Suchergebnisse

The debate on if and how to connect humanitarian assistance for refugees with national social protection systems can elicit polarizing views. Hence, it is not unusual to observe country-level approaches getting somewhat 'stuck' – especially where refugees represent a sizable share of the population: from a donor perspective, the question is how can governments be persuaded to be more inclusive; from a government standpoint, it faces disproportionate political and economic risks from "being left with the bill"; and from the international humanitarian agencies viewpoint, there might be quandaries on how to reconcile commitments to neutrality and independence with those to respecting the primary responsibility of governments. These stylized views are legitimate, but their combined effect may generate competing narratives and little negotiating space among the multiple actors involved. The net result might be the endurance of a sub-optimal dual systems operating in parallel – one for refugees, one for citizens. The framework laid out in this paper attempts to facilitate the identification of workable pathways for progress among actors. Instead of framing the humanitarian-social protection links as an 'either-or' choice, the framework includes a more granular analysis of how collaborations may emerge around select programmatic 'functions', as well as the 'degrees' of possible connection between national and international support within a given function.

The East Asia and Pacific region has an international emigrant population of over 21 million people, who remitted more than USD 90 billion to their home countries in 2010. The region also hosts more than 7 million migrant workers, mostly from other Asian countries. These migrant workers account for 20 percent or more of the labor force in economies such as Malaysia and Singapore and thus play a significant role in the economies of the labor-receiving countries. The aging of the population in many East Asian countries will create significant labor shortages leading to greater demand for migrant workers. For these reasons, international labor mobility is emerging as an important development issue in East Asia with important implications for the Bank's mission of poverty reduction and supporting sustainable economic development in the region. In this context, this study analyzes the impact of migration on development of the region and how international migration should be managed in East Asia in a way that supports development goals while simultaneously protecting the rights of migrants. The study covers: trends in international migration in East Asia and overarching regional issues such as the links between macroeconomic management and remittances and the role of demographic trends in migration; the economic impact of migration and remittances on labor-sending countries and labor-receiving countries; the migration industry; and the policies and institutions that govern migration."