Reports

This report shows how criminal economies and illicit financial flows through and within West Africa affect people’s lives. It goes beyond the traditional analysis of illicit financial flows, which focuses on the value of monetary flows. The report exposes the ways in which criminal and illicit activities and resulting illicit financial flows damage governance, the economy, development and security. It presents case studies based on concrete examples from West Africa of human trafficking, drug smuggling, counterfeit goods, gold mining and terrorism financing. It identifies networks and drivers – in the region or elsewhere – that allow these criminal economies to thrive, by feeding and facilitating these activities and the circulation of illicitly-obtained revenue. It also examines the impacts on local communities, such as changes in wealth distribution, power dynamics and the degree to which illicit money undermines social organisation.

This book proposes a policy framework for both source and destination countries of illicit flows that looks beyond the concerns of developed countries to enhance development prospects at the local level and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable stakeholders. Combating criminal economies and preventing illicit financial flows will require sustained partnerships between producing and consuming countries. West Africa cannot be expected to address these challenges alone.

Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in the Dominican Republic is the result of a project carried out by the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Sociales (CIES) in the Dominican Republic and the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the Ministerio de Economía, Planificación y Desarollo (MEPD) and with support from the European Union. The project aimed to provide policy makers with evidence on the way migration influences specific sectors – the labour market, agriculture, education, investment and financial services and social protection and health – and, in turn, how sectoral policies affect migration. The report addresses four dimensions of the migration cycle that have become an important part of the country's social and economic contexts: emigration, remittances, return and immigration.

The results of the empirical work confirm that even though migration contributes to development in the Dominican Republic, the potential of migration is not fully exploited. One explanation is that many policy makers in the Dominican Republic do not sufficiently take migration into account in their respective policy areas. The Dominican Republic therefore needs to adopt a more coherent policy agenda to do more to integrate migration into development strategies, improve co-ordination mechanisms and strengthen international co-operation. This would enhance the contribution of migration to development in the country.

The OECD series Making Integration Work draws on key lessons from the OECD’s work on integration. 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 second volume deals with the assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications.

Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in the Philippines is the result of a project carried out by the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC) and the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and with support from the European Union. The project aimed to provide policy makers with evidence on the way migration influences specific sectors – the labour market, agriculture, education and investment and financial services – and, in turn, how sectoral policies affect migration. The report addresses three dimensions of the migration cycle that have become an important part of the country's social and economic contexts: emigration, remittances and return.

The results of the empirical work confirm that even though migration contributes to the development of the Philippines, the potential of migration is not fully exploited. One explanation is that, despite its advancement in understanding the link between migration and development which is reflected in the Philippine Development Plan, not all policy makers in the Philippines take migration sufficiently into account in their respective policy areas. The Philippines therefore needs to adopt a more coherent policy agenda and better integrate migration into their sectoral strategies to enhance the contribution of migration to development in the country.

The present report on Japan is the seventh report in the Investing in Youth series. In three statistical chapters, the report provides an overview of the labour market situation of young people in Japan, presents a portrait of young people who are not in employment, education or training (the NEETs) and analyses the income situation of young people in Japan. Two policy chapters provide recommendations on how Japan can improve the school-to-work transition of disadvantaged young people, and on how employment, social and training programmes can help the NEETs find their way back into education or work.

Earlier reviews in the same series have looked at youth policies in Brazil (2014), Latvia and Tunisia (2015), Australia, Lithuania and Sweden (2016).

Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in Armenia is the result of a project carried out by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC-Armenia) and the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the State Migration Service (SMS) and with support from the European Union. The project aimed to provide policy makers with evidence on the way migration influences specific sectors – the labour market, agriculture, education and investment and financial services – and, in turn, how sectoral policies affect migration. The report addresses three dimensions of the migration cycle that have become an important part of the country's social and economic contexts: emigration, remittances and return. The results of the empirical work confirm that even though migration contributes to the development of Armenia, the potential of migration is not fully exploited. One explanation is that many policy makers in Armenia do not sufficiently take migration into account in their respective policy areas. Armenia therefore needs to adopt a more coherent policy agenda to do more to integrate migration into development strategies, improve co-ordination mechanisms and strengthen international co-operation. This would enhance the contribution of migration to development in the country.

Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in Cambodia is the result of a project carried out by the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and with support from the European Union.  The project aimed to provide policy makers with evidence on the way migration influences specific sectors – the labour market, agriculture, education and investment and financial services – and, in turn, how sectoral policies affect migration. The report addresses three dimensions of the migration cycle that have become an important part of the country's social and economic contexts: emigration, remittances and return.

The results of the empirical work confirm that even though migration contributes to the development of Cambodia, the potential of migration is not fully exploited. One explanation is that migration only appears to a very limited extent in the National Strategic Development Plan. Many policy makers in Cambodia do not sufficiently take migration into account in their respective policy areas. Cambodia therefore needs to adopt a more coherent policy agenda to do more to integrate migration into its National Strategic Development Plan, improve co-ordination mechanisms and strengthen international co-operation. This would enhance the contribution of migration to development in the country.

Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in Georgia is the result of a project carried out by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC-Georgia) and the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the State Commission on Migration Issues (SCMI) and with support from the European Union. The project aimed to provide policy makers with evidence on the way migration influences specific sectors – the labour market, agriculture, education and investment and financial services – and, in turn, how sectoral policies affect migration. The report addresses three dimensions of the migration cycle that have changed remarkably in Georgia over the last 20 years: emigration, remittances and return.

The results of the empirical work confirm that even though migration contributes to the development of Georgia, the potential of migration is not fully exploited. One explanation is that, despite headway in the field of migration and development through the creation of the SCMI, not all policy makers in Georgia take migration sufficiently into account in their respective policy areas. Georgian authorities therefore need to adopt a more coherent policy agenda and better integrate migration into their sectoral strategies to enhance the contribution of migration to development in the country.

This report points to the growing number of labor migrants in Asia and examines the policy question of how to best safeguard their rights. Governments and stakeholders in both origin and destination countries have largely recognized their mutual interest in safeguarding labor migrants. Multilateral frameworks have also put this in focus, with safe and orderly migration seen as important. This report examines some of the key policy questions in protecting migrant workers, including how to promote fair recruitment of less skilled workers, and how to address vulnerable groups such as irregular migrants and domestic workers. The four chapters in this report draw on issues raised and discussed during the Sixth Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia: Safeguarding Labor Migrants from Home to Workplace that was held in Tokyo from 3 to 5 February 2016. The event brought together regional experts and policy makers and was co-organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Labour Organization. The report’s introductory chapter reviews recent regional migration trends. Two statistical annexes provide an overview of migration flows within Asia and between Asia and other regions.