Ronald Skeldon

Migration and development : a global perspective

1. Introduction: Myths and Movements 2. Theories and Approaches 3. Systems and Boundaries 4. The Old Core 5. The New Core 6. Core Extensions and Potential Cores 7. The Labour Frontier 8. The Resource Niche 9. Conclusion: The System and the Future

Quantifying International Migration: A Database of Bilateral Migrant Stocks

This paper introduces four versions of an international bilateral migration stock database for 226 by 226 countries and territories. The first three versions each consist of two matrices, the first containing migrants defined by country of birth, that is, the foreign-born population; the second, by nationality, that is, the foreign population. Wherever possible, the information is collected from the 2000 round of censuses, though older data are included where this information was unavailable. The first version of the matrices contains as much data as could be collated at the time of writing but also contains gaps. The later versions progressively use a variety of techniques to estimate the missing data. The final matrix, comprising only the foreign-born, attempts to reconcile all of the available information to provide the researcher with a single and complete matrix of international bilateral migrant stocks. The final section of the paper describes some of the patterns evident in the database. For example, immigration to the United States is dominated by Latin America, whereas Western European immigration draws heavily on Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean region. Over one-third of world migration is from developing to industrial countries and about a quarter between developing countries. Intra-developed country and intra-FSU (former Soviet Union) flows each account for about 15 percent of the total. Over half of migration is between countries with linguistic ties. Africa accounts for 8 percent of Western Europes immigration and much less of that to other rich regions.

Trafficking: a perspective from Asia.

The main theme of this article is market development and trafficking as a business. It touches upon most of the aspects of the phenomenon, which have been encountered elsewhere, and translates them into the relatively unfamiliar context of many of the Asian and South-East Asian economies. Equally, the literature cited is also probably unfamiliar. Themes touched upon include democratization, inter-state relations, human rights, and scale and perspectives, together with the problems of definitions, theory, and the reliability of data. The directions and characteristics of trafficking flows together with routes and border control are also considered. Coordinated official responses to criminality and criminal organizations, as well as to trafficked individuals, are beginning to emerge. There is a note of caution sounded that contextual and cultural perspectives, particularly on sex workers, must be viewed somewhat differently to those in Western societies. The article concludes that as long as countries in Asia maintain their policies of restrictive immigration, trafficking can be expected to continue and almost certainly increase. This is because accelerating development creates demand for labor at various skill levels and because even in times of recession migrants and brokers will seek to side-step attempts to expel immigrants and restrict access to labor markets. The elimination of trafficking is unlikely to be realistically achieved through legislation and declarations of intent but by improvements in the socioeconomic status of the population.

On migration patterns in India during the 1970s.

This paper examines movements between the rural and urban sectors in India using both the 1981 and the 1971 data to compare trends during the 1970s with those in the 1980s. The censuses collected information on duration of residence which allows the separation of short-term and long-term migrants. While only a portion of total mobility can be captured by the census sufficient data are available for India to paint a reasonably detailed picture of changing sectoral patterns over time. The Indian case can be drawn into a more general context to provide insight into how migration patterns change in response to development and to characterize the role of short-term mobility within the overall trends of migration in developing countries. This paper also highlights many of the difficulties inherent in analyzing migration patterns purely from census data. Although rural-to-rural migration was still the dominant type of movement in 1981 there was a reduction in the relative importance of the rural-to-rural stream from 1961-1971 to 1971-1981. The pattern of intersate migration which excludes many of the short-distance migrants is quite different. At this level rural-to-rural migration is not nearly so important and the 2 intersectoral flows of almost equal importance in 1981 were rural-to-urban and urban-to-urban. The net addition to the urban areas due to migration in 1971-1981 was about 9.4 million and that for 1961-1971 some 5.7 million. Although the evidence is fragmentary it seems likely that in the India of the 1960s a system of stage migration was operating similar to that originally described by Ravenstein with local movement to regional urban centers accompainied by movement out of the regional centers to the largest towns. The most marked feature of migration change from the 1960s to the 1970s was the increasing participation of women in all the flows. A 2nd clear trend suggests that the longer a migrant male or female has been at a destination the greater the probability that he or she will continue to survive there.

