Migration and Remittances. Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union
- Document number
- 1285
- Date
- 2007
- Title
- Migration and Remittances. Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union
- Author/publisher
- Ali Mansoor & Bryce Quillin (eds.), The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Research/Study/Analysis,
- Keywords
- Migrant rights; Migration management; Comprehensive approach to migration; Migration policy; Irregular Migration, Feminization of migration, Economic migration, Labour migration, Free movement, Undocumented migrants; Undocumented labour;
- Summary
- Migration has been an important part of the transition process in Europe and Central Asia (ECA),1 and continues to be relevant as these countries move beyond transition. Labor migration is likely to gain in importance in view of the aging of populations in Europe and some parts of the former Soviet Union. Migration in the region is unique and significant: ECA accounts for one-third of all developing country emigration and Russia is the second largest immigration country worldwide. Migrants’ remittances, as a portion of gross domestic product, are also large by world standards in many countries of the region. Economic motivations currently drive migration flows in ECA. This was not the case in the initial transition period, which unlocked large flows reflecting the return of populations to ethnic or cultural homelands, the creation of new borders, political conflict, and the unwinding of restrictions placed on movement by the Soviet system. Nor will it be the case in about a decade, when demographics will begin to dominate motivations for migration. However, for now market opportunities and the reintegration of ECA countries into the world economy spur labor migration. Incentives for permanent and large quantities of undocumented migration may exist because of the structure of many of the immigration policies governing migration from ECA to Western Europe and the migration-receiving countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Immigration policies distinguish between skilled and unskilled labor and the policies increasingly recognize the value of skilled labor, which is partly covered by the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). However, policies on unskilled labor often focus too heavily on controlling a very large supply through border controls without looking to efficiently match this supply with the domestic demand for low-skilled migrant workers. As a result, such policies can fail to contain a large and growing population of undocumented migrants. The report focuses, where distinctions are relevant, on the case of unskilled labor migration because existing international migration policies often poorly address this form of cross-border movement. Migration-sending countries can contribute to the slowing of outmigration by accelerating economic and political reforms and thus the associated expectation that the quality of life will rapidly improve. Receiving countries could increase the payoff from migration by accepting and factoring the demand side of the equation into policies designed to minimize undocumented migration. In doing so, the negative consequences of undocumented migration—including the inefficient distribution of resources, hindrances to sending remittances, and the inhibiting of circular migration patterns—could be avoided. The core focus of this report is on documenting the trends of international migration and remittances in this region since the period of transition (chapters 1 and 2) and discussing the determinants of migration in this region (chapter 3). A final chapter (chapter 4) reviews the organization of international migration policy in the region. It details the nature and types of bilateral migration schemes in place between ECA countries and between ECA and Western Europe and identifies some of their limitations. The final section of chapter 4 suggests some avenues through which bilateral migration agreements could be improved. The ambition of this section is explore how bilateral migration agreements could reduce the incentives for undocumented migration while minimizing the cultural and social frictions from increased migration in the receiving country. The viability of this proposal has not been tested so it is suggested that this proposal could form the basis for pilot programs in the future. This overview chapter summarizes the main findings that are developed in much greater detail in later chapters of Migration and Remittances: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.
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