Table Of Content«
Migration and the Labour Market in Asia
RECENT TRENDS AND POLICIES Migration and the
This publication presents an analysis of recent trends in migration movements and policies in Asia. Labour Market in Asia
It highlights the contribution of immigration to the labour force and describes the changes that have
taken place in the sectoral distribution of foreign workers. Particular attention is paid to human
resource development and mobility against the background of the "new economy".
RECENT TRENDS AND POLICIES
The book provides individual reviews of recent developments in migration trends and policies in
Australia, China, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam. Detailed statistics on the inflow and stocks of foreign workers and information M
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concerning their situation on the labour market enable meaningful cross country-comparisons. g
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THE JAPAN INSTITUTE OF LABOUR
81 2002 02 1 P -:HSTCQE=V^[^V^:
Migration and the Labour
Market in Asia
RECENT TRENDS AND POLICIES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
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© OECD 2002
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FOREWORD
The impact of economic growth on employment opportunities in Asian labour markets and
on international migration has been the general theme of a series of workshops for policy makers and
experts organised by the Japan Institute of Labour, with the co-operation of the Japanese Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The seventh workshop in the series was held on
1-2 February 2001. The aim of this workshop was to examine the current situation regarding
international migration and related policies in Asian countries, and to facilitate the exchange of
knowledge and information between the region’s policy makers and experts.
The workshop began with a keynote report by Professor Philip Martin of the University of
California, followed by reports by Mr. Jean-Pierre Garson of OECD and Mr. Manolo Abella of ILO.
The session focussed on recent developments in international migration and human resource
development against the background of the so-called “new economy”. The opening special session
was then followed by three sessions which drew heavily on the individual country reports. In the
discussion, information on immigration, emigration, and policy-making processes in each country
were share. Evidence was presented on ICT impacts in the economic and labour market trends and of
difficulties in formulating migration policy. Some countries were recovering from the negative effects
of the 1997 financial crisis, thanks in part to increased exports by ICT-intensive sectors. However,
this recovery was still fragile. Regarding the policy-making process, the varying stages of economic
development and different political systems in each country are obstacle to find a common and
efficient way of arriving at co-ordinated policies. However, the discussion concluded that co-
ordinated policies are needed in order to secure the orderly movement of migrants and uphold their
human rights.
This publication intends to provide the world at large with information and data concerning
migration trends and policies in Asia. It is the fruit of close collaboration between the Japan Institute
of Labour, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the ILO, the OECD Directorate for
Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (DEELSA) and the OECD Centre for Co-
operation with Non-Members (CCNM), and is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-
General of the OECD.
Tadashi Hanami
Chairman
Japan Institute of Labour
© OECD 2001 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
by Graeme Hugo.................................................................................................................................7
Part I. New Trends in Economic Development and International Migration
1. Economic Trends and Professional Labour Migration: US Experience and
Implications for Asia
by Philip Martin................................................................................................................................19
2. International Migration and Labour Market Developments: A Survey of Trends and
Major Issues
by Manolo I. Abella..........................................................................................................................45
Part II. Country Studies
3. Australia
by Graeme Hugo...............................................................................................................................65
4. China
by Zhang Feng................................................................................................................................127
5. Hong Kong (China)
by Stephen W.K. Chiu....................................................................................................................141
6. Indonesia
by Suahasil Nazara..........................................................................................................................171
7. Japan
by Yasushi Iguchi...........................................................................................................................183
8. Korea
by Kil-Sang Yoo and Soo-Bong Uh.................................................................................................215
9. Malaysia
by Azizah Kassim...........................................................................................................................231
10. The Philippines
by Stella P. Go................................................................................................................................257
11. Singapore
by Mui-Teng Yap............................................................................................................................281
12. Thailand
by Yongyuth Chalamwong..............................................................................................................289
13. Vietnam
by Cu Chi Loi.................................................................................................................................309
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................337
© OECD 2001 5
INTRODUCTION
by
Graeme Hugo
Professor of Geography and Director
The National Key Centre for Social Applications of Geographical Information Systems (Gisca)
Adelaide University
In 2000 the Asian economies continued to recover from the effects of the Asian currency
crisis. With this recovery has come an increase in the demand for foreign workers. This volume
analyses the developments in migration in ten of the major sending and receiving nations in the Asian
region and examines the migration policy issues facing them. An issue of growing significance in the
region as well as globally is the increasing involvement of highly-skilled workers, especially
information and communication technologies (ICT) workers in international labour migration. The
world-wide shortage of ICT workers has seen increasing international competition for workers highly
trained in these areas. In many highly-skilled professions, labour markets are becoming increasingly
international; international migration has therefore assumed greater significance.