International Migration Within and From the East and Southeast Asian Region: A Review Essay

Five migration systems are described: settler, student, contract labor, skilled labor, and refugee. Settler migration to the U.S., Canada and Australia has consisted primarily of family members; the future may bring a greater emphasis on highly skilled and business categories. Contract labor migration, particularly to the Middle East, has provided jobs, foreign currency through remittances and greater participation of women, but also led to illegal migration, skills drain, and labor abuses. The hierarchy of development has led to intra-regional flows: (1) skilled labor mainly from Japan to other countries in the region, and (2) contract labor and illegal migration from the LDCs to the NIEs and Japan.

Emigration and the future of Hong Kong

Emigration is not new from Hong Kong but its volume is presently at an all-time high. This paper examines whether this exodus is in response to the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. While the impending transfer is clearly one factor there are more important reasons to be found in the policies of potential destination countries and in those conditions which are giving rise to an increase in the movement of Chinese peoples throughout Asia. The characteristics of the emigrants are biased towards the upper end of the educational and occupational spectrum. The loss of these personnel to the local economy may cause short-term problems in particular sectors but Hong Kongs long-term viability is more likely to be associated with the potential for regional development in the Pearl River delta as a whole than with the outflow of population. (EXCERPT)

Doctors Diagnose Their Destination: An Analysis of the Length of Employment Abroad for Hong Kong Doctors

Much contemporary skilled international migration involves the transient movement of skills between a migrants country of origin and the destination. This paper shows that international circulation amongst Hong Kong doctors is neither new nor random. A survey of Hong Kong doctors with overseas work experience was undertaken by the authors to examine the factors influencing the length of employment overseas and the propensity to return. Statistical analysis of the results indicates that holding a foreign passport, previous overseas training, and the country of destination were key factors in detennining the length of residence abroad and propensity to return to Hong Kong. In the light of the changing importance for Hong Kong professionals of obtaining residency rights abroad, and given the widely varying immigration policies of the main destination countries in relation to issues such as recognition of Hong Kong qualifications, it is suggested that professional groups such as doctors choose their migration destinations in line with a predetermined migration strategy for either temporary emigration or for longer-term resettlement overseas. The survey results are of wider significance in the understanding of changing patterns of skill exchange involving the upper echelons of the populations of newly industrialising countries.

Turning points in labor migration: the case of Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong experience of emigration and immigration does not fit neatly into models of migration transition. As a city-state with a small rural population, it has exhibited different developmental characteristics from the larger Asian newly industrialized economies. Geopolitical factors have also played a key role in “patterns” of migration, such as restrictive immigration policies in receiving countries. Also significant are individual considerations of political and economic risk, as evidenced by the current rise in the emigration of skilled and professional workers prior to the return of Hong Kong to China. The author concludes that, rather than a simple turning point in labor migration, there may be multiple turning points in a complex sequence of change.

Trends in international migration in the Asian and Pacific region

While recognising the antiquity of population migration in the Asian and Pacific region, this article focuses upon the patterns of migration over the last half-century. The causes of the migration are divided into four clusters of factors: immigration policies of potential destination countries; developments in the Middle East; the political involvement of external powers; and the economic development of parts of East, Southeast and South Asia itself. The principal consequences of the recent migrations are considered in terms of their economic, social and political impacts. The current issues in Asian migration revolve primarily around questions of sovereignty in a globalising world and the emergence of transnational communities and illegal migration are identified as being of particular concern to the state in Asia. It is suggested that the economic reversals in parts of East and Southeast Asia had relatively little impact on the overall patterns of population movement in the region and that international migration will persist as one of the principal forces for the transformation of Asian and Pacific societies in the twenty-first century.

Korean Development and Migration

Our introductory paper to this special issue of JEMS on Korean development and migration provides a sketch of internal migration in Korea, and international migration from and to that country. It positions these movements within the great transitions experienced by Korea over recent decades: the transition from an agricultural to an industrial and then a tertiary economy; the transition from a rural to an urban society; and the transition to low fertility and mortality. A transition in migration can also be observed from rural to urban and from emigration to immigration. The papers in this issue each illustrate a different facet of Koreas migration—the importance of internal remittances in the process of urbanisation, the range of destinations in Koreas diaspora, the different enclave economies and societies around the Pacific rim, ethnic ties and the incorporation of Koreans into the economies of destination areas, the importance of transnational families and whether Korea will ever become a ‘settler’ society are all examined as part of Koreas local and global migrations. They all demonstrate, in different ways, how Koreas development into a member of the global economy has interacted with migration to change its volume, direction and composition.