INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICE
Policy Coherence: Migration, Trade, Aid, and Development
Milena Novy-Marx, Ph.D.
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
February 26, 2008
Overview


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1. Impacts of Trade and Migration on Development
2. Policy Coherence: Why it Matters
3. Examples of Incoherence
United Kingdom and Migration of Health Workers
 Philippines
 Agricultural policy in wealthy countries
 US, Mexico, and North American Free Trade Agreement


4. Solutions
UK Commonwealth Code of Practice
 Global Forum for Migration and Development

5. Conclusion
6. Discussion Questions
Impacts of Trade on Development

Presumption that freer trade promotes economic
growth and development
 Comparative
Advantage
 Increased efficiency

Freer trade will not promote growth absent basic
founding conditions
 Market
imperfections in poorest countries
 Lack of basic infrastructure, credit markets
 Undeveloped human resources, disease burden, low
agricultural productivity
Migration and Development


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Worldwide: 200 million international migrants or 3%
of global population
Increasing complexity of migration
Half of all migrants are women
Wage and demographic and imbalances between
“North” and “South” create push and pull factors
Paradigm shift to potential positive impacts of migration
on development
Lack of international regime for managing movement of
people, protecting migrants’ rights
Impacts in Countries of Origin

Remittances totaled $206 billion in 2006
Foreign Direct
Investment
Development Aid
Private Debt and
Portfolio Equity
Impacts in Countries of Origin and
Destination


Countries of Origin
 Remittances – poverty reduction
 Release pressure on local labor markets
 Brain Drain
 Diaspora: Transfers of Knowledge, Investment, Skills,
Contacts, Philanthropy
Countries of Destination
 Supply of needed labor (high and low-skilled)
 Tax revenue
 Multicultural vitality
 Migrants vulnerable to abuse
Trade and Migration



Differences and Similarities between flows of goods
and people
Complexity of migration due to human dimension
Gains from trade and migration are not evenly
distributed
Policy Coherence: Why?


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Policy Coherence is the systematic promotion of mutually
reinforcing policy actions by governments
Policies on trade, aid, development and migration can be
complements
Yet often countries’ policies work at cross purposes
Examples of policy incoherence:




United Kingdom’s (UK) health workforce
Philippines
Developed countries’ agricultural policy
US and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
United Kingdom: Health Workers


UK: Migration policy recruits Malawian nurses
UK’s aid agency provides aid to Malawi’s health
sector
 $120

million in 2004, $34 million for health in 2005
Recruitment from other low-income countries (Africa)
Countries with critical health worker
shortages

Eventually ethical guidelines established for
recruitment by national health system
Philippines


Promoting emigration of doctors and nurses leads to
a domestic shortage in health workers
Emigration as national development strategy has
compromised some development outcomes
 Decline in health standards
 Dependence on remittance/migration model
Developed countries’ agriculture, trade,
and aid policies



Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) development assistance promotes trade and
agriculture
Agriculture a key sector for many low-income countries
Yet OECD domestic agriculture and trade policies work at
cross-purposes to these goals
 Subsidies for agricultural production
 Tariffs on agricultural goods from low-income countries
 Increase in non-tariff barriers
US and Mexico: North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA)



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US increased border enforcement to cut migration
while the free trade pact increased it
NAFTA does not address migration, subsidies
NAFTA raised pressure for migration to US
Dislocation of farmers
In short-term, freer trade increases migration
In long-term, trade and migration may be
substitutes
Migration Hump
Source: Philip Martin, “NAFTA and Mexico-US Migration,” 2005.
A Policy Solution: United Kingdom


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Commonwealth Code of Practice
 Restricts recruitment by national health service
 Innovative arrangements: hospital twinnings, training
Malawi
 UK increases aid to country’s health sector for more
training, higher salaries
 Migration of nurses to the UK declines
Challenges:
 Balancing right to move with health needs of poorest
 Recruitment continues by private sector
Global Forum on Migration and
Development


Nascent effort to coordinate policies on migration
and development within and between countries
Inter-governmental and civil society meetings to
exchange information and best practices
 Non-binding
 Governments establish focal points within Ministries
 Next Forum in Manila October 2008
Policy Recommendations


Governments should:
 Establish focal points or departments in Ministries
 Develop formal consultations between Ministries/agencies
 Developing national policies/plans for coherence
 Incorporate migration and trade in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
(PRSPs)
 Improve international coordination
Many challenges remain:
 Political commitment
 Policy goals often unclear
 Effective government institutions and administration
 Financial and human resources
 Private sector can complement or work against coherence
Conclusion


Better coordinated policies on aid, migration and
trade can be complementary, creating synergies for
development
Challenges to implementation
Discussion Questions
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What are examples of policy incoherence in your country?
Has policy coherence improved in any areas?
Is policy coherence primarily an issue for developed countries?
What lessons can be drawn from the cases discussed?
How should development be defined and measured? By the
well being of individuals from a country, regardless of
residence? Or by per capita income of those remaining incountry?
Should individuals have the right to migrate?
INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE
Policy Coherence: Migration, Trade, Aid and
Development Lecture
Milena Novy-Marx