E.g., 01/15/2021
E.g., 01/15/2021

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 of the world, and increasing intraregional migration as aging and demographic transitions occur at different levels within Asia. The research here focuses in particular on how the labor-sending countries of the region, notably the Philippines and other Colombo Process countries, manage these migration flows, engage in bilateral and multilateral cooperation with migrant-receiving nations, and engage their diasporas. The recruitment process and regulation of recruitment agencies also represent a strand of the work offered here.

Residents are affected by massive flooding in Thailand in 2011.
Articles

Building Climate Resilience through Migration in Thailand

Migration can help build resilience against the encroaching effects of climate change. Instead of being passive victims of environmental degradation, individuals sometimes move to gain money, knowledge, and skills that can fortify their household of origin. Migrant workers from Thailand demonstrate how and under what conditions this process works.

Bangladeshi migrants in Egypt wait to return home
Articles

COVID-19 Pandemic Profoundly Affects Bangladeshi Workers Abroad with Consequences for Origin Communities

Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest migrant-origin countries, and money sent home by its workers abroad is crucial to an economy that has become one of the more vibrant ones in South Asia. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic has injected turmoil into the economy as Bangladeshi migrants have lost their jobs, families are seeing reduced remittances, and would-be migrant workers have had to shelve their plans to work abroad.

Recent Activity

Articles
December 1, 2011
Immigrant Detention under Scrutiny in Australia, United Kingdom, and United States
By MPI
Reports
September 2011
Climate Change and Migration Dynamics
By  Kathleen Newland
Articles
August 9, 2011
Working Hard for the Money: Bangladesh Faces Challenges of Large-Scale Labor Migration
By Nazli Kibria
Reports
July 2011
Running in Circles: Progress and Challenges in Regulating Recruitment of Filipino and Sri Lankan Labor Migrants to Jordan (In Arabic)
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Reports
July 2011
Running in Circles: Progress and Challenges in Regulating Recruitment of Filipino and Sri Lankan Labor Migrants to Jordan
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Reports
June 2011
Eight Policies to Boost the Economic Contribution of Employment-Based Immigration
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
Reports
June 2011
Rethinking Points Systems and Employer-Selected Immigration
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
Articles
May 31, 2011
China: An Emerging Destination for Economic Migration
By Ronald Skeldon

Pages

Profile
January 1, 2007
Singapore: Hungry for Foreign Workers at All Skill Levels
Historically a diverse country, Singapore since the 1980s has become a top destination for Asian and Western professionals as well as low-skilled migrants from across the region. Brenda S.A. Yeoh of the National University of Singapore reports.
Profile
November 1, 2006
Japanese Immigration Policy: Responding to Conflicting Pressures

Social and economic factors are pushing Japan toward a more open immigration policy, while other concerns are prompting the country to adopt stricter immigration controls. Chikako Kashiwazaki of Keio University and Tsuneo Akaha of the Monterey Institute of International Studies provide an overview of Japan’s migration issues.

Profile
July 1, 2006
Tajikistan: From Refugee Sender to Labor Exporter
One of the poorest countries in Central Asia and a former Soviet Republic, Tajikistan has dealt with Afghan refugees, experienced outward flows of ethnic Russians since its independence, and seen thousands of ethnic Tajiks leave for temporary employment in Russia. MPI’s Aaron Erlich investigates the migration issues facing this understudied country.
Feature
February 1, 2006
On the Beach: Racial Confrontation in Australia

In December, about 5,000 Australian youths gathered on one of Sydney’s major surf beaches and attacked men described as “Middle Easterners.” Christine Inglis of the University of Sydney looks at the violence and the government response, and assesses the integration of Lebanese-Australians.

Profile
January 1, 2006
The Philippines' Culture of Migration

An estimated 8.1 million Filipinos — nearly 10 percent of the country's population — are living in close to 200 countries and territories. Maruja M.B. Asis of the Scalabrini Migration Center-Philippines explains how the country developed its emigration policies and measures to protect its citizens abroad.

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Recent Activity

Articles
December 1, 2011

Immigrant Detention under Scrutiny in Australia, United Kingdom, and United States

Public backlash against the detention systems of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States mounted in 2011 with allegations of unacceptable living conditions, abuse, prolonged detention, and government waste.

Reports
September 2011

Climate Change and Migration Dynamics

The impact of climate change as a driver of human migration is expected by many to dwarf all others. Still, certain frequently repeated forecasts of the number of people who stand to be displaced by climate change are not informed by a complete understanding of migration dynamics, as this report explains.

Articles
August 9, 2011

Working Hard for the Money: Bangladesh Faces Challenges of Large-Scale Labor Migration

The realities of poverty, underemployment, and a large working-age population mean that international labor migration is an expected and necessary part of life for many Bangladeshi men and women. Nazli Kibria of Boston University explains the challenges and opportunities facing Bangladesh as the small nation struggles to balance the need for economic migration and its resulting remittances with the protection of its citizens abroad.

Reports
July 2011

Running in Circles: Progress and Challenges in Regulating Recruitment of Filipino and Sri Lankan Labor Migrants to Jordan (In Arabic)

الأردنية ودعم اقتصاده. وابتدأت العَمالة غير العربية الآتية من آسيا بالزيادة في السنوات الأخيرة في الأردن، وبالأخص من سريلانكا والفِليبّين.

Reports
July 2011

Running in Circles: Progress and Challenges in Regulating Recruitment of Filipino and Sri Lankan Labor Migrants to Jordan

Migrants from the Philippines and Sri Lanka have taken on a growing role in filling labor shortages in Jordan, leading to significant challenges surrounding the recruitment of these foreign workers. Based on interviews with government officials in sending and receiving countries and focus groups with migrants, the report analyzes the role of private recruitment agencies and points to oversight gaps.

Reports
June 2011

Rethinking Points Systems and Employer-Selected Immigration

Two competing models for selecting economic-stream immigrants are now prevalent in advanced industrialized economies: points-based and employer-led selection. Increasingly, however, hybrid selection systems are being created, implementing best practices from each selection process.
Reports
June 2011

Eight Policies to Boost the Economic Contribution of Employment-Based Immigration

Drawing on experiences from Asia, Europe, North America, and the Pacific region, this report presents eight strategies that represent best practices developed by immigrant-receiving countries to increase the economic contributions of immigration.
Articles
May 31, 2011

China: An Emerging Destination for Economic Migration

Ronald Skeldon of the University of Sussex maps out the past and present migration patterns of China — the source of tens of millions of migrants around the globe — and discusses the country's budding status as an immigrant-receiving nation.

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