Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Recorded remittances to Africa have grown dramatically over the past decade. Yet data limitations still mean relatively little is known about which migrants remit, how much they remit, and how their remitting behavior varies with gender, education, income levels, and duration abroad. This paper constructs the most comprehensive remittance database on immigrants in the OECD currently available, containing microdata on more than 12,000 African immigrants. Using this microdata the authors establish several basic facts about the remitting patterns of Africans, and then explore how key characteristics of policy interest relate to remittance behavior. Africans are found to remit twice as much on average as migrants from other developing countries, and those from poorer African countries are more likely to remit than those from richer African countries. Male migrants remit more than female migrants, particularly among those with a spouse remaining in the home country; more-educated migrants remit more than less educated migrants; and although the amount remitted increases with income earned, the gradient is quite flat over a large range of income. Finally, there is little evidence that the amount remitted decays with time spent abroad, with reductions in the likelihood of remitting offset by increases in the amount remitted conditional on remitting.

Brain drain --- Consequences of migration --- Debt Markets --- Developing countries --- Educated migrants --- Female migrants --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Gender --- Gender and Development --- Gross National Income --- Health --- Home countries --- Immigrants --- International Economics and Trade --- International Migration --- International policy --- Labor force --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Migrant --- Migrants --- Migration flows --- Nutrition and Population --- Policy Research --- Policy Research Working Paper --- Population Policies --- Progress --- Remittance --- Remittances --- Respect --- Spouse

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Since the revision of the Japanese immigration law in 1990, there has been a dramatic influx of Latin Americans, mostly Brazilians, of Japanese origin (Nikkeijin) working in Japan. This is because the revision has basically allowed Nikkeijin to enter Japan legally even as unskilled workers, while the Japanese law, in principle, prohibits foreigners from taking unskilled jobs in the country. In response, the number of these Latin American migrants has increased from practically zero to more than 250,000. The migration of Nikkeijin is likely to have a significant impact on both the Brazilian and the Japanese economies, given the substantial amount of remittances they send to Brazil. The impact is likely to be felt especially in the Nikkeijin community in Brazil. In spite of their importance, the detailed characteristics of Nikkei migrants and the prospect for future migration and remittances are under-researched. The purpose of this paper is therefore to provide a more comprehensive account of the migration of Nikkeijin workers to Japan. The paper contains a brief review of the history of Japanese emigration to Latin America (mostly Brazil), a study of the characteristics of Nikkeijin workers in Japan and their current living conditions, and a discussion on trends and issues regarding immigration in Japan and migration policy. The final part of the paper briefly notes the limitation of existing studies and describes the Brazil Nikkei Household Survey, which is being conducted by the World Bank's Development Research Group at the time of writing this paper. The availability of the survey data will contribute to a better understanding of the Japan-Brazil migration and remittance corridor.

Communities & Human Settlements --- Government Policies --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Home Countries --- Human Migrations and Resettlements --- Immigration --- Immigration Law --- Immigration Policy --- Labor Markets --- Living Conditions --- Migrant --- Migrant Workers --- Migrants --- Migration Policy --- Policies --- Policy Implications --- Policy Research --- Policy Research Working Paper --- Population Policies --- Progress --- Remittance --- Remittances --- Return Migration --- Skilled Workers --- Social Development --- Social Protections and Labor --- Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement --- War

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The authors investigate the occupational placement of immigrants in the U.S. labor market using census data. They find striking differences among highly educated immigrants from different countries, even after they control for individuals' age, experience, and level of education. With some exceptions, educated immigrants from Latin American and Eastern European countries are more likely to end up in unskilled jobs than immigrants from Asia and industrial countries. A large part of the variation can be explained by attributes of the country of origin that influence the quality of human capital, such as expenditure on tertiary education and the use of English as a medium of instruction. Performance is adversely affected by military conflict at home which may weaken institutions that create human capital and lower the threshold quality of immigrants. The selection effects of U.S. immigration policy also play an important role in explaining cross-country variation. The observed under-placement of educated migrants might be alleviated if home and host countries cooperate by sharing information on labor market conditions and work toward the recognition of qualifications.

Access and Equity in Basic Education --- Brain Drain --- Country Of Origin --- Education --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Literacy --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Home Countries --- Host Country --- Human Capital --- Immigrant --- Immigrants --- Immigration --- Immigration Law --- Immigration Policies --- International Migration --- Labor Market --- Labor Markets --- Migration --- Policy --- Policy Research --- Policy Research Working Paper --- Population Policies --- Potential Migrants --- Progress --- Social Development --- Social Protections and Labor --- Tertiary Education --- Training

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The choice between temporary and permanent migration is today central to the design of migration policies. The authors draw a distinction between the two types of migration on the basis of the associated social cost and the dynamics of learning by migrants. They find that unilateral migration policies are globally inefficient because they lead to too much permanent migration and too little temporary and overall migration. Existing international agreements on labor mobility, such as the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services, have failed to do better because they seek primarily to induce host countries to make commitments to allow entry. Instead, Pareto gains and more liberal migration could be achieved through multilateral agreements that enable host countries to commit to repatriation.

Anthropology --- Brain Drain --- Brain-Drain --- Communities & Human Settlements --- Culture & Development --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Home Countries --- Host Countries --- Host Country --- Human Migrations and Resettlements --- Immigrants --- International Agreements --- Migrants --- Migration Policies --- Multilateral Agreements --- Policy --- Policy Research --- Policy Research Working Paper --- Population Policies --- Progress --- Remittances --- Repatriation --- Skill Level --- Skilled Workers --- Social Development --- Temporary Migration --- Training --- Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The authors investigate the occupational placement of immigrants in the U.S. labor market using census data. They find striking differences among highly educated immigrants from different countries, even after they control for individuals' age, experience, and level of education. With some exceptions, educated immigrants from Latin American and Eastern European countries are more likely to end up in unskilled jobs than immigrants from Asia and industrial countries. A large part of the variation can be explained by attributes of the country of origin that influence the quality of human capital, such as expenditure on tertiary education and the use of English as a medium of instruction. Performance is adversely affected by military conflict at home which may weaken institutions that create human capital and lower the threshold quality of immigrants. The selection effects of U.S. immigration policy also play an important role in explaining cross-country variation. The observed under-placement of educated migrants might be alleviated if home and host countries cooperate by sharing information on labor market conditions and work toward the recognition of qualifications.

Access and Equity in Basic Education --- Brain Drain --- Country Of Origin --- Education --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Literacy --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Home Countries --- Host Country --- Human Capital --- Immigrant --- Immigrants --- Immigration --- Immigration Law --- Immigration Policies --- International Migration --- Labor Market --- Labor Markets --- Migration --- Policy --- Policy Research --- Policy Research Working Paper --- Population Policies --- Potential Migrants --- Progress --- Social Development --- Social Protections and Labor --- Tertiary Education --- Training