INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION ISSUES

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• INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION ISSUES IN THE REALM OF
  MYTHS AND CHALLENGES

Dušan DRBOHLAV drbohlav_at_natur.cuni.cz Charles
University in Prague, Faculty of
Science, Department of Social Geography and
Regional Development
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• Presentation is also based on results of the
  following projects
• 1) IDEA - Mediterranean and Eastern European
  Countries as new immigration destinations in the
  European Union (6th Framework Programme, No.
  44446)
• 2) Investigative plan of MSM 0021620831 financed
  by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Physical
  Education of CR.

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Structure

• Selected myths linked with the international
  migration process
• Selected challenges linked with migration policy
  issues

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Background and limits

• This presentation is based on the Czech migratory
  experience, but many Czech migratory
  features/patterns are identical to what is going
  on in western developed immigration countries
  (mainly in the EU)
• The EU perspective
• Simplification of the presented reality

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Myth I

• International migration is an easy topic that can
  be tackled and dealt with by anybody
• Migration is a complex (interdisciplinary) issue
  that is influenced/conditioned by various -
  mostly external - factors which makes any
  analyses very difficult

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Myth II

• International migration can be managed well in
  the sense that even inflows can be stopped in
  harmony with our needs
• Many realities of the current world go against
  this statement
• globalization, integration of the world economy,
  cheap international travel, the information
  revolution, the western liberal doctrine spread
  throughout the third-world countries

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Myth III

• International migration is an either or issue
• International migration is not a black and white
  story there are different patterns involved,
  both winners and losers etc.

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Myth III cont.

• International migration is not only settlement
  migration or circular labour migration
• the whole picture is very diversified
• new migratory types
• e.g. fluid migration (IDEA project, Okolskis
  team)

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Myth III cont.

• Looking at economic impacts
• In broad terms, the economic impact of
  migration is positive for the destination
  country but the size of the impact is not great,
  and there are distributional consequences to
  consider (Kleinman 2003).

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Myth IV

• We can successfully combat illegal/irregular
  international migration
• No, we cannot since
• There is an intense and permanent DEMAND for an
  illegal foreign workforce, specifically from a
  number of employers in developed countries who
  are always willing to hire this cheap, flexible,
  and productive workforce in spite of the various
  risks involved
• The phenomenon is often quietly tolerated by
  political representations and officials
• One of the structural components of modern
  capitalism (e.g. Pallidda 2005).
• In addition, in the post-communist world a
  degraded morality has allowed many informal
  activities to become a generally tolerated
  reality

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Myth V

• Illegal/irregular migration brings no positive
  effects for immigration countries
• There are some positive impacts filling
  unappealing and low-paid jobs, a cheap and
  flexible workforce, the development of certain
  economic entities and sectors. Also, individual
  households benefit from the presence of
  illegal/irregular workers (cheaper home services,
  construction, reconstruction, etc.), prices of
  some goods and services decrease
• Illegal/irregular economic migration - a
  dangerous phenomenon. As they do not comply with
  law and legislation, they contribute to
  undermining democratic systems, which are built
  on adherence to legal principles. In principle,
  they are also inequitable/unfair.

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Myths VI

• International migration (immigrants) may
  eliminate expected population ageing in developed
  immigration countries
• The Report by the UN Population Division
  Replacement Migration Is It a Solution to a
  Declining and Ageing Population (2000, 2001)
  clearly answers no it is not possible
• The migration flows needed to keep the potential
  support ratio (workers to non-workers) constant
  are at unprecedentedly high, see e.g.
• the EU 13.5 million a year,
• Korea more than 5 billion !

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Myths VI cont.

• Replacement Migration Concept (RMC) and its
  application to the Czech Republic
• a
• How many net immigrants would the country be
  likely to need to eliminate changes to the number
  and age structure of the Czech Republics
  population caused by expected negative natural
  growth?
• a
• To what extent is migration a solution for
  expected changes population decline and ageing
  leading to labor force decrease, worsening
  relations between economically active and
  inactive populations, etc.

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The Concept of Replacement Migration and the
Czech Republic, net migration (in thousands),
medium variantBased on Burcin, Drbohlav, Kucera
(2007, 2008)
Year Total Population (10.2 mil.) Average age (39.8) Productive age population (P20-59/ Ptotal)
2005 7 292 31
2050 39 2,175 2,796
2065 44 4,208 5,340
Cumulative numbers
2065 1,797 90,146 103,286
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Myths VI cont.

• All that migration of realistic dimensions can do
  isa
• - to offset expected population decline caused
  by insufficient natural reproduction
• a
• - to slightly reduce the most radical
  demonstrations of the demographic ageing process
• In fact, to offset the assumed changes of any
  parameter characterizing the age structure and
  its ageing by migration is de facto impossible
  even in a short term perspective since the
  estimated needs in net-migration inflows remain
  outside any reality

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Migration policy issues

• Migration policy a balanced mixture of
  economic, social and moral/humanitarian ties
• labour market needs, as well as social cohesion,
  public protection, international development
  goals and human rights are involved
•  

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Challenge I

• How to be more flexible, hence more effective,
  when managing migration/integration issues?
• In time
• In space
• In various contexts
•  

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Challenge II

• How to design active migration/integration
  policies that besides being overshadowed by steps
  taken to adopt EU legislation (driven by the need
  to further harmonise legislation with the EU)
  would also effectively respond to the current
  national/local environment?
•  

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Challenge III

• How to design and perform coherent policies?
• And how to harmonize policies/subpolicies
• A) migration policy vis-à-vis integration policy?
• B) economic policy vis-à-vis migration policy?
• C) development policy vis-à-vis migration policy?
  etc.

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Challenge IV

• How to harmonize legislation with practice. How
  the given laws are implemented in the field?
• To limit discretionary power

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Challenge V

• How to effectively combat illegal migration and
  related irregular economic activities by
  immigrants?
• - How to diminish demand (employers/entrepreneur
  s interests)?

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Challenge VI

• How to share migratory/integration competences?
• A) Between sectors (GOs versus GOs, GOs versus
  NGOs, plus a role of international and
  inter-governmental organizations)?
• B) In terms of a regional hierachical structure
  state, region, municipality?
• - What mechanisms and forms of cooperation?

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Challenge VII

• How to measure whether an immigrants integration
  process is successful or not? What sort of
  criteria to take into account?
• - How to evaluate the effectiveness of
  individual programs?
• - Is there only one type of immigrants
  integration into a host society?

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Challenge VIII

• How to reasonably and effectively cooperate with
  source/emigration countries?
• - What sort of aid? Who should it be directed
  to?

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Challenge IX

• How to improve data and statistics of
  international migration and immigrants
  integration?
• - What, where, when, how and by whom to
  cover/ascertain?
• - How data is to be processed, tabulated and
  publicized
• - Availability to the public

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Challenge X

• How to bring more financial resources into the
  migration/integration field?

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Thank you for your attention