UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 11 June 2008 -- The following is the full text of a statement delivered by Her Excellency Dr. Paulette Bethel, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas to the United Nations, during the "Diplomatic-Corporate Dialogue for Development" at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on 03 April 2008.  The forum was hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Liberia, whose aim was to foster discussion and interaction between Permanent Representatives regarding the implementation of a diasporic development model in post-conflict countries.  See Ambassador Milton Barnes' "A Proposed Alternative Development Model".  Also see introductory remarks made by Ambassador Milton Barnes and statement delivered by Ambassador Ismat Jahan.

"Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to begin by thanking Ambassador Nat Barnes and the Permanent Mission of Liberia for organizing this “Evening of Diplomatic-Corporate Dialogue on Development” and for inviting me to make this presentation.  

I will speak to the issue of the movement of Caribbean nationals to the United States as it relates to the “brain drain” and remittances.

Some months ago, I had the opportunity to view an exhibition at the Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture in Harlem , entitled “In Motion: the African American Migration Experience”[1].  Rather than focusing on the coerced Trans-Atlantic and domestic slave trade, this exhibition presented a “new interpretation of African-American history, one that focuses on the self-motivated activities of peoples of African descent to remake themselves and their worlds.”

One of the so-called “defining” migrations that formed and transformed African America, highlighted in the exhibition, was the Caribbean Migration – a migration characterised by a series of movements, voluntary and involuntary, from various areas and peoples of the Caribbean, over different periods of time.  In this connection, it was interesting to note that Afro-Caribbean peoples, beginning with enslaved Barbadians being brought to South Carolina during the seventeenth century, represented most of the first Africans to arrive in what would become the United States.  It was perhaps even more fascinating, however, to trace the subsequent, more voluntary movements of Caribbean peoples at the turn of the twentieth century; a third wave of immigrants, who arrived between 1930 and 1965; right up to the most recent wave, termed the “fourth movement”, which is still ongoing today and represents the backdrop for this presentation.

It is estimated that there are around three million people from the Caribbean currently living in the United States, or about one per cent of the total population; and it can be argued that, at the heart of this Caribbean presence in America, is the pursuit by the people of greater opportunities, in most cases greater economic opportunities, to remake themselves and their worlds.  

The causes of migration are numerous and wide-ranging.  From an historical perspective, we have seen key socio-economic international events, including the oil boom in the 1970s; the global energy crisis in the 1980s; and expanding tourism in the 1990s precipitating migration flows that varied in scope and complexity.  More recently, we have seen, with the ever expanding notion of globalisation, the emergence of stronger arguments for the liberalisation of international labour markets to mirror the liberalisation of international capital and commodity markets, which has led to even greater international migration flows.  These are generally seen as push and pull factors in the migration equation.  Modern day globalisation and its attendant innovations have given rise to a third classification called "network" factors, which include the free flow of information, improved global communication, and faster and lower transportation costs.  While these network factors are not necessarily a direct cause of migration, they do facilitate it.[2]

According to the Report of the Expert Group Meeting on Migration, Human Rights and Development in the Caribbean, a meeting held under the auspices of ECLAC in September 2005[3], push factors for Caribbean migrants include “deteriorating economic and social conditions, high unemployment and little hope for improvement of living conditions.” Other push factors include the search for higher education, civil strife, and environmental disasters in the country of origin.  The pull factors, though not specifically outlined in the Report, are easily understood – the United States has the largest economy in the world and thus affords greater opportunities for a better standard of living through higher wages and more specialised and sophisticated jobs.

The ECLAC Report goes on to highlight the recent case of the significant migration of nurses from Trinidad and Tobago saying, “The main push factors for the nurses were inadequate remuneration and benefits, unfavourable working conditions, lack of management and leadership, and insufficient career perspectives.”  The education and training system in Trinidad and Tobago had produced more trained nurses than the system could absorb, which led to slow appointments and promotions, as well as low recognition and remuneration, which, combined with poor working conditions and inadequate supplies and equipment, made for a powerful push factor.

