Building human capital through labor migration in Asia
Migrant workers are an essential and growing component of most contemporary economies. For destination economies, workers from abroad relieve what would otherwise be chronic labor shortages. For origin economies, emigrating workers contribute considerably to their homelands through the repatriation of remittances and the absorption of occupational skills through overseas experience and, for some, training. As the world economy becomes increasingly integrated, well governed migration is a prerequisite for maximizing the efficient allocation of labor resources.
The fourth edition of the event, held in January 2014 and titled “Building Human Capital across Borders,” focused on the critical role of human capital both in bolstering migrants’ employment opportunities in foreign countries and in helping them to reintegrate, with new skills and work experiences, after returning. Experts from the three host organizations and other institutions, as well as officials directly involved in crafting labor migration policy in their respective countries, participated in the roundtable. They shared their views and experiences in a dialogue process that generated lessons to make future policy more effective. Japan in particular, marking its 50th anniversary of membership in the OECD, presented its eff orts to attract more skilled foreigners. This report, an outcome of the roundtable, captures key trends in migration in Asia and highlights the challenges of building, and benefiting from, human capital through the migration process.