Financial Times
By Harvey Morris and Tim Johnston
Published: October 5 2009 10:35 | Last updated:
October 5 2009 10:35
States that host large numbers of immigrants should
resist popular pressure to erect barriers to newcomers in the economic downturn
and highlight the economic benefits of migration, according to United Nations
development experts.
In a study published on Monday, the UN Development Programme acknowledges
that “the tendency to blame outsiders for society’s ills is accentuated during
economic downturns”. It argues, however, that closing the door to people from
abroad would be short-sighted, even from a strictly economic perspective.
“Movement is inevitable,”
Jeni Klugman, the lead writer of the report, said in an interview.
“Restrictions on movement lead to worse outcomes than would otherwise be the
case, so we aim to raise public understanding of the benefits that accrue to
destination countries from migration.”
Research for the report
suggests that the gains from a 5 per cent increase in the number of migrants in
developed countries would be worth $190bn. The report notes that by taxing
illegal immigrants, while turning a blind eye to their status, the US raises
$7bn a year for the Treasury.
In the face of recession,
however, some host governments have moved to discourage foreign recruitment.
The US has
restricted temporary hiring abroad by companies that receive Tarp funds, South Korea has suspended
new visas, and Malaysia has revoked more than 55,000 visas for Bangladeshis in
order to boost the job prospects of locals, the report notes.
Ms Klugman said the
benefits to host countries can be maximised if they encourage immigrants with a
wide-range of skills rather than focusing on short-term, low-cost workers in
time of labour shortage. “Governments have tended to see immigration as a tap
that can be turned on and off,” she said. “Immigration is no good if it just
undercuts wages. That doesn’t help the receiving country.”
She argues for host-country
policies that allow immigrants the prospect of permanent settlement. “We are
not opposed to temporary immigration but when they come they should have the
option to stay.” The alternative is the creation of a rotating underclass, she
said. “What we are beginning to see is governments welcoming the skilled and
rotating the unskilled. But the low-skilled also have aspirations.”
The latest figures about
the scale and direction of migration prick some popular misconceptions: of
roughly 1bn people who migrate, principally to improve their economic
opportunities, about t75 per cent move within their national borders.
Cross-border immigrants – 214m or just over 3 per cent of the world’s
population – most often move within their own regions and just 37 per cent
migrate from developing to developed countries.
“To take one striking
example,” according to the report, “intra-Asian migration accounts for nearly
20 per cent of all international migration and exceeds the sum total of
movements that Europe receives from all other regions.”
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