Reports

Russia’s war against Ukraine and the international sanctions introduced against the former have had an unexpectedly mild impact on Central Asia, despite the region’s deep economic dependence on its northern neighbour. Notwithstanding high inflation, the five Central Asian states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – have so far shown surprising resilience to the economic headwinds: remittances registered record-high figures in the first half of 2022, national currencies quickly rebounded to pre-war levels after an initial drop, and an influx of skilled workers boosted demand for services and hospitality. However, as the medium-term effects of the sanctions against Russia, the global cost-of-living crisis, and China’s economic slowdown start to unfold, Central Asia is faced with lingering uncertainty. This publication provides an assessment of the short-term effects of Russia’s war on Central Asian economies and the policy responses provided. It also analyses the challenges ahead and formulates policy recommendations to make Central Asian economies more resilient and diversified.

Norway’s foreign-born population has tripled since 2000, and the share of migrants among the population has seen one of the largest increases across the OECD, mostly driven by labour migration from EU countries. Most migrants from non-EU countries, in contrast, are refugees and their family members. High qualification levels and labour market participation of the native-born raise the question of an adequate benchmark for integration outcomes, especially for the low-educated refugees and their families. Against this backdrop, Norway puts significant investment into integration, and a number of recent reforms have been aimed at strengthening the system. This review, the third in a series on the skills and labour market integration of immigrants and their children, provides an assessment of these reforms and the remaining challenges. It includes an overview of Norway’s integration services – and the many substantial changes in recent years – as well as challenges in access and uptake of integration offers, activation programmes and outcomes of native-born children of immigrants in Norway. Earlier reviews in this series looked at integration in Sweden (2016) and Finland (2018).

The 2022 edition of International Migration Outlook analyses recent developments in migration movements and the labour market inclusion of immigrants in OECD countries. It also monitors recent policy changes in migration governance and integration in OECD countries. This edition includes a special chapter on the policy responses by OECD countries to the large inflow of refugees from Ukraine as well as a series of three short chapters on international students analysing respectively recent trends, attraction and retention policies as well as the economic impact of international students. The Outlook also includes country notes and a detailed statistical annex.

This review provides policy recommendations on how to improve the Korean pension system, building on the OECD’s best practices in pension design. It details the key features of the Korean pension system and identifies its strengths and weaknesses based on cross-country comparisons. The Korean pension system consists of a mandatory pay-as-you-go public scheme, occupational schemes and voluntary individual schemes. The review also covers the first layer of old-age social protection in Korea. This review is the eighth in the series of OECD Reviews of Pension Systems.

In recent years, Indonesia has undergone major economic, social and political transformations. Given the significant emigration of the Indonesian population and the recognition of the contributions of the diaspora, Indonesian authorities are seeking to better understand this pool of talent residing abroad, which has great potential to contribute to the economic and social development of Indonesia. This review provides the first comprehensive portrait of the Indonesian diaspora in OECD countries. By profiling Indonesian emigrants, this review aims to strengthen knowledge about this community and thus help to consolidate the relevance of the policies deployed by Indonesia towards its emigrants.

In recent years, Georgia has undergone important economic, social and political transformations. Given the significant emigration of the Georgian population and the recognition of the contributions of the diaspora, Georgian authorities are seeking to better understand this pool of talent residing abroad, which has great potential to contribute to the economic and social development of Georgia. This review provides the first comprehensive portrait of Georgian emigrants in OECD countries. By profiling Georgian emigrants, this review aims to strengthen knowledge about this community and thus help to consolidate the relevance of the policies deployed by Georgia towards its emigrants.

In recent years, Ghana has undergone major economic, social and political transformations. Given the significant emigration of the Ghanaian population and the recognition of the contributions of the diaspora, Ghanaian authorities are seeking to better understand this pool of talent residing abroad, which has great potential to contribute to the economic and social development of Ghana. This review provides the first comprehensive portrait of the Ghanaian diaspora in OECD countries. By profiling Ghanaian emigrants, this review aims to strengthen knowledge about this community and thus help to consolidate the relevance of the policies deployed by Ghana towards its emigrants.

Labor Migration in Asia: COVID-19 Impacts, Challenges, and Policy Responses analyzes labor migration trends in Asia and puts them in the context of economic and policy developments as well as the changes caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It provides an overview of the labor migration trends to and from different Asian economies and looks at policy settings in major origin and destination economies of labor migrants. Chapter 1 reviews the recent regional trends, including evidence on the impact of the pandemic on flows and remittances. Chapter 2 looks at the available data on migrant job losses and COVID-19 infections, as well as policy responses to the pandemic in the key areas of access to health, occupational safety and health, housing, social protection, and the resumption of labor migration. Chapter 3 focuses on the return and reintegration challenges and policy responses in the wake of the pandemic. This report draws on the discussions that took place at the '11th ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on Labor Migration: Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic and Building Back Better,' held virtually in April 2021. The event, co-organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Labour Organization, brought together regional experts and policy makers. The report provides up-to-date comparative statistics on labor migration flows in, to, and from Asia. Two statistical annexes offer detailed economy fact sheets and coverage of intra-Asia and cross-regional migration flows.

This report presents the latest information on the nature and scope of the refugee crisis as well as the policy response in OECD countries. The latter covers information on the entry and stay conditions for Ukrainian nationals as well as information on the reception support available in terms of housing, subsistence means, and access to social services and to integration measures.

With many regions in OECD countries facing declining working age populations, the geographical dimension of migration has become crucial for regional development. Where migrants settle within countries and how much they contribute to the local economies are important questions for policy makers. This report aims to address these questions using two novel datasets that offer internationally comparable information on migration and migrants' labour market integration across cities, towns and rural areas in OECD countries. The report also analyses different dimensions of regional development and provides new evidence on how migrants contribute to regional income, innovation, international trade and labour markets.