Migrant Members Research Articles

The impact of migration and remittances on labor supply in Tajikistan

Remittances from labor migrants abroad have become the largest component of financial flows to developing countries. While they are an important source of foreign currency for low-income countries, the impact of outmigration and remittances on the economic development of the sending country is ambiguous. To narrow this knowledge gap, this paper examines their impact on the domestic labor market, using the case of Tajikistan – a labor migrant contributor and remittance dependent country in Central Asia. Specifically, we estimate the impact of international migration and receipt of remittances on the labor supply decisions and employment of the family members left behind. To ensure rigorous inferences, we apply a control function approach using unique high-frequency household panel data. Our method enables us to correctly address the simultaneity of migration/remittance and labor supply decisions of the left-behind members. Our main estimates are that sending migrants reduces the labor supply of the left-behind members by 5.4 percentage points, and that receiving remittances reduces it by 10.2 percentage points, respectively. These findings suggest that the reservation wage effect of having a migrant member and receiving remittances is large and surpasses other positive effects they might have.

Poverty analysis in the lowlands of Papua New Guinea underscores climate vulnerability and need for income flexibility*

A severe El Niño event in 2015/16 decimated an important share of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) local crop production, leaving 10 per cent of the population with significant food shortages. Lack of recent socio‐economic data and analysis of the country's rural population impeded efforts to plan and mitigate the ensuing food crisis. This paper presents the most recent poverty analysis in Papua New Guinea in nearly a decade, and a renewed effort to inform rural production, consumption and livelihood patterns in some of the country's most remote, lowland areas. We designed a rural household survey that collected detailed consumption and expenditure data to explore poverty prevalence and correlates of per capita household expenditure. Results suggest that approximately half of the sampled individuals live in households with total per capita expenditures below the poverty line. Climate shocks have significant and possibly long‐term consequences for household welfare. Households that experienced a drought in the last 5 years are associated with significantly lower per capita expenditures. Labour diversification, via migration, is associated with greater welfare. Households with at least one migrant member are associated with 13 per cent greater per capita expenditure.

Techno-emotional mediations of transnational intimacy: social media and care relations in long-distance Romanian families

The transnational circulation of intimate care is increasingly mediated by digital communications. Research conceptualizing long-distance emotional intimacy in terms of ‘care chains’ has been influential in understanding international care economies. Yet, this framework has limitations for theorizing the role of media in communications of care. With a focus on the ‘left-behind’ family members of Romanian economic migrants, this paper investigates how the use of social media apps and mobile devices within the context of a major intra-EU labor migration phenomenon helps people stay in touch with their transnationally mobile loved ones. It draws on interview material elicited among the close family members of Romanian labor migrants living in Bucharest and surrounding areas. The analysis focuses on the sensory role of social media platforms and the materiality of smartphones in shaping relations of long-distance emotional care. Showing how video calling and photo sharing practices produce emotional experiences that are specific to contemporary combinations of platform-device technicity and social sensitization, the paper argues for conceptualizing transnational care as a mediated emotional experience. By theorizing the role of media in how care is not merely transferred but felt through mediation, the paper demonstrates how media practices produce a techno-emotional mediation of transnational care.

Does migration matter for household welfare in Bangladesh?

ABSTRACT This paper explores the impact of international migration on household welfare in Bangladesh based on the household income and expenditure survey 2010. An asset index was constructed to measure the long-run welfare impact of migration using principal component analysis. The findings of the study indicate that the households with a migrant member have a significantly higher asset score compared to the non-migrant. The migrant households also have a lower expenditure share on food and a higher calorie intake per capita suggesting they are less poor compared to non-migrants. Besides, the study found robust evidence that the families having a migrant in a lucrative destination are well-off than those with a migrant in a less desirable destination. The overall findings suggest that the welfare of the households not only depends on the households’ migration status but also their destination choices.

An Analysis of Mobile Financial Services and Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh

In a short span of time, starting in 2011, mobile financial services (MFSs) have burgeoned in Bangladesh, and elsewhere in the developing world. MFSs have brought about major changes in financial products and institutional structures in the financial services market. The study of Bangladesh’s experience with MFS shows that financial inclusion has greatly improved along with efficiency of provision. This article shows that the probability of using MFSs by a household increases by about 43 per cent if the households have temporary domestic migrant members. Female household heads are less likely to use MFS compared to male household head. Out of 1,588 micro merchants in the sample, around 30 per cent have access to MFSs. Individuals engaged in the non-agriculture sector, those from households with the head having higher education, those from non-poor households and those from urban areas have higher probabilities of MFS use. But more research must be done to design appropriate MFS products for the poor, so that they too can also leverage the benefits of MFSs.

