aggressive marketing campaigns to recruit new students as well as develop new methods of higher education provision and delivery. Further, this paper explores the positive and negative effects of student mobility, and the linkages between the internationalization of higher education and the professions. Finally, this study makes some suggestions for further research.

Trade in Labour Services and Migrant Worker Protection with Special Reference to East Asia

This article provides some empirical information pertaining to the benefits and costs of foreign labor to Singapore and subjects to critical analysis some of Pang and Lims hypotheses concerning the costs of labor importation presented in a previous article in this journal. The article concludes with a discussion of the real cost to Malaysia of Singapores labor importation policies and its potential for disruption of Malaysias development plans.

Theories of International Labor Migration: An Overview

This article discusses the migrant worker protection policy of the East Asian international labor market. The labor-exporting countries of East Asia provide an onerous proportion of low-skilled migrant workers to the region and are responding to the perceived edge of a policy of labor export. Conversely, the movement of highly skilled and professional workers is the result of globalization and internationalization of education, training and professions, rather than the result of explicit labor export of certain countries. In view of the need of international bilateral arrangements for the protection and facilitation of low-skilled workers, the labor-exporting countries have introduced a number of policies aimed at protecting and promoting the welfare of the overseas workers. Thus, various policy measures are suggested to advance the cause of migrant worker protection in East Asia.

The Impacts of Structural Change on APEC Labor Markets and Their Implications for International Labor Migration

Emigration pressures are primarily the result of increasing inequalities between countries which, in turn, are the result of factors internal to less developed countries and their relations with developed countries. Both micro (neoclassical) and macrostructural theories of migration are re-viewed. It is argued that the neoclassical theory of migration is often unjustly criticized and is sufficiently robust to incorporate those structural considerations which are at the core of macrostructural theories. Moreover, the neoclassical theory, with slight modification, can incorporate the “new economics of migration.” The major empirical problem confronting models of international labor migration is that migration flows are constrained by immigration policy. This policy, in turn, is influenced by various special interest groups. The direction and form of migration flows is conditioned by contemporary and historical relationships between source and destination countries.

APEC labour markets: Structural change and the Asian financial crisis

This study examines the impacts of structural change on the labor markets of APEC member economies and explores the implications of these changes for international labor mobility within the region. All APEC economies have experienced significant structural changes during the process of development. The impacts of these changes are explored through an analysis of the changes over the period 1980 to 1997 in output and employment by industry and occupation, and changes in trade intensity and foreign direct investment. In many countries, a failure of education and training systems to respond to often rapid shifts in the skill composition of labor demand is leading to industry and occupation specific labor shortages. International labor migration within the APEC region, and changes in its occupational and industrial composition, are viewed as a product of these structural changes and a mechanism that assists in filling gaps in the labor markets of the regions economies. Because international labor migration will continue to expand within the APEC region, and will be given added impetus if APECs goals of free trade are realized, there is a pressing need to design policies that will regulate and facilitate it while ensuring the protection of migrant workers.

THE IMPACT OF OVERSEAS WORKERS' REMITTANCES ON INDIGENOUS INDUSTRIES: EVIDENCE FROM BANGLADESH

Abstract This study examines the impacts of longer-term structural changes on the labour markets of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies, as well as the short-run labour market consequences of the Asian financial crisis. All APEC economies have experienced significant structural change in the process of development. A major factor in this structural change has been increased trade intensity (increase in exports and imports as a share of GDP) that has occurred over the last 20 years. Because these structural changes have been extensively induced by trade liberalisation, this study provides insights into the likely consequences of the implementation of APECs agenda on trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation. The impact of structural change is examined using a range of data, such as disaggregated changes in output and employment by industry and occupation over the period 1980 to 1997, and data on changes in trade intensity for each of the APEC nations. Other data, such as changes in rates of urbanization, are also used to indicate the other important concomitant effects of economic transformation. For several Asian economies, the linear path of growth and structural change was severely disrupted by the Asian financial crisis. This article examines the impact of this crisis on Asian labour markets, in general, and those most affected by the crisis, in particular. In many countries within the region, a failure of education and training systems to respond to often rapid shifts in the skill composition of labour demand is leading to industry and occupation specific labour shortages. International labour migration within the APEC region is viewed as a product of these structural changes and a mechanism that assists in filling gaps in the labour markets of the regions economies.