This document reports on the Policy Workshop on International Migration in Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, October 15-21, 1985), which was organized and funded by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the UN Fund for Population Activities, and whose objectives were to 1) review the results of 7 studies initiated at a similar conference the preceding year, 2) relate the research findings to government policies for return migrant reintegration, and 3) make and disseminate policy recommendations to ESCAP regional governments. The subjects of the 7 studies concerned 1) decision making processes and the value orientation of return migrants, 2) Korean migrants returning from the Middle East, 3) return migration in Mediterranean basin countries, 4) return migration in Sri Lanka, 5) Thai return migration, 6) Filipino return workers, and 7) return migration's effects on a Tongan village. Conference attendees came from Australia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, and Italy. The workshop concentrated on migrants returning from jobs in the Middle East, since in 1983, 3.5 million ESCAP overseas workers were employed in that region. The workshop's agenda included 1) return migration measurement, 2) government and private company policies, 3) reintegration of return workers, 4) return migration in Mediterranean basin countries; 5) the village level impact of international migration, and 6) policy formulation for return migrants. The most important recommmendations made by the workshop were that 1) a major study should be undertaken to ascertain the numbers and skills of migrant workers in the Middle Eastern receiving countries, 2) this study should estimate future Middle Eastern labor demand, in terms of volume and skills, and 3) the study should be conducted under appropriate experts appointed by the ESCAP secretariat, and should report their findings as soon as possible.

Against a background of past, limited examples of international cooperation, and ambitious hopes for extensive future efforts, this volume puts two related questions to the empirical test: under which conditions are states prepared to cooperate over international migration, and what form - bilateral, multilateral, formal, informal - will this cooperation take?

The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region has an international emigrant population of more than 21 million people who remitted US$112 billion to their home countries in 2013. The region also hosts more than 7 million migrant workers, mostly from other Asian countries. These migrant workers account for 20 percent or more of the labor force in economies such as Malaysia and Singapore and thus play a significant role in the economies of the labor-receiving countries. An aging population in many East Asian countries will create significant labor shortages, leading to greater demand for migrant workers. For these reasons, international labor mobility is emerging as an important development issue in East Asia, with important implications for reducing poverty and supporting sustainable economic development in the region. In this context, International Migration and Development in East Asia and the Pacific analyzes the impact of migration on development of the EAP region and examines how international migration should be managed in East Asia in a way that supports development goals while simultaneously protecting the rights of migrants. The study covers trends in international migration in East Asia and overarching regional issues such as the links between macroeconomic management and remittances and the role of demographic trends in migration; the economic impact of migration and remittances on labor-sending countries and labor-receiving countries; the migration industry; and the policies and institutions that govern migration. This report shows that in labor-sending countries remittances help reduce poverty significantly by increasing income for migrants’ families. At the country level, remittances have a significant role in helping finance trade deficits and in bolstering reserves, not only in the small Pacific Island economies but also in large economies such as Vietnam and the Philippines. For labor-receiving countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong SAR, China, migrant workers form a significant part of the workforce, especially in labor-intensive manufacturing, construction, plantation agriculture, fishing, and household services. Migrant workers thus help relieve labor shortages, boost output, and maintain competitiveness. The role of migrant workers will become more important in the future given the rapid population aging in many labor-receiving East Asian countries. Given these factors, the key question concerning international migration in East Asia and the Pacific is not whether it is desirable but how it should be managed in the future. International Migration and Development in East Asia and the Pacific discusses a range of policy options in both labor-sending and labor-receiving countries to address this question.

Number 7 in the TPacific Policy Papers' series, this is a summary of the effects of migration and labour export on the two Pacific island economies over the last 15-20 years. Includes tables, statistics and a bibliography.

This edited collection captures the intersection between migration, mobility and childhood studies. Contributors explore under-researched child and youth short-term and micro movements within major migration fluxes that occur in response to migration and global change.