E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
Asia and the Pacific

Asia and the Pacific

Asia has a disproportionate share of the world’s young, working-age population—which represents the most mobile cohort—with resulting major immigration flows to other regions, and increasing intraregional migration as demographic transitions occur at different levels within Asia. The research here focuses on how the labor-sending countries of the region, notably the Philippines and other Colombo Process countries, manage these migration flows and the recruitment process. It also examines other conditions affecting the region, including humanitarian protection challenges, climate migration, diaspora relations, and remittances.

Three migrant men wearing masks in Thailand
Reports

Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific

Some of the strictest COVID-19 pandemic-era limits on human mobility occurred in the Asia Pacific region. Border closures started in East and Southeast Asia in early 2020 and quickly spread through the entire region, in some cases remaining in place for more than two years. This report examines the approaches countries took and reflects on the immense costs and benefits of using border measures to tackle public-health risks.

A woman in Nigeria smiles while using her mobile phone
Reports

Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances

Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.

Photo of returning Filipino migrant workers.
Articles

The Philippines’ Landmark Labor Export and Development Policy Enters the Next Generation

Fifty years after the birth of the Philippines' strategy to use emigration as a tool for development, the government is doubling down on labor migration. While deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) slumped during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the government and civil society pivoting to assist with return migration and reintegration for hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, emigration has since rebounded, as this article details.

Recent Activity

A returned migrant with his family in Bangladesh
Articles
April 19, 2024
Bangladesh’s Economic Vitality Owes in Part to Migration and Remittances
By Khandaker Mursheda Farhana and Kazi Abdul Mannan
People walk through the streets of Hong Kong
Articles
April 3, 2024
Brain Drain and Brain Gain in Hong Kong’s Population Shuffle
By Yiran Yu
Cover image for Lessons from COVID-19
Policy Briefs
March 2024
Lessons from COVID-19: Managing Borders in the Next Global Public-Health Crisis
By  Meghan Benton and Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Mobility Shutdown
Reports
March 2024
Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific
By  Lawrence Huang
Afghan refugees in Iran's Semnan refugee settlement.
Articles
March 6, 2024
Iran Faces Dwindling Water and Escalating Climate Pressures, Aggravating Displacement Threats
By Javid Rostami and Arash Asad Paski
Multimedia
February 27, 2024
Moving Mountains: Climate Migration in High Altitudes
Cover image for Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances
Reports
February 2024
Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances
By  Ravenna Sohst
A migrant from Nepal in Qatar.
Articles
February 22, 2024
Reliant on Labor Migration, the Global South Forges a New Social Contract with Its Citizens
By Kamal Sadiq and Gerasimos Tsourapas

Pages

Cover image for Lessons from COVID-19
Policy Briefs
March 2024
Lessons from COVID-19: Managing Borders in the Next Global Public-Health Crisis
By  Meghan Benton and Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Mobility Shutdown
Reports
March 2024
Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific
By  Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances
Reports
February 2024
Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances
By  Ravenna Sohst
Cover image for Consolidating Gains
Policy Briefs
December 2023
Consolidating Gains: Lessons and Priorities for Promoting Fair and Ethical Recruitment
By  Kate Hooper
Cover image for External Processing report
Reports
February 2023
External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum?
By  Pauline Endres de Oliveira and Nikolas Feith Tan
Cover image for Using Risk Analysis to Shape Border Management
Reports
January 2023
Using Risk Analysis to Shape Border Management: A Review of Approaches during the COVID-19 Pandemic
By  Kelley Lee, Julianne Piper and Jennifer Fang
Cover image for Reassessing Recruitment Costs
Policy Briefs
November 2022
Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration
By  Kate Hooper
Cover image for Financing Responses to Climate Migration
Reports
November 2022
Financing Responses to Climate Migration: The Unique Role of Multilateral Development Banks
By  Lawrence Huang, Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz

Pages

A returned migrant with his family in Bangladesh
Profile
April 19, 2024
Bangladesh’s Economic Vitality Owes in Part to Migration and Remittances

For a young country, Bangladesh has a complex migration history, with periods of forced migration during the partition of India and Pakistan as well as the 1971 war of independence. In recent years, labor emigration has proved a major economic boon to the country. This country profile reviews trends and the impact of emigration, with a particular focus on the effects of remittance sending and receipt.

People walk through the streets of Hong Kong
Feature
April 3, 2024
Brain Drain and Brain Gain in Hong Kong’s Population Shuffle

Hong Kong finds itself in the middle of opposing trends. Amid political unrest, Beijing's increasing security pressure, and pandemic disruptions, many Hong Kongers have left and been replaced by a new group of immigrants, largely from mainland China. The dynamic has raised questions whether Hong Kong will remain a global cosmopolitan hub or instead turn inward to Asia, as this article discusses.

Afghan refugees in Iran's Semnan refugee settlement.
Feature
March 6, 2024
Iran Faces Dwindling Water and Escalating Climate Pressures, Aggravating Displacement Threats

Floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Iran, with repercussions for residents including the 3.4 million refugees and other forced migrants, who are restricted to climate-affected areas. Environmental challenges may also be pushing some people to move internationally. This article offers a rare look at the climate and migration dynamics in Iran.

A migrant from Nepal in Qatar.
Feature
February 22, 2024
Reliant on Labor Migration, the Global South Forges a New Social Contract with Its Citizens

Countries such as Nepal and the Philippines have grown reliant on sending workers abroad to earn money, skills, and connections that help boost their economies. In these cases, emigration has become a way for governments in the Global South to offer their citizens access to social services and protections that they could not otherwise provide. This article details the emergence of this new mode of state-society relations.

