Publications

The ILO/EU Programme on the Governance of Labour Migration publishes a series of working papers

Working Papers

1. Underlying Factors in International Labour Migration in Asia: Population, Employment and Productivity Trends – Gavin W. Jones, 2008 [pdf - 0.8 MB]

Argues that labour migration flows will continue to increase. The only question is whether such flows will occur legally or increasingly be irregular.
2. Labour Shortage Responses in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia: A Review and Evaluation – Geoffrey Ducanes and Manolo Abella, 2008 [pdf - 0.9 MB]
Responses include raising productivity, extending employment, enlisting the inactive and unemployed, migration, offshoring and outsourcing, and improving fertility.
3. Recent Labour Immigration Policies in the Oil-Rich Gulf: How Effective are They Likely to Be? – Nasra M Shah, 2008 [pdf - 0.6 MB]
Assesses recent immigration policies in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Policies include those aimed at affecting the supply of and demand for foreign workers, and those aimed at increasing the demand for indigenous workers.
4. Labour Migration from Viet Nam: Issues of Policy and Practice – Dang Nguyen Anh, 2008. [pdf - 0.6 MB]
This paper examines the problems faced by Vietnamese migrant workers both at home and in their countries of destination, and argues that Viet Nam needs to shift to supplying more skilled manpower.
5. Overseas Filipino Workers and their Impact on Household Poverty – Geoffrey Ducanes and Manolo Abella, 2008 [pdf - 0.6 MB]
Examines the impact of the outflow of workers and finds that over time migration has enabled some of the poor step out of poverty.
6. The Admission of Foreign Labour and its Impact on the Labour Market in Taiwan, Province of China – Joseph S. Lee, 2008. [pdf - 1.0 MB]
Traces the changes in the functions of the foreign workers programme over time, its impact on Taiwan’s labour market, and the lessons that other economies could learn from this experience.
7. The Migration of Health Professionals – Lawrence B. Dacuycuy, 2008. [pdf - 1.3 MB]
Looks at the migration of physicians and nurses and examines the effect on health outcomes in the countries of origin.
8. Overseas Filipino Workers and their Impact on Household Employment Decisions – Geoffrey Ducanes and Manolo Abella, 2008. [pdf - 0.7 MB].
It is often proposed that remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers discourage other household members from working. Using information from labour force surveys over time, this paper find this is not the case.
9. Admission of Foreign Workers as Trainees in Korea – Young-bum Park, 2008. [pdf - 0.7 MB]
Discusses how the Korean government has responded to labour shortage in small businesses. Using surveys on foreign workers from 1993 to 2001 it trace changes in their conditions of work and the extent of labour shortage over time.
10. Strengthening Social Protection for ASEAN Migrant Workers through Social Security Agreements – Edward Tamagno, 2008 [pdf - 1.3 MB].
Examines how ASEAN countries can strengthen social protection for migrant workers, arguing for agreements between countries to coordinate social security systems.
11. Feasibility Study of the Electronic Money Remittance to Extend Social Security Coverage for Migrant Workers: The Case of the Philippines – Barbara Jo Domingo, 2008. [pdf - 0.7 MB]
Shows that electronic money remittance are technically feasible for extending social security coverage for migrant workers, but the costs are still relatively high.
12. Best Practices in Social Insurance for Migrant Workers: The Case of Sri Lanka – Teresita del Rosario, 2008 [pdf - 0.7 MB].
Discusses welfare and protection measures for Sri Lankan migrants, arguing that while these have brought benefits there is room for improvement.
13. Do International Migration Policies in Thailand Achieve their Objectives? – Jerrold W. Huguet , 2008 [pdf - 0.6 MB].
The paper argues that labour migration is likely to remain high and that Thailand needs to fix the incentive structure of its work permit system to avoid problems of irregular migration.
14. Controlling irregular migration: the Malaysian experience – Vijayakumari Kanapathy 2008 [pdf - 0.6 MB].
Traces the country's shifting policies on irregular migration as it moved from relatively 'soft' policies to tougher sanctions and controls, and proceeds to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies.
15. Rural-urban migration and policy responses in China: challenges and options – Dewen Wang 2008 [pdf - 0.5 MB].