Rural to urban migrant workers in China: challenges of risks and rights

PurposeThe rapid urbanization of China brings in large number of migrant workers coming from rural areas. With the perspective of social integration, this study reviews the findings about economic livelihood, social integration and health related to migrant workers since China initiated economic reform. We show that (1) though the economic wellbeing of migrant workers has been improved significantly after they moved to cities, their economic standing is still lower than local residents; (2) though there is progress of social integration between migrant workers and local residents, conflicts and challenges due to the competitions in employment and the sharing of community resource are still commonly found; (3) the disadvantaged status of health is very common among migrant workers and (4) women and the new generation in migration have more disadvantages in the social transition. We suggest that issues of equal rights between migrant workers and local residents should be discussed in the future as more migrant workers intend to stay in cities for long-term.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is literature reviews based on the current studies about migrant, migration and policy. The first category of literature is the research field on China's migration and urbanization to describe the whole context of migrant workers. The second is research field on detailed issues about migrant workers and the last field is policy issues about the welfare and needs among migrant workers.FindingsWe find that (1) though the economic wellbeing of migrant workers has been improved significantly after they moved to cities, their economic standing is still lower than local residents; (2) though there are progress of social integration between migrant workers and local residents, conflicts and challenges due to the competitions in employment and the sharing of community resource are still commonly found; (3) the disadvantaged status of health is very common among migrant workers and (4) women and the new generation in migration face more disadvantages in the social transition.Research limitations/implicationsThere are some limitations in the current research: (1) the review focuses on the majority of migrant workers to reveal the general picture about the living, developing and rights among migrant workers, but is still lacking in dealing with some special and disadvantaged groups. (2) More international issues related to migrant workers should be discussed in the future considering that China's labor market is becoming more and more global.Social implicationsFirst, the conclusion about the economic and social integration among migrant workers indicates that more equal welfare services, including resident services, commence services, medical services etc. should be included in the municipal managements considering that Chinese cities will be the combination of local residents and migrant residents. Second, the conclusion about the women and children indicates that the future public services targeted at the disadvantaged population should focus on migrant members due to the second generation of migrant workers will be one of the mainstream population in future China's cities.Originality/valueThis study gives general views on migrant workers in current China. The findings in this review conclude the main development and improvements among tens of millions of migrant workers in Chinese cities. Meanwhile, we also conclude that there are still many disadvantaged and marginalized sub-groups in migration who are suffering from less welfares and rights in urban lives. More detailed and equal rights and public services should be considered and implemented in the fast urbanization taking place.

Organizing against all Odds: Filipina chambermaids in Copenhagen, 1970s–1990s

ABSTRACT This article traces the history of Filipina workers in Copenhagen hotels from the 1960s-1990s, including the relations between Philippine labour export practices and Danish ‘guest worker’ recruitment, the work conditions of Filipinas in Copenhagen hotels, and the political strategies and organizing practices of the Danish trade union for hotel- and restaurant workers [HRF] along with the self-organizing of Filipina chambermaids. The ‘immigration stop’ adopted by the Danish state in late 1973 was not so much an end to labour migration from so-called third countries as it was a re-configuration of the conditions for labour migration. Consequently, the practical integration of migrant members was central to transforming the Danish hotel- and restaurant workers union (HRF) into an activist organization which pioneered in the Danish trade union movement taking the task of organizing migrants seriously.

Impact of remittances on household health care expenditure: Evidence from the Nepal Living Standards Survey

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of remittance inflows on health care expenditure in Nepal using the Nepal Living Standards Survey 2010–2011. Using the recursive three‐stage least square regression method, the propensity score matching method, and the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition method, we find a positive and significant effect of remittances on health care expenditure. In particular, our analysis shows a 0.099% increase in health care expenditure for every 1% increase in overall remittances. This effect increases to 0.189% for earned remittances (remittances received from a household member). We also find that remittance‐receiving households with at least one migrant family member have different health care spending behavior than those with no migrant members.

