Publications & Documents

The OECD series Making Integration Work draws on key lessons from the OECD’s work on integration, particularly the Jobs for Immigrants country reviews series. The objective is to summarise in a non-technical way the main challenges and good policy practices to support the lasting integration of immigrants and their children for selected key groups and domains of integration.  Each volume presents ten lessons and examples of good practice, complemented by synthetic comparisons of the integration policy frameworks in OECD countries. This first volume deals with refugees and others in need of protection, referred to as humanitarian migrants.

Colombia has made major economic and social advances in recent years. The combination of strong economic growth and policies targeted at the most vulnerable groups improved considerably the living standards of the Colombian population. Today, the country enjoys higher employment and labour force participation rates than the average of OECD countries and unemployment is steadily declining. Nevertheless, despite these positive trends, deep structural problems remain. Labour informality is widespread, the rate of self-employment is high and many employees have non-regular contracts. Income inequality is higher than in any OECD country and redistribution through taxes and benefits is almost negligible. In addition, half a century of internal conflict and violence has displaced a significant part of the population, and many of them are living in extreme poverty. Despite considerable progress, violence continues to be a challenge and also affects trade union members and leaders. The Colombian Government has undertaken important reforms in recent years to address these labour market and social challenges, and the efforts are gradually paying off. However, further progress is needed to enhance the quality of jobs and well-being for all. The main trust of this report is to support the Colombian Government in tackling labour market duality, generate trust between the social partners, develop inclusive and active social policies, and get the most out of international migration.

This publication describes the size and characteristics of emigrant populations by origin countries with a special focus on educational attainment and labour force status. It offers origin countries a detailed picture of the size and composition of their diasporas, as well as their evolution since 2000. It contains an overview chapter and six regional chapters, covering: Asia and Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean; OECD countries; Non-OECD European and Central Asian countries; Middle East and North Africa; and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Regional chapters are followed by a regional note and country notes.