At the same time, it was observed that the United States, suffering from a labour shortage in the area of nursing, served as an attractive alternative for the Caribbean nurses and as a result became one of the main destination countries in this particular situation.  Further, the United States undertook numerous “networking” efforts in order to increase the attractiveness of the nursing profession, launching various advocacy initiatives by different health care groups in the public and private sector to promote the nursing profession and attract foreign nurses.[4]

Together these push and pull factors, along with the network factors, led to the ongoing depletion of nursing professionals in Trinidad and Tobago, which, in turn, severely impaired the country’s ability to provide much-needed health services to its own population.  Yes, there were also positive effects observed such as the monetary transfers from migrant nurses back to their country of origin, as well as the increased skills of the “returnee” nurses.  Ultimately, however, there was a measurable net decrease in the quantity and quality of services delivered to patients in Trinidad and Tobago, as the few nurses that remained were typically overburdened, resulting in the loss of productivity for the national economy.

Given the great propensity to migrate in the Caribbean, the actual magnitude of migration and its attendant brain drain are striking, particularly when compared with other regions of the world.  Released in 2006, an IMF Working Paper on migration and brain drain in the Caribbean indicates that approximately twelve per cent of the Caribbean labour force migrated to the more developed countries of the world between 1965 and 2000.  Compare this with the estimated seven per cent from Central America , the second highest source of migrants, and the less than two per cent from Eastern and South Central Asia during the same period of time.  It is important to note here, for purposes of an accurate assessment, that although migration from India and China is far greater in absolute terms, migrants constitute a relatively small proportion of the labour forces of these countries. [5]

What is perhaps most interesting, however, is the migration data disaggregated according to schooling.  On average, seventy per cent of the tertiary-educated labour force and forty-two percent of the secondary-educated labour force have migrated from the Caribbean to the more developed countries of the world.  With respect to the tertiary-educated labour force, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and St Vincent & the Grenadines all have migration rates above eighty percent. That is absolutely staggering!  With respect to migration to the United States specifically, sixty-one per cent are tertiary-educated, and thirty-three percent have had secondary schooling.

This data would strongly suggest that the impact on the Caribbean labour markets and on the welfare of those who stay behind must be tremendous.  Fortunately, it is not all negative, as one of the measurable positive effects of migration to the source country is the increase in monetary transfers/remittances from those abroad.  For the Caribbean, remittance flows have risen from three percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1990 to thirteen per cent of GDP in 2002.  Other positive effects include the increased trade and investment that migrant networks produce, as well as the increase in human capital formation induced by migrants that return.

However, the negative consequences of such great losses in the labour force can potentially be devastating for the small island developing countries of the Caribbean that already have limited human resources and limited institutional capacities. According to the same ECLAC Report, the departure of the better educated in the Caribbean has left considerable gaps in many public service institutions, including in the health and education sectors, and increasingly also in the information technology (IT) sector.  In addition, it is important to consider not only the effects of the loss in productivity brought on by the migration of highly-skilled migrants from the Caribbean, but the diminished efficiency and capacity of the ones that stay behind as well.  The remaining labour force can be overwhelmed by the excessive demand for goods and services, and are no longer able to benefit from the transfer of knowledge, monitoring and motivation that may have been provided by the more highly-skilled workers who have left.

The costs and benefits of migration can and often do come as mixed blessings.  With respect to the benefits, we have already noted the positive impact of remittances.  Not only have remittance flows to the Caribbean increased, the growth in these flows has outstripped that of both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as well as Official Development Assistance (ODA), making remittances the largest source of external funding for the region.  Over the period of 1990 to 2002, FDI as a percentage of GDP declined from nine percent to six percent, and ODA as a percentage of GDP, declined from four per cent to one per cent.[6] It is evident therefore that migration has made a significant and often critical contribution to the economies of the Caribbean. However, the question remains: “Is this contribution sufficient to offset the negative impact?”