Influence of Remittances on Socio-Economic Development in Rural Nepal

This article analyses socioeconomic changes with reference to income, consumption, expenditure, health, and education of migrant households in relation to remittances flows. This study is based on a case study of Musaharniya village in Rajbiraj Municipality of Saptari District, Province 2, Nepal. It is found that remittances play a vital role in improving the socioeconomic condition, reducing poverty and bringing social and political awareness in the village. Those households whose family members are not abroad are poorer than those with migrant members abroad. Due to increasing incomes, their expenditure capacity has considerably risen over time. All migrant households have owned land whereas one-third of households were landless in the past. Access to modern technologies has significantly increased among remittance recipient households compared to non-remittances households. Remittances were also causing migration from rural to urban centres to some extent.

Play therapy as a diagnostic tool in rural families in Mexico

The role of play therapy as a research tool is examined after its use in a project directed to study family with at least one migrant member in deprived rural contexts in Mexico. Eighteen families were approached throughout home visits as part of social support services. Videos of the interaction with family members by using play therapy techniques were analyzed with the purpose to establish its advantages and limitations to collect information about the family dynamics. It was found that play therapy is an effective research tool in family studies, since this is a non-intrusive way to elicit feelings, spontaneous behaviors, and change in the family dynamics. Some of the advantages and limitations of this technique are further discussed eliciting practical guidelines for its use.

Short-Term Migration and Children’s School Attendance: Evidence from Rural India

Every year, millions of individuals from rural India migrate internally for short periods in search of employment. Temporary migration of parents can affect school attendance of children from these families. This study uses data from National Sample Survey Organisation’s (NSSO) Situation Assessment Survey 2013 to examine whether having a short-term migrant member in the family affects school attendance of children aged 6–10 years in rural India. An estimate from logit regression suggests that controlling for individual and family characteristics, village, district controls and NSSO state-region fixed effects, being from a migrant family reduces the probability that a child aged 6–10 years attends school by 15%. A series of robustness checks are done to ascertain the reliability of our finding. First, we assess the extent of potential omitted variable bias and find that our results remain unchanged even after controlling for bias. Second, we use instrumental variable approach since short-term migration of parents and school attendance of children can be driven by unobserved factors. In this method, the presence of a short-term migrant in the family is instrumented by lagged proportion of short-term migrants and lagged proportion of construction workers in the district. Our results remain robust to various specifications.

Основні напрямки нормотворчої діяльності ООН щодо забезпечення прав людини на свободу совісті і віросповідання

Забезпечення прав і свобод людини, зокрема права на свободу совісті і віросповідання, є одним із пріоритетів міжнародної спільноти. Свідченням цього є нормотворча діяльність ООН у відповідній сфері. Україна, розвиваючи власну правову систему та законодавство, дотримується взятих на себе міжнародних зобов’язань, у тому числі щодо захисту прав людини на свободу совісті і віросповідання. Метою статті є аналіз базових документів ООН у сфері свободи совісті і віросповідання та виділення основних напрямків розвитку нормотворчості Організації щодо забезпечення прав людини на свободу совісті і віросповідання. Наукова новизна статті полягає у виділенні основних напрямків діяльності ООН щодо забезпечення прав людини на свободу совісті і віросповідання, аналізі базових документів ООН щодо забезпечення у них гарантій і прав людини на свободу совісті і віросповідання, визначенні відповідності українського законодавства у сфері свободи совісті і віросповідання основним нормам актів ООН. Висновки. Україна, будучи державою-засновницею ООН, спрямовує свою діяльність у сфері захисту прав людини відповідно до статутних документів Організації. Виділено такі основні напрямки нормотворчої діяльності ООН щодо забезпечення прав людини на свободу совісті і віросповідання: 1) загальні засади захисту прав людини на свободу совісті і віросповідання; 2) протидія дискримінації на основі релігії чи переконань; 3) захист прав на свободу совісті і віросповідання окремих груп і категорій осіб. Наша держава ратифікувала основні пакти та конвенції ООН, спрямовані на захист прав людини, у тому числі Міжнародний пакт про громадянські і політичні права, Міжнародний пакт про економічні, соціальні і культурні права, Конвенцію про права дитини, Конвенцію ООН про статус біженців тощо. Крім того, під час удосконалення національного законодавства у сфері свободи совісті і віросповідання українські законотворці враховують положення інших актів ООН – як обов’язкових, так і рекомендаційного характеру. Завдяки цьому національне законодавство щодо захисту релігійних прав людини загалом відповідає міжнародним актам ООН. Водночас ряд пактів і конвенцій Україні ще необхідно ратифікувати, зокрема таких актуальних для нашої держави, як Міжнародна конвенція про захист прав всіх трудящих-мігрантів та членів їх сімей тощо.