Examines the recent history of rural-urban labour migration in China, and looks at the trends and patterns of this internal migration and its consequences on the rights and welfare of rural migrant workers and their families.
16. Inter-state cooperation on labour migration: lessons learned from MOUs between Thailand and neighbouring
countries – Pracha Vasuprasat [pdf - 0.5 MB].
Examines the experience of Thailand and her neighbouring countries, particularly Cambodia and Lao PDR, on bilateral employment agreements and makes recommendations for future bilateral negotiations.
17. Labour Migration for Development: Best Practices in Asia and the Pacific – Graeme Hugo [pdf - 1.2 MB].
Discusses best practices in temporary labour migration programmes in the Asia Pacific region, in each stage of the migration process – recruitment and selection, pre-departure preparation, at the destination, and upon return.
18. Managing Irregular Migration as a Negative Factor in the Development of Eastern Asia – Ron Skeldon [pdf - 0.8 MB].
Reviews the forms and magnitude of labour migration in East Asia and examines the important factors contributing to irregular migration in the region, including immigration policy in destination countries.
19.The Management of Irregular Migration and its Consequence for Development: Gulf Cooperation Council – Nasra Shah [pdf - 0.8 MB].
Reviews the forms of irregular migration in the GCC countries and their magnitude and discusses the consequences of such irregular migration on the migrants themselves and to the Gulf countries.
20. Enhancing the Benefits and Reducing the Costs of Outward Migration: Experiences and Perspectives from the Philippines – Fabio Baggio [pdf - 0.9 MB].
Reviews the forms of irregular migration in the GCC countries and their magnitude and discusses the consequences of such irregular migration on the migrants themselves and to the Gulf countries.
21. Protecting Migrant Workers from the Philippines – Patricia Sto. Tomas [pdf - 0.8 MB].
Looks at examples of good practices – at the country, bilateral, and multilateral levels, and with special focus on the Philippine experience – for maximizing opportunities for legal migration, especially temporary and circular labour migration.
22. Best Practices in Fostering Migration Opportunities: Do they work? – Lawrence Dacuycuy[pdf - 0.9 MB].
Looks at examples of good practices – at the country, bilateral, and multilateral levels, and with special focus on the Philippine experience – for maximizing opportunities for legal migration, especially temporary and circular labour migration.
23. Managing Labour Migration - Filipino and Indonesian Domestic Helpers - Emilyzen Ignacio and Yesenia Mejia [pdf - 3.2 MB].
Focusing on the domestic helper market in Hong Kong, examines and compares various institutional arrangements for regulating migration that have been developed in Indonesia and the Philippines, referring to them generally as migration infrastructure
24. Prospects for Future Outward Migration Flows: China and Southeast Asia - Geoffrey Ducanes and Manolo Abella [pdf -0.9 MB].
Looks at the various factors that are likely to influence outward migration flow from China and the Southeast Asian region, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia, in the next two decades.

Technical Notes

The Effect of the Global Economic Crisis
on Asian Migrant Workers and Governments’ Responses - This paper looks at the actual and prospective effect of the current economic crisis on Asian labour migration, especially as regards to layoffs of migrant worker and changes in their working conditions. It also gives an overview of sending and receiving country governments' responses to the crisis as it impacts migrant workers. [pdf - 0.3 MB]
The Migration of Professionals in an Integrating East Asia - Examines the policies on the admission of low-skilled labour from abroad in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan (China). It looks at the reasons that have prompted these countries to eschew, or make exceptions to, these policies and open their gates to low-skilled foreign workers [pdf - 0.2 MB]
Policies on Admission Low-Skilled Workers in Korea, Japan and Taiwan (China): similarities and differences - Manolo Abella - This paper examines the trends in high-skilled migration within East Asia and from East Asian countries to outside the region against the backdrop of increasing regional economic integration. [doc - 0.2 MB]
Nurse Migration: the Asian Perspective - Ayaka Matsuno - Examines the current situation of nurse migration in Asia, comparing different policies of both sending and receiving countries in facilitating or restricting the emigration or immigration of nurses.. [doc - 0.2 MB]