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Remittances have the potential to lift up
developing economies
Remittances have risen spectacularly in recent
decades, capturing the attention of researchers and policymakers and
spurring debate on their pros and cons. Remittances can improve the
well-being of family members left behind and boost the economies of
receiving countries. They can also create a culture of dependency in the
receiving country, lowering labor force participation, promoting conspicuous
consumption, and slowing economic growth. A better understanding of their
impacts is needed in order to formulate specific policy measures that will
enable developing economies to get the greatest benefit from these monetary
inflows.
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When migrants move to countries with high
obesity rates, does assimilation lead to labor market penalties and higher
health care costs?
Upon arrival in a host country, immigrants often
have lower obesity rates (as measured for instance by BMI—body mass index)
than their native counterparts do, but these rates converge over time. In
light of the worldwide obesity epidemic and the flow of immigrants into host
countries with higher obesity rates, it is important to understand the
consequences of such assimilation. Policymakers could benefit from a
discussion of the impact of immigrant obesity on labor market outcomes and
the use of public services. In particular, policies could find ways to
improve immigrants’ access to health care for both the prevention and
treatment of obesity.
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Benefiting from highly skilled immigrants
requires a complementary mix of immigrant selection and economic integration
policies
There is increasing global competition for
high-skilled immigrants, as countries intensify efforts to attract a larger
share of the world's talent pool. In this environment, high-skill immigrants
are becoming increasingly selective in their choices between alternative
destinations. Studies for major immigrant-receiving countries that provide
evidence on the comparative economic performance of immigrant classes
(skill-, kinship-, and humanitarian-based) show that skill-based immigrants
perform better in the labor market. However, there are serious challenges to
their economic integration, which highlights a need for complementary
immigration and integration policies.
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While legalization benefits most unauthorized
immigrants, deciding how to regularize them is challenging
Countries have adopted a variety of legalization
programs to address unauthorized immigration. Research in the US finds
improved labor market outcomes for newly authorized immigrants. Findings are
more mixed for European and Latin American countries where informal labor
markets play a large role and programs are often small scale. Despite
unclear labor market outcomes and mixed public support, legalization will
likely continue to be widely used. Comprehensive legislation can address the
complex nature of legalization on immigrants and on native-born
residents.
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Migrants encounter different fertility norms
while abroad, which they can bring back upon returning home
Demographic factors in migrant-sending countries
can influence international migration flows. But when migrants move across
borders, they can also influence the pace of demographic transition in their
countries of origin. This is because migrants, who predominantly move on a
temporary basis, encounter new fertility norms in their host countries and
then bring them back home. These new fertility norms can be higher or lower
than those in their country of origin. So the new fertility norms that
result from migration flows can either accelerate or slow down a demographic
transition in migrant-sending countries.
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Economic integration of refugees into their host
country is important and benefits both parties
Refugee migration has increased considerably
since the Second World War, and amounts to more than 50 million refugees.
Only a minority of these refugees seek asylum, and even fewer resettle in
developed countries. At the same time, politicians, the media, and the
public are worried about a lack of economic integration. Refugees start at a
lower employment and income level, but subsequently “catch up” to the level
of family unification migrants. However, both refugees and family migrants
do not “catch up” to the economic integration levels of labor migrants. A
faster integration process would significantly benefit refugees and their
new host countries.
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Both low- and high-income immigrants stay for a
relatively short time
The majority of immigrants stay only temporarily
in the host country. When many migrations are temporary, it is important to
know who leaves and who stays, and why. The key questions for the host
country are whether immigrants are net contributors to the welfare system
and whether migrants assimilate quickly. The key questions for the home
country are whether migrants return and who returns. The host country gains
when unsuccessful migrants leave, while the home country may gain when
successful migrants leave. Empirical evidence reveals that both
low-income-earning and high-income-earning migrants leave the host country
quite soon.
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