The IMF paper mentioned earlier used a number of variables to estimate the welfare impact of migration on the Caribbean.  The results from the welfare calculations, considering only migration of skilled labour to the United States, showed an average emigration loss for the region of 8.9 per cent of GDP, while providing an average of only 5.9 percent of GDP in remittances. 

While there are, no doubt, other costs and benefits not included in the IMF paper calculations, the results serve as a useful point of departure for considering the way forward.  The paper itself suggests two possible approaches:  (1) minimise the losses by trying to retain the highly skilled in the labour force while at the same time respecting the right of professionals to choose where they want to live and work; and/or (2) seek to increase the benefits of migration to the source countries by adopting a “Diaspora Approach”, that is, by using the Diaspora to build networks for trade, tourism, and investment promotion which is a major thrust of this gathering here this evening as it relates to our sister country, Liberia.

With respect to increasing the amount of remittances to the Caribbean and the development effect of the Diaspora, more work needs to be done as well.  A general weakness in this vein is the lack of timely and reliable data.  There is no mechanism in place for the systematic monitoring of the in-and out-flow of migrants, nor of return migration.  The problem is compounded when considering the levels of irregular and undocumented migration.  There is also limited data available on the scope and type of remittances of skilled migrants, where they go and for what purposes they are used.  Furthermore, assessments of remittances traditionally do not include transfers through informal channels such as those carried by hand or in-kind remittances of jewelry and consumer goods.

The lack of comprehensive information is a significant weakness for planners and policymakers tasked with increasing the benefits of migration.  However, growing international dialogue on the matter has served to provide some guidance in this regard.  Just two years ago, the UNGA High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development addressed these and other critical migration-related matters, and the discussion on remittances produced a number of policy recommendations. Suggestions included increasing competition among money transfer companies and banks to reduce transfer fees; improving access to banking services, including credit, to migrants and their families; and the expansion of financial literacy in source countries.  There was the caution however, that policies should also address the potentially negative consequences of remittances, including the culture of dependency that they might foster both at the household and national levels.[7]

With respect to increasing the development effect of the Diaspora, policies to strengthen ties with nationals abroad and to encourage highly skilled workers to engage in return and circular migration were also discussed.  It was suggested, for instance, that governments should provide more incentives for nationals abroad and returnees, to invest in local development projects, as well as to provide more attractive investment opportunities in general.  It was also suggested that there should be a mechanism for coordination and exchange of research and knowledge on migration to build capacity, as well as to avoid duplication of efforts.

There are growing examples of the “Diaspora Approach” in the Caribbean, with Jamaica, arguably, taking the lead in efforts to harness the potential benefits of its Diaspora.  The Jamaican Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), in collaboration with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and other support agencies, has done much in the way of engaging Jamaicans living abroad to provide an important avenue of strategic alliances to form strong business linkages and achieve national development goals.  For instance, JAMPRO successfully leveraged the country’s co-hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007, to develop a “Legacy Strategy” intended to assist the business community in Jamaica and abroad to take advantage of the global attention that this international affair provided well beyond the staging of the event.[8]

It is the development of initiatives such as this, as well as continued dialogue at the national, regional and international levels, as well as between governments, civil society, and the private sector that will serve to enhance the management of migration to better serve the interests of both source and destination countries.  It is not only essential that source countries engage at various levels and across sectors, but it is also vital that they delineate, maintain and enhance national and regional policies, initiatives and mechanisms to ensure that the benefits of the inevitable migration redound to their nationals living at home and abroad.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have cut a rather wide swath in this presentation but I hope it has nonetheless provided you with some food for thought on the nexus between migration, the “brain drain”, and remittances as played out in the Caribbean region and, no doubt, beyond to lesser or greater degrees."

Photos & Editing by Gloria Starr Kins, MaximsNews Society & Diplomatic Editor

Labels: United Nations, U.N., Paulette Bethel, Bahamas, Jamaica, Caribbean, Migration, Remittances, MaximsNews

 

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