Overcoming barriers Human mobility & development

1. Overcoming barriers Human mobility & development HumanDevelopmentReport2009

2. HDI (Human Development Index) Created by the UN • Recognizes that a country’s LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT is a function of all 3 of these factors • 3 factors: • economic indicators- (GDP) Gross Domestic Product per capita • Social factors- Literacy rate & amount of education • Demographic factor- Life expectancy Highest HDI = 1.0 or 100 (Norway = .963) Lowest HDI = Nigeria =.281

3. Comparing Measures of Well-Being (Economic Development) for most populous countries (over 100 million population) Per Capita Per Capita HDI: Human 2004 Pop. GNI/PPP GNP Devel. Index (millions) ($, 1998) ($, 1998) (Rank) China 1,307 3,220 750 99 (med) India 1,087 1,700 430 128 (med) U.S.A. 294 29,340 29,340 3 (high) Indonesia 219 2,790 680 109 (med) Brazil 179 6,160 4,570 74 (med) Pakistan 159 1,560 480 135 (med) Russia 144 3,950 2,300 62 (med) Bangladesh 141 1,100 350 146 (low) Nigeria 137 820 300 151 (low) Japan 128 23,180 32,380 9 (high) Mexico 106 8,190 3,970 55 (med) GNI= Gross National Income GNP= Gross National Product HDI= Human Development Index

4. National income and output (Billions of dollars)

5. Human movement in an unequal world • The world distribution of opportunities is extremely unequal. • Someone born in Thailand can expect to live 7 more years, to have almost 3 Xs as many years of education, & to spend & save Xs as much as someone born in Myanmar. • This inequality is a key driver of human movement. • The lowest HDI in a US border county is above even the highest on the Mexican side. • Following the lifting of restrictions on human mobility in China, massive flows followed to regions with higher human development.

6. Human movement in an unequal world

7. Human movement in an unequal world

8. Overcoming barriers: An HDR lens • being able to choose where to live is viewed as a key element of human freedom. • the effects of movement indicate not just incomes but broader measures of well-being such as education, health and empowerment. • The UN proposes politically feasible reforms to do with access & treatment that are oriented towards helping those who are most disadvantaged & have the most to gain.

9. Who Moves Where, When & Why • Most movement in the world DOES NOT take place from developing to developed countries, or even between countries. • Most people who move do so within the borders of their own country. • Of the nearly 1 billion movers in the world, 740 million are internal migrants. • Among international movers, only 2/5 move from developing to developed countries.

10. Who moves where, when & why

11. Who moves where, when & why

12. Not everyone gains • There is huge variation in the circumstances surrounding human movement. • The poorest often cannot move at all, & when they do so it is under uncertain and dangerous conditions. • Movers can end up worse off. • This is a common outcome in trafficking. • Hardships in cases of conflict, but often worse off if not able to move. • Movement of the poor is paradoxically constrained by policies at destination – and at origin.

13. Barriers matter • The share of the world’s population moving has not increased since 1960. • However, the direction of their movement has changed: more go to developed countries than in the past. • This change reflects growing dispersion btwn poor & rich countries. • However, policy barriers to movement remain very high & have been tightened in many developing & developed destination countries.

14. Barriers matter

15. Barriers matter

16. Most movers gain substantially • Careful studies show that migrant workers experience significant income gains. • Largest for those coming from the poorest countries. • Also significant for internal migrants. • However, the financial costs of moving are often very high – especially when policies are restrictive. • Policies towards migrants at destination also matter.

17. Most movers gain substantially

18. Most movers gain substantially

19. Most movers gain substantially

20. Beyond income – gains in multiple dimensions of human development • Infant mortality rates are 16 times lower among movers from low-HDI countries. • Families that move btwn developing countries see significant increases in their children’s education. • For example, a family moving from Nicaragua to Costa Rica would see the chances of their children being enrolled in primary school increase by 22 percent. • However, migrants usually fare much worse than their locally-born peers in health & education – a fact that is often explained by unequal access & quality.

21. Beyond income – gains in multiple dimensions of human development

22. Beyond income – gains in multiple dimensions of human development

23. Beyond the crisis – clear underlying trends • The recession has cut demand for migrant workers – & hit key destination places & sectors hardest. • However, as the recovery ensues, underlying long-run trends will dominate. • Demographic – ageing & shrinking populations in developed countries, growing & youthful populations in developing countries. • These trends imply continuing pressures for – and benefits from – international migration.

24. Beyond the crisis – clear underlying trends

25. Beyond the crisis – clear underlying trends