A family of Afghan evacuees leaving Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
Spotlight
February 15, 2024
Afghan Immigrants in the United States

The Afghan immigrant population in the United States has grown dramatically since 2010, and particularly since the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Most Afghans who obtained a green card in recent years have done so through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, reserved for interpreters and other Afghans who worked with the U.S. government. This article offers data on the approximately 195,000 Afghan immigrants in the United States.

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Women and children outside of home in Sohadat, Afghanistan
Commentaries
August 2021
The International Community Must Develop a Well-Coordinated Protection Strategy for Afghan Refugees
By  Hanne Beirens and Camille Le Coz
Commentaries
May 2020
The Rocky Road to a Mobile World after COVID-19
By  Meghan Benton
SeasonalWorkerCommentary ClausBunks Flickr
Commentaries
March 2020
A Race Against the Clock: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19
By  Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz
Commentaries
January 2015
The Field of Migration Studies Loses a Giant: Graeme Hugo
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
_LampedusaMigrants
Commentaries
October 2013
The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?
By  Kathleen Newland
Expert Q&A, Audio
February 27, 2024

Moving Mountains: Climate Migration in High Altitudes

This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration speaks with Amina Maharjan from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development about the unique climate migration issues that are witnessed in mountain regions.

Video, Audio
July 25, 2023

Improving Communications in the Voluntary Return and Reintegration Network

This webinar explores the goals and target audiences for public-facing information campaigns on voluntary return and reintegration, how to evaluate dissemination gaps, and the risks associated with inadvertently issuing messages that are not trusted or are misunderstood.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Expert Q&A, Audio
May 23, 2023

The Curious Case of China – What Does the COVID-19 Response by China & Asia Pacific Mean for Future Public Health Crises?

MPI's Lawrence Huang discusses COVID-19 mobility restrictions in China and the Asia Pacific—and what this all means for future public health crises—with Dr. Karen Grépin, a health policy professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Video, Audio
April 11, 2023

Meeting Global Skills and Talent Needs in Changing Labor Markets

Marking the launch of MPI’s Global Skills and Talent Initiative, this webcast features senior policymakers and other experts discussing the extent to which labor market needs should shape future immigration policy decisions, and how countries are adjusting—and could adjust—their immigration systems to meet human capital and competitiveness needs.

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Recent Activity

Articles
September 20, 2017

Millionaire Emigration: The Allure of Investor Visas among China’s Elite

Over the past decade, immigrant investor programs have proliferated around the world, and Chinese applicants have dominated in a number of countries. In 2015, about 9,000 Chinese millionaires moved to other countries, many through so-called golden visa programs. This article explores the social and cultural factors driving well-off Chinese to move abroad and examines perceptions of elite emigration in China.

Articles
August 31, 2017

Indian Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from India are the second-largest foreign-born group in the United States, after Mexicans. Indian immigrants tend to be far more highly educated and have greater English proficiency than the foreign-born population overall. This Spotlight article offers the latest data on Indian immigrants, focusing on population size, state- and city-level distribution, occupation, educational attainment, and more.

Articles
July 12, 2017

The Philippines: Beyond Labor Migration, Toward Development and (Possibly) Return

In the Philippines, a pervasive culture of migration has led millions to seek opportunities abroad, particularly since an economic downturn in the 1970s. The government has long embraced exporting labor as official economic policy, but over time, the focus has shifted: first to protecting workers overseas and much more recently to linking migration and development. This article explores the evolution of Filipino migration policy and trends.

Articles
May 18, 2017

Russia: A Migration System with Soviet Roots

The history of dynamic migration flows throughout the Soviet Union pre- and post-collapse has significantly shaped the current migration reality in Russia. Even as borders have shifted and policies changed, inflows and outflows still occur mostly within the former Soviet space. As this article explores, Russia has worked in recent decades to strengthen its migration management system and update its residence and citizenship policies.

Articles
March 28, 2017

As Its Population Ages, Japan Quietly Turns to Immigration

One of the most rapidly aging societies in the world, Japan is looking to immigration to address increased labor shortages—albeit slowly and largely without public debate. This country profile offers a brief overview of Japan’s migration history and examines the current immigration system, in particular policies and programs to bring in foreign workers, particularly on a temporary basis.

Reports
March 2017

The Long Road Ahead: Status Report on the Implementation of the ASEAN MRAs on Professional Services

While it has been years since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed accords to facilitate the movement of professionals in seven occupations, implementation of these Mutual Recognition Arrangements remains "painfully slow and uneven across countries." This final report in an MPI-Asian Development Bank series explores MRA implementation by sector, and offers recommendations to help achieve the goal of greater skill mobility in Southeast Asia.

Articles
March 1, 2017

South Korea Carefully Tests the Waters on Immigration, With a Focus on Temporary Workers

Faced with labor shortages in key sectors of the economy, South Korea has moved carefully in recent decades toward accepting greater numbers of workers—albeit in temporary fashion. Its Employment Permit System, launched in 2003, earned international accolades for bringing order and legality to immigration in the country, although several challenges remain to be addressed as this Country Profile explores.

Reports
February 2017

Firing Up Regional Brain Networks: The Promise of Brain Circulation in the ASEAN Economic Community

Given diverging demographics, rising educational attainment and wide variation in economic opportunities, countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are poised to see an expansion of both the demand for and supply of skilled migrants willing and able to move. The convergence of these megatrends represents unique opportunities for human-capital development and brain circulation, as this report explores.

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