Empowering migrants, Brussels

January 20 Round table, Description and Objectives: EMPOWERING MIGRANTS: A STRATEGY FOR SOUTH–SOUTH COOPERATION Location: Fundación Comunidad Valenciana Región Europa For a long time policy makers have paid little attention to migration as a contribution to development. In fact, outmigration was regarded simply as an expression of poverty and development projects were focused on contributing to the reduction of this phenomenon. In the last ten years this situation has changed and currently there is a conviction that, with the right policies, migration can contribute to co-development, that is, the improvement of economic and social conditions at both origin and destination. Research has revealed that there are important positive aspects in migrating. It is true that the best-educated tend to be the first leaving a community, but the migrants then send money back that is used in investments to start small business, in improving life conditions, and also enabling higher education rates. Remittances are estimated to benefit 8% of the world population; according to the World Bank, in 2006, money sent back home by migrants amounted to 167,000 million dollars, which is more than the total amount of official development aid for the same period. But the benefits of migrations should not be measured only in terms of money. Migrants accumulate skills and knowhow that could later be put into use in countries of origin in case of return. Even if this return does not occur, it has been proven that migrants keep a regular contact with their home communities sharing experiences and expertise. Even in this circumstance it is possible to benefit from brain gain rather than brain drain, due to the flow of information and ideas. At the same time, migrants can also transfer homecoming knowledge, if channeled; these ties could contribute to establish closer links between the two countries. Therefore migration can also be seen as a positive factor for all stakeholders. While migrants benefit from finding a job, developing skills and earning money, sending countries benefit from remittances and destination countries take advantage of the skills and labor they receive from migrants. This does not mean that migration problems such as draining of human capital, the undermining of family and ommunity life, the pressure on physical infrastructures and services in destination countries, inequality, financial dependence etc. should be underestimated; but that positive aspects should also be taken into account in policymaking. That said; the North-South dimension of migration and development has been the object of numerous studies. South-South migration in general, and its development dimension, in particular, has been analyzed to a much less extent; even though it is estimated that 74 million, live in developing countries and are driven mostly by proximity, and networks. Even though we can still find the positive impacts of development, described above, in South- South migration, its impact in development is more challenging than the one in South-North migration. On one hand, even if small increases in income can still have substantial welfare implications, the difference in wages of migrants and natives is usually much smaller than for South-North migration; besides, the costs of South-South remittances (where such remittances are permitted) are even higher than those of North-South remittances, due to a lack of financial development. Also, the high rate of irregularity in South-South migration, together with weaker law enforcement in the South than in the North, implies that South-South migrants may face greater risks than South-North migrants being particularly vulnerable to harassment by police and employers. Even though there are many challenges, South-South migration is an option for almost half of the world’s migrants, because migration between areas of similar income levels can help families diversify income sources and thus reduce risk, others do not even have this option and migrate because they are forced by war or ecological disaster. Given its multidimensional nature, it seems unlikely that migration can be easily manipulated to suit policy objectives. Therefore policymakers should control, but mostly, adapt to this phenomenon, trying to take advantage of the positive implications that migration can have on development. The purpose of this round table is therefore to promote the management research of South-South migration and to deepen in the European role to assist developing countries of origin and destination in the analysis of the socioeconomic impact of migration on wages, income distribution, gender, health, and migrants’ rights in order to enable appropriate migration policies.