“Mobility Matters:” Migration Essentials

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Gervais Appave

Geneva

1 December 2009

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Part and consequence of globalization

Characteristic, defining feature of present-day world

1. Human mobility

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Choice

Model of economic development

Growth

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Mobility

Goods

ServicesCapital

Globalization – generates mobility

States have freed capital, goods, services

Made a decision for greater mobility

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People will follow

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more diverse and more inter-related than in the past

- Short-term, or long-term - Uni-directional or circular

- Internal or international - Regular or irregular

2. Patterns of contemporary mobility:

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Particularly for low and semi-skilled workers

Opportunities to move are frequently limited

People seek to move for variety of reasons: personal, family social, business or work (or combination of)

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Highly Skilled Migration

Family Migration

Internal Migration

Tourism

Irregular Migration

Study Abroad

Realms of mobility

10-15%*of total flows

*ILO Estimates

Low and Semi-skilled

Migration

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Realms of mobility

Mobility Categories

No Fixed Boundaries

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Highly Skilled Migration

Family Migration

Internal Migration

Tourism

Irregular Migration

Study Abroad

3. Centrality of WorkLow and

Semi-Skilled Migration

Work

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4. Labour market dynamics increasingly operating across international borders:

Interconnectedness/Interdependence

More countries having entered or entering world economy

Workforce more integrated into the world economy

Markets more open to international trade and capital flows

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- Resort to global sourcing of services

- International network of enterprises

- Global assembly lines for production of goods

- Creates demand for increased labour mobility

Globalization changes the way enterprises do business

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5. Required: planned and predictable ways of matching demand and supply

- Short-term, circular, long-term or permanent labour mobility

Policies and procedures: flexible and adaptable

Phenomena being dealt with: international in nature

Policies and instruments: more national/ regional in scope

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Policies of countries of origin and destination need to be complementary and mutually supportive

- Employers, recruitment agencies, trade unions, migrant and diaspora associations, Inter-governmental organizations

Cooperative approaches to human resource development to meet national, regional and global objectives

Participation of non-state stakeholders

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Labour Migration: Key Aspect of Human Mobility and Global Economy

Pre-eminence of asylum and irregular migration on policy agendas

Focus on protection and humanitarian assistance

But recent shift in policy perspectives

Realization that tackling isolated migration issues such as integration or return not very effective

Economic impact of labour migration on countries of origin through remittance flows

Previously (i.e. last 3 decades of the 20th century)

Little space for comprehensive migration management

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Mobility Matters

Opportunity to forge new vision and more collaborative approaches

May offer tools to address current economic crisis

Integral part of the global economy

Isolationism, restrictive policies:

Not very efficient

Calls for new policy paradigms for the management of integration