No abstract

No abstract

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States have remained the main corridor for South Asian migration since the oil boom of the early 1970s. The paper reviews migration trends and policies in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, especially related to movements in GCC countries. While overseas migration has acted as a safety valve providing relief to local labour market pressures and earning much needed foreign exchange earnings in the context of poverty and slow growth, South Asian countries seem to have gone beyond this in informally promoting migration as a development strategy. This is indicated by the persistence of Gulf migration from South Asia for well over three decades, policy pronouncements on the important role of migration, the continuing high share of Gulf migration in total migrant outflows, and remittance inflows, bilateral MOUs on labour migration signed, and the growth of migrant and diaspora populations. Despite the rhetoric on protection of migrant workers, and prevention of abuse and exploitation, most countries seem to encourage out-migration for employment relief and remittances. A thriving migration industry and social networks sustain flows of migrant workers to meet the demand of GCC countries, especially their employers, for cheap labour. Thus, reliance on migration may arrest serious attempts at transforming domestic economies for higher growth resulting in a low-level development trap. The paper reviews recent migration trends and raises the issue of long-term sustainability of relying on migration as part of national development strategies for origin countries of South Asia. It argues for a phased approach to reducing dependence of labour migration in origin countries.

No abstract