FOREIGN MIGRATION AND REMITTANCE

What we know?

and

What we still do not know?

Jagannath Adhikari

Ganesh Gurung

NEPAL INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

6/28/2011 1

WHAT WE KNOW and STILL DO NOT KNOW?

• Emigration (Volume, Gender composition, Skill composition, Method of emigration, Financing of Migration, Geographical distribution of origin of migrants)

• Remittances (Volume, Sources by destination country, Uses, Formal v/s informal, Cost of remitting)

• Impact: (National, Community, Households, Migrants, Family members - girls, boys, women, social cost, capital flight of remittance/related to migration)

6/28/2011 2

.

WHAT WE KNOW

6/28/2011 3

Emigration

• Volume:

- Official Permission for Migration (DoFE website and records – by gender) – No record for India…

- Official permission – by gender, by destination countries.

- Institutional source v/s individual source

6/28/2011 4

Migration – Magnitude and NatureForeign Labor Migration except India

6/28/2011 5

Foreign labor migration (except India)

6/28/2011 6

Important countries (migrant labourers from 1993/94-2009/2010)

.In Total Male Female

Malaysia 569667 Malaysia 569169 Lebenan 9389

Qatar 481748 Qatar 480893 Kuwait 3452

Saudi

Arab 341325

Saudi

Arab 340972 UAE 2940

UAE 214515 UAE 211575 Isreal 2674

Kuwait 24457 Bahrain 21466 Bahrain 1098

Bahrain 22564 Kuwait 21005 Oman 872

Oman 11478 Oman 10606 Qatar 855

Lebenan 9730

Hong

Kong 4321 Malaysia 498

Isreal 6414 Afganistan 4265 Macau 400

Hong

Kong 4379 Isreal 3740

Saudi

Arab 353

6/28/2011 7

More women go through individual system (and face problem)

6/28/2011 8

Foreign Labor Migration Except India

6/28/2011 9

STOCK OF HOW MIGRANTS IN DESTINATION COUNTRIES

Some studies and surveys:

NIDS and World Bank (2009) – 2.02 million

CBS 2001 = 7,62,000

DOFE = Two million plus

Census 2011 = Will be the answer

6/28/2011 10

Some studies

• 2.02 million working abroad in 2009 (Nepal Migration Survey, 2009)

• 0.88 million (43.74 %) were working in India and the rest (1.13 million or 56.26 %) in other countries;

• 48 % of migrants originate from Tarai, 45 % from the Hills and 7 % from the Mountain.

• About 75 % labour migrants are unskilled and 25 % are semi-skilled (DoFE but how this was calculated??)

• Salary scale related to educational qualification (Qatar – Tristle 2010).

6/28/2011 11

Gender composition of migrants

• 8.36 % were female and 91.64 % are male; some other studies estimate 10 %.

6/28/2011 12

Method of Emigration

• Official process or the formal migration

• Legal provisions in the country

• Official cost of migration for some of the destination countries.

• RAs registration and their renewal of licenses.

• Orientation institutes, insurance institutes, health test agencies (specified by government)

6/28/2011 13

Financing for Migration

• A few studies – remittance being used, loans and interest.

6/28/2011 14

Remittances

• Volume – Officially transmitted remittances (through banks and remittance transfer agencies)

6/28/2011 15

Impact and welfare of migrants

• Impact on poverty (reduction in poverty rate from 42 % to 31 %, and to 25 % now). In FY 2009, remittances was Rs 218 billion , and in 2010, it was Rs 242 billion

• Contribution to household economy; sources of remittance – internal, India and others, households getting remittances (NIDS and World Bank, NLSS surveys).

• Impact on economic status (NIDS and World Bank)

• Some studies on uses of remittances (ibid)

6/28/2011 16

.

WHAT WE STILL DO NOT KNOW

6/28/2011 17

Emigration

Volume:

- How many actually went.

- How many are still there.

- How many returned (no record of returnees).

- Informal or irregular migrants (only estimates).

6/28/2011 18

MIGRATION TO INDIA (STILL A HUGE BLACK HOLE)

CBS 2001 = 5,89,050 (77 percent of the total absentee)

Nepali Associations in India = 6 million

Other estimates

Mixed up in counting Nepali migrant workers and Nepali citizens

6/28/2011 19

Method of Emigration

• Agents and subagents involved

• Informal process of migration

• Cost of migration (actual amount paid)

• Foreign commission agents involved.

• Quality of services of the service providers.

• Time actually taken for the process.

• Sources of finance for the migration

• Scale of corruption

6/28/2011 20

Women migration

• Volume – controversy in official record and actual number of migrants.

• Via Nepal or India

• Migration v/s trafficking in India

• Nature and extent of violence – especially on domestic help.

• Frequent changes in policies and how far women migrants are aware of policies and changes.

6/28/2011 21

Remittances

• Remittance coming from informal sources -like Hundi (still 35 % of remittance??)

• Increasing trend in official remittance –actually increased or due to increase in the transfer of remittance by rapidly expanding formal agencies??

• Remittance from India – hand carry and other informal methods , goods.

6/28/2011 22

• Reverse flow of remittance for education (especially in India and other countries)

• Reverse flow of remittances due to permanent settlement of Nepali migrants eg in UK or other countries.

6/28/2011 23

Impact and welfare of migrants

• Impact on farming and other local enterprises due to emigration (wage labor, shortage of labor, interrelationships in the village).

• Multiplier positive effect of remittances (eg investment on industries …)

• Social cost on left behind members especially of women and elderly.

• Family problems.

• Children’s education (investment is done, but the result is not known).

• Psycho-social problems of the migrants as well as left behind.

• Diasporas and their contribution to national economy and society.

6/28/2011 24

Situation of working conditions

• No studies in destinations

• High death rate reported (2.5 dead bodies in 2008 per day)

• Reason Unknown.

• Their salary range and savings.

• The extent of cheating and individuals affected (complaints at DoFE does not tell reality).

6/28/2011 25

Returnee Migrants

• No knowledge of their skills and their use.

• Problems in reintegration.

6/28/2011 26

Conclusion

• Still many gaps in our understanding.

• Rapidly changing – but no mechanism to record the changes.

• Difficulty to analyze the cost and benefit of migration though it will continue.

6/28/2011 27