Parental absence: Intergenerational tensions and contestations of social grants in South Africa

Most recently, the role of grandmothers has been highlighted as significant in the lives of their grandchildren in South Africa. Studies have previously highlighted the contribution the Old Age Grant makes in contexts of poverty, orphanhood and the migrant labour system. Similarly, studies on the Child Support Grant (CSG) have illustrated its contribution to the well-being of children and families in general. However, missing in these examinations has been an understanding of how the CSG is contested in contexts of parental absence due to internal labour migration. Through a thematic content analysis of qualitative interviews with members of migrants’ families, this article illustrates that in the context of internal labour migration, family responsibilities shift in ways that make unemployed grandmothers who do not receive the Old Age Grant vulnerable. This vulnerability is manifested through a tension in familial relationships. This tension stem from the contestation of the CSG by young labour-migrant mothers, the guardian (grandmother), and the beneficiaries of the CSG. The article concludes that these tensions result from continuing socio-economic struggles experienced by poor households.

Personalized versus partisan representation in the speeches of migrant members of parliament in the German Bundestag

ABSTRACTGiven the increasingly polarized debates in many modern democracies over migration and integration, the behaviour of members of parliament (MPs) with a migrant background has important implications for patterns of representation. Drawing on role congruity theory, we hypothesize that MPs with a migrant background deliver more legislative speeches in debates that are of interest for citizens with a migrant background. The findings, which are based on speeches delivered in the German Bundestag between 2009 and 2013, indicate that MPs of immigrant origin, in particular those MPs who have a “visible” migrant background, deliver significantly more speeches in debates focusing on civil rights. We also find that migrant MPs who are elected via the party list, as opposed to MPs who are directly elected in a district, are more likely to speak in debates on citizen and minority rights, suggesting that the parliamentary party leadership strategically selects migrant MPs as speakers in certain parliamentary debates.

International Labour Out-Migration In Mzimba District, Malawi: Why Persistent?

This article is based on a study that sought to examine the socio-economic impacts of labour migration on families in Mzimba district in terms of education, health, labour supply, intra-family roles, norms, decision-making, and others. Eight villages with the highest number of out-migrants out of 27 in the district were studied. Fifty respondents of households with a migrant member were randomly selected as a sample for the study. Another random sample of 20 respondents from households without-migrants was selected to serve as a control group. The field data were obtained using in-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussions. Secondary data were obtained mainly through library research. The study reveals that, overall, households with migrant relatives in South Africa have experienced a change in their welfare; ranging from positive change in socio-economic conditions and/or positive change in their social and family relations. Negative consequences included loneliness, especially for spouse left at home; psycho-social problems, especially for children due to the absence of fathers; and low esteem that females feel when their husbands are absent to the extent of not being involved fully in family matters. On the part of the migrants themselves, they live in untenable working conditions, often illegally, and in most circumstances very unwelcome in the host country.

Impact of International Remittances on Poverty in Bangladesh: Evidence from the Household Data

Although the impact of remittances on poverty is a widely examined topic, only a few studies shed light on this issue at the household level, especially in the case of Bangladesh. This study compares households with and without remittance receivers to estimate the poverty impact of remittances on a regional basis. The dataset used for this study is the Household Income Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2010, obtained from a representative sample of 12,239 households, and collected by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Determining propensity scores from the estimation of probit regression, the average treatment effect on the treatment group has been estimated by using nearest neighbour matching and Kernel estimator. Both of the techniques confirm that receiving remittances has an inverse impact on households’ propensity of being poor. A regional comparison shows that this propensity is lower in urban areas (11.3 per cent) than the rural areas (16.3 per cent). In both urban and rural areas, per capita consumption expenditure and monthly consumption expenditure vary positively with remittance receipt of the households. Moreover, probit regression estimates that the probability of having migrant members in rural households is 2.8 per cent higher than that of urban households. On the basis of the major findings, the study reaches the conclusion that rural areas show more potential in terms of producing exportable manpower. Appropriate policy in terms of creating an enabling environment both in the destination and home countries should be arranged, especially to facilitate women migration.

