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Country studies

Armenia

The report shows that in Armenia the share of people planning to emigrate is much lower amongst those who benefit from vocational training. Given the lowest skilled occupational group is more likely to plan to emigrate, vocational training programmes may promote upward labour mobility in the domestic labour market and reduce incentives to look for jobs abroad. Remarkably, this is in contrast with the general pattern observed in the other countries surveyed, where such programmes tend to reinforce incentives to migrate.

Dominican Republic

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.

Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, emigrants make up between 8% and 10% of the country’s population (about 90% of them live in Côte d’Ivoire) and remittances have grown from 1% of GDP in 2009 to 4% in 2015. At the same time, many Burkinabè returned or immigrated (for those born there) from Côte d’Ivoire during the decade-long conflict in that country. For this contribution to be fully exploited, the effects of migration on the various sectors have to be systematically taken into account in the process of policymaking, and the same about the effects of sectoral policies on migration. To that end, Burkina Faso adopted a migration strategy in early 2017, providing guidance for public authorities to best enhance the value of migration for the country.

Georgia

Migrants and the remittances they send make a positive contribution to the development of their countries of origin. In Georgia, remittances grew by more than 500% between 2004 and 2014. For this contribution to be fully exploited, the effects of migration on the various sectors have to be systematically taken into account in the process of policymaking, and the same about the effects of sectoral policies on migration. To that end, Georgia created the SCMI in 2010 and developed two migration strategies, respectively in 2013 and in 2016, providing guidance for public authorities to best enhance the value of migration for the country.

Cambodia

Emigration is a significant and growing phenomenon for Cambodia. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of Cambodians abroad increased by about 160%, from around half a million to 1.2 million people. The country would benefit from strengthening its whole-of-government approach to making migration an integral part of its overall development strategies. The way migration affects development is not straightforward. Through various dimensions – emigration, remittances and return migration – migration has both positive and negative effects on key sectors of the Cambodian economy. Similarly, sectoral policies have unexpected and sometimes contradictory impacts on migration and its related development outcomes.

Haiti

Les résultats des travaux empiriques confirment que les migrations contribuent au développement d'Haïti. Cependant, le potentiel des migrations n’est pas pleinement exploité dans le pays, notamment parce que les décideurs ne prennent pas suffisamment en compte les migrations dans leurs domaines d’action respectifs. Haïti doit donc adopter un programme d’action plus cohérent pour intégrer les migrations dans les stratégies de développement, améliorer les mécanismes de coordination et renforcer la coopération internationale. Cela permettra d’accroître la contribution des migrations au développement du pays.

Côte d'Ivoire

L’immigration a des effets plutôt neutres sur la plupart des résultats économiques de la Côte d’Ivoire. Selon le rapport, malgré leur faible niveau moyen d’instruction, les immigrés semblent assez bien intégrés dans le marché du travail. Ils affichent un taux de participation à la main-d’œuvre plus élevé, accompagné d’un taux de chômage plus faible, que la population autochtone. Ils présentent également des revenus similaires. La présence d’immigrés ne semblent pas détériorer le taux d’emploi ni les revenus des autochtones.

Maroc

Les résultats des travaux empiriques confirment que les migrations contribuent au développement du Maroc. Cependant, le potentiel des migrations pourrait être davantage exploité dans le pays, notamment en prenant plus en compte les migrations dans les domaines d’action de plusieurs ministères. Le Maroc doit continuer ses démarches pour adopter un programme d’action plus cohérent et mieux intégrer les migrations dans les stratégies de développement. Cela permettra d’accroître la contribution des migrations au développement du pays

Costa Rica

The results of the empirical work confirm that migration contributes to the development of Costa Rica, but the potential of migration is not fully exploited. One explanation is that, despite the acknowledgement of the links between migration and development in recent legislation and policy, policy makers in Costa Rica do not sufficiently take migration into account in all respective policy areas. Costa Rica therefore needs to adopt a more coherent policy agenda to better integrate migration into development strategies, improve co-ordination mechanisms and strengthen international co-operation, to enhance the contribution of migration to development in the country.

Philippines‌

International migration is at the core of economic and social development in the Philippines. Policy making has evolved from a primary concern to increase overseas employment opportunities to an emphasis on migrant protection and on the linkages with development. In the Philippines the share of people planning to emigrate is higher amongst those who benefit from vocational training. When the training does not match the needs of the local labour market, beneficiaries tend to look for employment opportunities abroad. In contrast, when government employment agencies provide better information on domestic job opportunities, they improve the functioning of a country’s labour markets, which tends to curb emigration.