Mainstreaming Migration into Development Agenda: Bangladesh Perspective

Selim RaihanProfessor, University of Dhakaand Executive Director, SANEM

Presented at the Seminar on “Mainstreaming Migration to the Development Agenda: South Asian Experience”, organized by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

13-14 June 2013, Colombo,

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Outline of the presentation

• Introduction • Interaction between migration and development

policies: Issues and concerns• Factors determining mainstreaming migration into

development agenda • Macroeconomic impact of migration and remittance:

Quantitative assessment• Review of different migration policies in Bangladesh• Policy implications

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Introduction

• Can migration be a tool of development?• Is there any need to mainstream migration into

development agenda?• How to mainstream migration into development

agenda?• What are the macroeconomic and social impacts of

migration? • What are the Bangladesh perspectives?

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Interaction between migration and development policies: Issues and concerns

• Migration to be considered as a key factor in – poverty reduction policies– national policies for economic growth, and – national revenue and development budget in Bangladesh.

• Migration is important– access to foreign exchange– use of remittances in developmental and infrastructural project, – contribution of skilled and professional returnee to the

development of the home country• “Social remittances”: transfer of values, ideas and

practices from receiving to sending countries.

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Interaction between migration and development policies: Issues and concerns..

• Social cost of migration– human trafficking– human rights abuses– violent conflicts– social disorder – lack of protection and welfare for workers – the social and psychological costs associated with

migration – “brain drain”

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Factors determining mainstreaming migration into development agenda

• Trend in Migration from Bangladesh• Trend in Remittance into Bangladesh• Skill Composition of Migrants• Destination of Migrants• Number of Female Migrants• Gender Composition of Migrants

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Trend in Migration from Bangladesh

Source: BMET

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Trend in Remittance into Bangladesh

Source: WDI

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Skill Composition of Migrants

Source: Calculated from the BMET data

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Destination of Bangladeshi Migrants

Source: Calculated from the BMET data

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Number of Female Migrants

Source: BMET

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Gender Composition of Migrants

Source: Calculated from the BMET data

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Experience of Bangladeshi Migrants

• Bangladeshi migrants can’t have any labor union or association in the immigrant countries.

• Poor condition of semi-skilled and unskilled Bangladeshi workers due to huge competition from newly emerging labor exporting countries, wage discrimination and unfavorable work environment.

• Skilled workers of Bangladesh face restrictions, such as “skill certification requirement”, to practice their skill in overseas countries.

• Bangladeshi migrants face harassment at the airport especially when they return.

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Experience of Bangladeshi Migrants..

• Women migrant workers face huge discrimination specially in the Middle East countries.

• Many migrants sell their homestead and arable land to bear the cost of migration, which ultimately turn out to be too costly.

• Irregularity and corruption of the recruiting agencies• After reaching the destination countries, many migrations are

charged extra fees and their employers hold their passports and other travel documents with the aim of restricting their movements.

• Problem of human trafficking, illegal immigrants • Skilled people migration: brain drain

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Experience of Bangladeshi Migrants ..

• Some migrants return voluntarily to Bangladesh in order to enjoy their savings or to engage in income generating activities. But, some migrants voluntarily return for personal reasons such as illness, frustrations and dissatisfaction with their jobs in abroad.

• There is another type of migrants in Bangladesh who return unwillingly or due to absence of alternate options. Awful work environment, physical, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, wage discrimination, overtime jobs, fines and imprisonment for illegitimate employment and lack of healthcare provision are some reasons for involuntarily return of Bangladeshi migrants.

• Impact on migrant’s family: positive and negative

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Cost of migration: Ratio of cost per person and GDP per capita

Cost of migration: ratio of cost per person and GDP per capitaSource: Khatiwada (2013) based on IILS calculations.

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Positive impacts of Remittance

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% o

f GDP

Export

Remittance

External assistance

Export+remittance

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Macroeconomic and Poverty Impacts of Remittances in Bangladesh

• Khondker and Raihan (2009): use of CGE model• Raihan et al (2009): use of disaggregated household

data and CGE model• Raihan and Uddin (2011): use of CGE model• Raihan and Sugiyarto (2012): use of primary

household survey data and CGE model: GEC and macro-micro mismatch

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Economic Impact of Remittance: A SAM Multiplier Analysis

• Social Accounting Matrix of Bangladesh for the year 2007

• SAM Multiplier model• A simulation of 10% rise in remittance

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Impact on Sectoral Production

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Impact on GDP and Household consumption

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Impact on Employment

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Rules and Regulations for Overseas Employment/Migration Process

Emigration Ordinance1982• The Ordinance was designed to set the rules for governing

the labor migration sector.

• The Ordinance elaborates the licensing and monitoring mechanisms of recruiting agencies.

• It also explicitly describes the punishment of individuals and private recruiting agencies involved in fraudulent practices.

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Overseas Employment Policy in 2006

• The policy focused on protecting rights of the expatriate workers at home and abroad, preserving the existing market and exploring newer job markets, and welfare of the expatriates.

• The policy stressed enhancing professional skills of the workers going abroad, transparency in recruitment process, sending remittances through legal process and maintaining good behavior and discipline on part of the expatriate workers.

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Overseas Employment and Migration Act, 2013

• Upgraded the Overseas Employment Ordinance 1982• Revision of the provision of filing case against

fraudulence.

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Female Migration Policies in Bangladesh• In the early 1970s: No concrete policy.• In 1981: ban on female migration. • In 1988: withdrawing the ban and allowed female migration

for special cases and under special permission.• In 1997: re imposed a complete ban except few categories ‐

such as doctors, engineers and teachers.• In 2003: Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas

Employment (MoEWOE) brought some changes in female labor migration policy which allowed unskilled or semi skilled ‐women to migrate under special permission once they become 35 years of age.

• In 2006: government further relaxed female migration.

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Policy Implications• Effective actions against illegal activities of private recruiting

agencies. • Upgrading the syllabuses of the schools, technical institutions

and universities to synchronize with the global labor market trends and demands, specially for female migrants.

• To reduce human trafficking, local awareness campaigns, information on safe migration , shelter homes, counseling and protective measures should be available to women.

• Loan system to finance the cost of migration. Migrants can pay back by giving certain portion of remittances regularly.

• Bangladesh Bank should adopt a more liberal policy both for public and private banks to facilitate easy and quick money transfer by the expatriate workers and stop hundi.

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Policy Implications• Need to shape a comprehensive migration policy reflecting all

kinds of migration, i.e., short term, long term, and migration.• The role of institutions related to migration should be

enhanced.• A databank on migrants.• Social protection and health services should be increased to

prohibit contracting diseases such as HIV/AIDS.• Expert bodies and civil society organizations may organize

consultation meetings with local trade unions to familiarize them with migrant workers issues such as exploitation of workers during migration processing phase and violence faced in abroad.

• Measures for productive use of remittance

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Conclusions

• The trend, pattern and outcomes of migration can shape the development of Bangladesh

• Migration has positive impacts in terms of remittances and return of skill and knowledge. However, it might have a detrimental impact on the development of the economy, if the social cost of migration is too high.

• The main concern is to take right measures in the current migration policy.

• Also, in the major economic policies and program, such as Five Year Plan, migration issues should be integrated as a mainstream issue, which is currently absent.