Legal Regulation of International Contradictions in the Modern International Migration Processes

The article is devoted to the issues of legal regulation of international contradictions in the modern international migration processes. Special attention is given to the international legal acts for human rights and citizens’ protection in the sphere of international migration. The authors consider international and national legal mechanisms for the protection of migrants’ rights. New approaches to solving the problems of migrants’ rights protection under the conditions of population’s increasing mobility and globalization are offered. Special attention is paid to legal regulations of the United Nations. The authors consider the controversies associated with the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families by the states in which the number of emigrants far exceeds the influx of arriving migrants and by the developed countries that have not signed or ratified the Convention.

LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST INDONESIAN WORKERS (TKI) IN ABROAD

Protection of migrant workers is all the effort the protection of the interests of prospective workers / migrant workers in realizing the fulfillment of their rights in accordance with the legislation, both before, during, and after work. Protection of migrant workers organized in the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families) 1990. In addition there are other international conventions. While the protection of migrant workers is regulated in Act No. 39/2004 on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Abroad, but this law is more concerned with procedural and procedures for the placement of workers abroad, and only slightly regulate the rights and guarantees the protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families. Besides the protection of migrant workers by the government based on the country's constitution, as done by the Department of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) RI. Keywords: Foreign Affairs;

THE CHALLENGE OF ASEAN MIGRANT WORKERS’ WELFARE COMMODITAZION VERSUS HUMAN RIGHTS?

Critical attention toward migrant worker issues in the regional level grows in accordance with the universalization of human rights principle. There is no exception in Southeast Asia, where the level of interstate labour migration shows an increasing trend. Cases of exploitation and violence on migrant workers in recipient countries clearly indicate the existence of basic “humanity threat”, which intimidate migrant workers, on social, economic and political structures. Legal protection initiatives have been conducted by international regimes, especially through the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990). However, in ASEAN level, strong interests from each state member has caused difficulties in the ratification of the ASEAN Instrument of the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers. Why do most ASEAN countries refuse to ratify the instrument? What is the role of ASEAN in this initiative? This paper examines how far ASEAN countries will protect their workers, which further test their commitment on ASEAN Social Cultural Community 2025’s goal of increasing the quality of people’s life through people-centred and people-oriented cooperation. This paper applies qualitative approach with descriptive analysis method by exploring and understanding the meaning of primary and secondary data. This paper further argues that national interests of recipient countries are the main factor in preventing the ratification of the Instrument of the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers in ASEAN. Initiator nations like Indonesia and the Philippines must keep trying to approach other ASEAN state members to encourage creating National Law and standardizing the National Policy for migrant workers as one centralized Customary Law through the Regional Agreement. Centralization will ensure that protection to all migrant workers can be shouldered through risk-sharing practice by all ASEAN state members.

Effects of offsite settlement of health claims on family migration decisions: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

BackgroundIn China, internal migrants have been largely unable to claim for health-care visits in the location to which they have migrated. Under the household registration system, health reimbursement can often be claimed only in the registration locality, and benefit packages are inconsistent across areas, leading to a low reimbursement rate for visits out of the insured locality. To address this issue, the central government has urged all levels of local governments to explore offsite settlement of health claims. This study aims to investigate the effect of the policy on family migration decisions. MethodsOur study covers a period when the policy was implemented intensively across prefectures within provinces. Using a difference-in-difference and propensity score matching approach, we compared changes in migration outcomes before and after the policy for households in cities that implemented the policy earlier relative to those in cities that implemented it later. Information on the timing of policy implementation was collected from government notices. Information on migrants was obtained from the 2012–2016 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, a national representative cross-sectional survey. We termed the first individual of a family to migrate, the ‘main migrant’, and observed the migration status of his or her dependents. The final sample contained 266 919 families. FindingsWe find that offsite settlement caused the probability of migrating with a spouse, at least one child, and at least one parent to increase by 1·6% (p=0·02), 5·6% (p=0·001), and 19·4% (p=0·03), respectively. We find no evidence of an increase in the number of main migrants deciding to move in response to the policy. InterpretationOur results suggest that offsite settlement of health claims will cause more family members of the main migrants to move. How the changes in migration pattern will reshape the health-care market from the demand side should be a focus of future research. FundingThis study was funded by a grant from the Young Medical Talents Training Program of Scientific Research of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning (number 20164Y0083 to MQ), and a grant from the National Science Foundation of China (number 71403057 to HJ).