Immigration a major election issue on both sides of the Atlantic
Immigration reforms are the focus in the UK elections and in the USA Senate elections for this year. Both countries are yet to come to grips with the need to develop consistent policy frameworks in...
View ArticleA short Q&A on circular migration, return migration and reintegration
Many destination countries are thinking about policies that promote circular migration or encourage return migration by existing migrants. I have written about the so-called "guest worker" programs...
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Crisis, employment, and migration
Last week I participated in the World Economic Forum Global Redesign Summit at Doha (see program ). In a brainstorming panel, the kind where you hit your head against the wall, I was asked the...
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Migrant remittances and private capital flows - Which is what?
The Uganda Daily Monitor reported recently that according to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report, “remittances to developing countries is forecasted [sic] to recover modestly from...
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The Other Indian
“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...
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What are the consequences of the best and brightest emigrating?
The very name “brain drain” suggests that high-skilled migration can be nothing but bad for developing countries. Indeed, the prospect of a harmful effect of brain drain is often one of the first...
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Poverty fell in Pakistan in 2001-08 partly because of remittances - Migrants...
A World Bank report released on July 30 finds that poverty in Pakistan fell by an impressive 17.3 percentage points between 2001 and 2008 (from 34.5 percent in 2001-02 to 17.2 percent in 2007-08)....
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Mobile phone technology and remittance services for the poor
Photo - istockphoto.com At a meeting with CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) colleagues yesterday, I tried to barter my limited knowledge of remittances for their extensive knowledge of...
View ArticleUS signs historic deal with El Salvador and Honduras for remittance...
The United States has recently signed separate Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with El Salvador and Honduras to assist them in securitizing their future remittance receipts to raise financing for...
View ArticleDiaspora bonds for development financing during a crisis
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....
View ArticleWill the economic recovery increase demand for immigrants in the labor market?
A recent study by PEW Hispanic Center states that immigrants are finding jobs faster during 2010. According to the report “immigrants in the U.S. have gained 656,000 jobs since the Great Recession...
View ArticleEqual pay for equal work for migrant workers?
The recent negotiations between Philippines and Saudi Arabia about the minimum living wages for migrant workers have resulted in a stalemate. Philippines is demanding a minimum wage of $400 per month...
View ArticleAre migrants more likely than nationals to be unemployed during economic crisis?
There has recently been heated debate regarding migrant employment behavior in host countries during and after economic crises. The popular view is that migrants have an incentive to remain unemployed...
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Implications of “Nitaqat”, Saudi Arabia's Indigenization Program, Likely to...
Saudi Arabia's recent indigenization effort titled "Nitaqat" came into effect on September 10. Saudi firms have been color coded to four categories - Red, Yellow and Green, and Blue/VIP. Firms labeled...
View ArticleMore employment implies more H1-B visa applications in the USA
In 2010, I wrote a blog on the situation of the H1-B visas. At that time, the slow recovery of the US economy was affecting the hiring of high-skilled immigrants. Now, that the U.S.
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