1. 1. Why this essay? It is customary for the author on return migration to complain about the lack of theoretical and empirical knowledge on his sub ject. Three recent general handbooks on the sociology of migra tion Jackson (1969), Jansen (1970) and Albrecht (1972), pro duce together no more than 10 sources on return migration. The by Mangalam (1968), although extensive migration bibliography giving no less than 2051 titles, still comes up with no more than 10 sources. I t is true that not so many books and articles are de voted exclusively to return migration: Appleyard (1962a, 1962b), Cerase (1967,1970), Committee ... (1967), Davison, B. (1968), Dietzel (1971), Elizur (1973), Feindt & Browning (1972), Form & Rivera (1958), Frohlich & Schade (1966), Hernandez-Alvarez (1967,1968), Kraak (1957a, 1957b, 1958), Kayser (1972), Myers & Masnick (1968), Migration News (1969), Mc Donald (1963), O.E. CD. (1967a, 1967b), Patterson. H.O. (1968), Richmond (1967a, 1967b, 1968), Richardson (1968), Saloutos (1956), Stark (1967b), Vanderkamp (1972), Vagts (1960) and Wilder-Okladek (1969). But this does not imply that no further research has been done and that therefore every new student of return migration had to begin from scratch. In numerous studies on emigration, migrant labour, immigration, integration and assimilation, room has been made for a chapter or a paragraph on "those who re turned" or "the migrant's return". I've found the demographical periodicalPopulation Index relatively useful in tracing the subject. 1. 2

The research reports and statements by government representives contained in this volume were presented at the Policy Workshop on International Migration in Asia and the Pacific held at Bangkok from 15-21 October 1985. The workshop was the final activity of a 2-year Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) project on international migration policy in Asia and the Pacific, funded by the UN Fund for Population Activities. The 2nd phase of the project includes the studies reported in this volume, which were intended to be exploratory. They were meant to assess the current state of knowledge regarding return migration and to identify critical issues that would require further investigation. 5 of the studies are concerned with return migration from temporary employment, primarily in the Middle East. Because many of the labor-sending countries of the Mediterranean basin experienced a rapid expansion of labor emigration (largely to northern and western Europe) and a contraction of the flow and increase in return migration prior to current trends in Asian labor migration, it was felt that a background paper on that experience would be value to policy makers in the ESCAP region. Migration from the Pacific sub-region of ESCAP is both of more variable duration and less heavily labor-oriented than temporary migration from Asian countries to the Middle East. The workshop's objectives were 1. to bring together researchers and policy makers to review carefully the results of the 7 studies carried out as part of the project, 2. to relate the research findings to feasible government policies for the reintegration of returning labor migrants, and 3. to make and disseminate policy recommendations to governments in the ESCAP region.

The European Union (EU) is one of the most favored destinations for immigrants in the world. The subject of migration has been moving up the policy agenda of the EU for some time now. This increasing emphasis will continue with the EU 2020 (post-Lisbon) Strategy, which refers to the potential contribution of migration to EU growth and promotes the idea of labor mobility. Faced with an aging population, possible labor and skills shortages in the economies, and the need to compete for talent with countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States, the EU is beginning to see legal migration as an opportunity and is thus taking a more proactive approach toward it. 'Migration and Skills: The Experience of Migrant Workers from Albania, Egypt, Moldova, and Tunisia' aims to unravel the complex relationship between migration and skills development. Based upon extensive field surveys carried out by the European Training Foundation and joint analysis of data with the World Bank, the book paints a precise picture of potential and returning migrants from four very different countries two traditional (Egypt, Tunisia) and two new (Albania, Moldova) sending countries. It describes the skills these migrants possess, the extent to which migrants are able to use their skills and training while abroad, and the impact that the experience of migration has on their skills development. The book also offers suggestions on how the governments of countries sending migrants and countries receiving them could move towards more eff ective policies for managing legal migration flows. Policies that address the increasingly circular nature of migration benefit all parties involved. By studying the phenomenon of migration in detail, 'Migration and Skills: The Experience of Migrant Workers from Albania, Egypt, Moldova, and Tunisia' seeks to promote a better understanding of the human faces behind migration: who they are and what they can offer, both to their host countries and their origin countries to which they return.

This book, originally published in 1986, based on extensive original research, presents many findings on the phenomenon of return migration and on its impact on regional economic development. It remains the only study of its kind. International in scope, the book includes chapters on return migration in Italy, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Jordan, Canada, Jamaica, Algeria and the Middle East.

The survey of returning migrant workers to profile them has been carried out by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, with technical support from the International Labour Organization and facilitation by the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training. The Bangladesh Employers' Federation too assisted in designing the survey. The survey was conducted under the ILO programme for "Promoting Decent Work through Improved Migration Policy and its Application in Bangladesh". This programme, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, is aimed to help improve overall governance of labour migration in Bangladesh. Supporting the workers, especially, those who return under difficult conditions, has been subject of consideration and a matter of assistance by the government for a while. It is also an issue, which has emerged as one requiring attention not only of the government but also of the private sector, particularly, those sectors which are in need of experienced workforce and would benefit from further enterprise development. In order to plan future activities to support the workers coming back, the ILO and its constituents worked towards the felt-need to define further the profile of the returning migrant workers. This report is being brought out in belief that the survey findings and discussions on labour and entrepreneurship demand would encourage public and private sector organizations to come forward to optimize benefits from return migration.