This introduction outlines the major macro-economic developments in the region and their
effects on international migration, as well as current migration policy issues; in so doing, it aims to
provide the background information necessary for appreciating the reports included in this volume. It
must be pointed out at the outset that international migration data in the region suffer from a number
of limitations: while some nations, notably Japan, Korea and Australia have detailed accurate data on
both stocks and flows of international migrants, the data from several others, especially the sending
nations, is quite limited. Indeed, in several nations the available data on general labour market
developments are limited and for international migration are especially weak. Data on labour
migration are generally maintained by Labour Departments and suffer from several deficiencies, most
notably the non-inclusion of undocumented migrants who in any case probably outnumber those who
pass through official channels. Although the data for the region are not complete, they are nevertheless
sufficient to indicate the major trends and to reflect accurately the migration experience of the
countries in the region.
Asia as a source of international migrants
It was estimated in 2000 that 60.6% of the world’s population lived in Asia (United Nations,
2001). Moreover, it has an even higher percentage of the world’s labour force, accounting for almost
two-thirds (see Chapter 2 in this volume). This difference is a function of the region’s age structure
(see Hugo, 1998). Asia is therefore the world’s largest potential reservoir of international migrants.
Moreover, while it is a vast and heterogeneous region with countries differing greatly in their stage of
the demographic transition and in their contemporary labour market situations, it contains the world’s
largest labour surplus nations. China alone is estimated to have 130 million agricultural workers
© OECD 2001 7
Migration and the Labour Market in Asia: Recent Trends and Policies
surplus to the requirements of that sector (see Chapter 2). It is therefore not surprising that Asians are
becoming an increasingly important component of immigrant communities in “North” countries.
Nevertheless, because of vastly different labour market conditions between Asian nations,
international migration within Asia is assuming increased significance as is evidenced in many of the
papers in this volume.
Abella (Chapter 2) presents further indications of the extent to which Asia is a potential
source of international migrants. He shows that despite the economic crisis, unemployment in Asia
increased at a rate below the global average between 1995 and 2000. This is, however, largely a
reflection of the fact that in most Asian countries the vast majority of people are not covered by
unemployment insurance and therefore cannot afford to be unemployed and will as a consequence
accept any work, regardless of income or status. Abella points out that changes in real wages are a
more sensitive indicator of the labour market impact of the crisis. He finds that on this criterion only
Korea has enjoyed a full revival to pre-crisis levels. Underemployment remains a massive problem
throughout the area. Moreover, despite substantial declines in fertility rates, labour force growth is
much higher than population growth because the effects of fertility decline have yet to fully flow
through to influence the labour force ages.
In the OECD Member countries, employment demand is greatest at the extremes of the
labour market. On the one hand there is a shortage in certain skilled areas, especially in information
technology, management, engineering, technology and research. Labour markets have become
international and countries are now competing to attract people with the requisite skills needed to
drive the new economy and to enhance international competitiveness. At the other end of the labour
market, the new economy is creating a large number of low-skilled, low status, insecure and poorly
paid jobs often involving ununionised labour, out of hours work and fractionalised time. Such jobs
tend to be eschewed by the native workforce, even those who have limited skills and have been
displaced from blue collar and routinised white collar jobs by structural change, automisation,
computerisation and the moving of manufacturing and lower level white collar jobs offshore. Even in
situations of unemployment they often are reluctant to enter these parts of the labour market which
therefore tend to become dominated by immigrant groups. The context in Asia is such that it would be
able to supply the demands created at both ends of the labour market were a mode of entry into the
OECD nations to be arranged. On the one hand, there are substantial numbers of underemployed,
unskilled and low-skilled workers in Asia for whom international migration is within their calculus of
choice in considering their life chances. On the other hand, there have been massive strides made in
education in most Asian nations so that there is a ready supply of emigrants in the skilled area. This is
especially the case where there are mismatches in domestic labour markets between the large numbers
of persons trained in some areas and the small number of local job opportunities. Moreover, the
remuneration that graduates can get locally often cannot compete with those offered in OECD
Member countries while in some cases they may wish to move to enhance their own and their
children’s perceived lifestyle and opportunities.
