International Competitiveness and the Future of Migration
November 2008 Meeting
International migration is playing an increasing role in economic competitiveness. The Transatlantic Council on Migration commissioned a series of policy papers examining the effect of demographic trends on the global supply and demand of skills through 2030, how to build up and replenish the global talent pool, and how policymakers can manage the flow of skilled workers, particularly in light of the economic downturn. The papers were presented during the Council's second meeting, in New York in November 2008. Read the Council Statement issued following the meeting.
Talent, Competitiveness and Migration
As the global economic crisis ripples across the financial, political and social landscape, it is leaving its mark on international migration. The recession, hailed as the worst since the Great Depression, is impacting the scope and pace of international migration and its effects could deepen should the world economy worsen.
Governments, businesses and individuals have all felt the damaging consequences of the global downturn, which has shaken confidence in established institutions. The crisis is driving some policymakers and analysts in Europe and North America to re-think their assumptions about labor migration. This book reflects the effort of the Transatlantic Council on Migration to map how profound demographic change is likely to affect the size and character of global migration flows; and how governments can shape immigration policy in a world increasingly attuned to the hunt for talent. This volume is the second major product of the Council.
Individual papers presented at the Council's meeting are available below:
Competing for Talent
Talent in the 21st Century Economy
Council Convenor and MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Will Somerville, and Hiroyuki Tanaka examine how for a growing number of countries, attracting the "right" talent is at the top of the policy toolkit for increasing economic competitiveness. They outline how governments and employers view and access highly skilled talent and detail the decision-making factors weighed by highly skilled individuals as they decide where to migrate.
Hybrid Immigrant-Selection Systems: The Next Generation of Economic Migration Schemes
As governments think more seriously about attracting and selecting immigrants for their education, skills, and, increasingly, their ability to plug specific holes in the labor market, the authors discuss the emergence of hybrid systems that combine ideas drawn from points systems with other, more demand-driven and employer-led methods of selection.
The Growing Global Demand for Students as Skilled Migrants
International student education is a large, growing, and lucrative industry in many developed countries. Students not only help to maintain domestic institutions' competitiveness, they also represent a valuable pool of skilled immigrants for governments wishing to recruit "tried and tested" individuals into their labor forces. As Lesleyanne Hawthorne details in this paper, it is not surprising, therefore, that Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries are innovating widely with policies to attract and retain international students.
Soft, Scarce, and Super Skills: Sourcing the Next Generation of Migrant Workers in Europe
Elizabeth Collett and Fabian Zuleeg examine how the selection criteria that developed-country immigration systems widely use (particularly points systems and occupational "shortage lists") fail to capture three important skill groups: soft, scarce, and super. In this paper, the authors discuss key policy recommendations to improve governments' skilled-immigrant recruitment strategies.
The Demographic Reality
The Demography of China and India: Effects on Migration to High-Income Countries
Michael J. White and Inku Subedi of Brown University map the two countries' differing age structures and demographic trajectories through 2030, examining the working-age populations of China and India, particularly in the age group most likely to migrate.
Emerging Demographic Trends in Asia and the Pacific: The Implications for International Migration
Graeme Hugo of the University of Adelaide explores how Asia's exponential growth of recent decades will not be sustained in the medium to long term amid declining fertility rates – and how Asian destination countries increasingly will be competing with OECD countries for skilled migrants from Asia and the Pacific.
Demographic Trends in Mexico: The Implications for Skilled Migration
Elena Zúñiga of the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Unidad de Estudios del Desarrollo and independent consultant Miguel Molina examine the growing flow of Mexican professionals heading to the United States – and how projections suggest the demand in Mexico for professionals could outstrip supply after 2025.
Emerging Demographic Patterns across the Mediterranean and their Implications for Migration through 2030
Philippe Fargues of the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies at the American University in Cairo examines the demographic future for the Middle East and North Africa through 2030 – and notes that the MENA region's growing supply of young, educated workers is occurring against the backdrop of Europe's aging population and below-replacement fertility.
Demographic and Human-Capital Trends in Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa
Wolfgang Lutz, Warren Sanderson, Sergei Scherbov, and Samir K.C. of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria explore the world's two most demographically extreme regions: sub-Saharan Africa, which is experiencing the most rapid population growth, and Eastern Europe, which has the fastest shrinking population.
Transatlantic Council Statement: Talent, Competitiveness, and Migration
The global recession’s deepening effects on governments, public and private institutions, and individuals is increasingly taking center stage for migration policy stakeholders at both source and destination countries, as this Council Statement explores.