A particular focus of the workshop on which the present volume is based was the increasing
significance of the role of Asia in the exponential growth of international migration among skilled
workers. In the United States for example (see Chapter 1) where Asians make up one-third of the
current immigrant intake, they account for a much higher proportion of the skilled migrant intake. In
the 1998 fiscal year they made up half of immigrants receiving employment-related visas, almost 80%
of those admitted because they invested in the United States and nearly 70% of those who were
8 © OECD 2001
Introduction
admitted as needed workers with at least a bachelors degree. On the other hand, they accounted for
only a quarter of unskilled immigrants. They dominate student admissions and are an important
component of temporary foreign workers, especially the HI-B visa professionals. In effect, many of
the students and temporary foreign workers are “immigrants in waiting” since many apply for
immigrant status after a period in the United States. It is not just in the United States however that
Asia is the major supplier of skilled migrant workers. It is increasingly the case throughout the OECD
area. In Australia for example, Asians currently comprise 41% of the skilled immigrant intake, 57% of
overseas student visas and 32% of those admitted under temporary business visas which are the main
modes of intake of skilled workers into Australia (Chapter 3).
The accelerating level of skilled migration from Asia to OECD Member countries and the
increase in demand and competition for such workers raise a number of important policy issues. The
first issue relates to a raft of concerns around the mechanisms used by OECD Member countries to
regulate and facilitate the flows of Asians (and other professionals) into their nations. Martin
(Chapter 1) discusses a number of these issues in the United States context, which include such
concerns as sham recruitment whereby the entry mechanisms are used to bring in people not
possessing skills in shortage. It has also been observed that Indian IT professionals who entered the
United States under temporary worker visas but lost their jobs in the current destination have been
forced to return to India at some loss. Workers are vulnerable to abuse from employers when the visa
regulations of the country compel them to stay for a minimum time with the employer who sponsored
them regardless of the wages they are paid, their conditions of work, etc. Documented cases exist of
employers exploiting this level of control they have over their immigrant workers. There are also
concerns about the role of some recruiters and other middlemen and agents using these mechanisms to
exploit migrant workers as well as about the efficiency of the entry mechanism in filtering out
migrants who do not have skills in demand in the receiving nation.
From the perspective of sending countries, issues are raised about the “brain drain”
characteristics of this movement. In some cases, the nation has invested heavily in the education of the
emigrants only to lose their input to development efforts. In other cases, it has been shown in the
Asian context that the local stage of development is such that the economy cannot productively absorb
all of the skilled workers it produces. Moreover, the funds remitted from OECD Member countries
can, in some cases, have a greater positive impact on their home economy than would have been the
case had they not left (Hugo, 1996). From the perspective of the receiving nations there are concerns
that employers keep down the wages and conditions of employment of local workers by bringing in
foreign workers. Moreover, in some cases it is suggested that immigration is used as an alternative to
making needed changes in education and training systems to render them better matched to the needs
of the labour market.
Both sending and receiving countries are struggling to develop mechanisms to facilitate the
migration of skilled workers so that the benefits are maximised not only from both their perspectives
but also from the viewpoint of the migrant workers themselves. In many ways, the pace of expansion
of demand for this type of movement has greatly outpaced the capacity of policy makers to produce
ways of dealing with it which are efficient and equitable and protect the rights of the migrants as well
as the domestic workforce in the destination countries.
As Abella (Chapter 2) has argued, the exponential growth of the international movement of
skilled labour has presented a number of new challenges to governments in both sending and receiving
© OECD 2001 9
