Mainstreaming Migration and
Remittances to the Development
Agenda: Nepal Experience
Jagannath Adhikari
Presentation
• Types, scale and importance of migration/remittances
on national economy.
• Village level studies – on impact on society and
economy.
• Policy evolution on migration and a case for
mainstreaming migration and remittances.
• How development policies deal with
migration/remittances.
• Policy gaps for mainstreaming migration in
development policies.
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2013
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Major migration currents in Nepal
(most of them are occurring simultaneously.. But they are major flows)
• Early in-migration leading to peopling of the country (6th13th century).
• Traditional migration for trade (until 1950s), and combined
with seasonal movement.
• Early heavy out-migration from Nepal 18th-20th century
(with high taxation and extreme exploitation of common
peasants).
• Migration for army jobs .. still continuing to some extent.
• Rapid internal migration (hill to Tarai) 1960 to 1980s, after
malaria eradication.
• Foreign labour migration beyond India (after 1990).
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Emigration
(moving out of country: Sources – CBS, NIDS, 2012)
Subtypes
Volume (in 2011)
Seasonal (Nepal to India)
Mainly from mid and far west,
Nepal; for farm work Nepali also go
to India.
0.8 million – 1.5 million
Temporary (Nepal to India)
Army Jobs (Nepal to India)
50,000 (approx)
Army Job (Nepal-British army)
3,000 (approx)
Temporary, Long distance, contract job 1.9 million stock (about 360,000
(Beyond India, but mainly in Malaysia and yearly in recent times)
Gulf)
women = 10%
Student migration (except India)
Refugees in Nepal
25,000 (approx..) in 2011
Tibetan, Bhutanese, others…
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Scale of foreign labour migration and
remittance is staggering in Nepal
• Almost half of Nepali households have at least
one current or a recent returnee migrant
members working abroad.
• Remittance constitutes one-fourth of
household income.
• At least 1/3 of working age male population is
abroad
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Volume of Migration is Large and Increasing
Migration to foreign countries (except India) with official permission.
(India – estimated at 0.8 - 2 million; DoFE, GoN, 2012)
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Gulf Sates and Malaysia are Main Countries for
Migration from Nepal (other than India)
(Data for 1993-2011; DoFE, 2012)
Hong Kong
Israel
Lebanon
Oman
Bahrain
Kuwait
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
Malaysia
0
100000
200000
300000
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400000
500000
600000
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There is a Direct Correlation Between Wealth Status and
Where a Person Goes for Work (Source: NIDS, 2012)
Wealth Status
Where they go for work Type of work
Poor
India (on a seasonal
basis or temporary)
laborers, hotel and
restaurants, domestic
help
Lower middle class
India
factory work and office
work
Malaysia and Gulf States unskilled works
Upper middle class
India (few)
army or civil service
Malaysia and Gulf States unskilled and semi(many)
skilled works
Higher class
Japan, Korea, North
America, Europe,
Australia
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2013
Entry level wage work ,
professional work
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Official Remittances to Nepal
US $ 5.2 billion in 2011/12
(Source: MoF, Economic Survey, 2012, NRB, Economic Bulletin, 2013)
450
400
Remittances (Rs billion)
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
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2013
2008/09
2009/10
2010//11
2011/12
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Remittance Contribution to Nepal’s
Economy (source: MoF, 2012)
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Huge Contribution of remittance (internal+external)
to poverty reduction
Description
1995-96
2003-04
2010-11
% households receiving remittances
23.4
31.9
55.8
Average amount of remittances per
recipient household (nominal Rs)
15,160
34,698
80,425
Share of remittances (%):
From Nepal
44.7
23.5
19.7
From India
32.9
23.2
80.3
From other countries
22.4
35.4
42
32
Poverty rate (% people below poverty)
25
Source: CBS, 2006, 2012 (NLSS I, II and II)
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Total Remittances by Districts in 2009
(poor regions participation is very low)
Source: (world Bank 2009)
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Village study
(Pokhara and its nearby villages)
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% households having members in foreign countries to work
(except India) from Lachok-Rivan village
Ethnic
groups
Brahmin
1990
1997
2007
-
16.4
43.4
27.1
45.4
28.7
66.4
43.8
73.2
(India seasonal - 15 %)
Chettri
(India mostly seasonal
25 %)
Dalit
(India mostly
seasonal - 50 %)
Gurung
8 (UK army)
25 % India army)
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Use of remittances
• Consumption - macro-economic situation … balancing the national
current account .. (dominant discourse in Nepal)
• NLSS III says only about 2% is used for capital formation. Other
studies contradictions.
• Grass-roots studies show that use in education, health and buying
assets are important.. (after paying loans).
• there are multiplier effects for employment and income generation
(land rent opportunities… wage opportunities).
• High investment on buying land, especially in urban areas and
market centers.
• Remittances leading to internal migration… for housing, children
education and medical facility, and for businesses like shops…
- Village to road side… ; Village to market centers; Village to urban
areas…
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Houses (old and new)
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Returning to Village
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Advertisement of remittance agencies in rural
areas
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Remittance Agency’s Advertisement –
(bringing happiness to parents)
.
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Remittance Agency’s Advertisement –
(bringing happiness to migrants’ wives)
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Left Behind Families and Their
Problems
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Impact of Migration on Natural Capital in
Villages
Increase :
- Fallow land
- Tree cover
- Wage rate of males
Decline :
- Livestock number
- Food production
- Land rents
- Intake of nutritious food
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More Forest Cover Now
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Male Laborers are Scarce
Wages for male have Become High
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High Burden on Women
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More Workload and Responsibility on
Women
• Feminization of farm work
• Feminization of social and
collective works
• Shift in gender-roles
• More participation in
market
• More Family problems
• Girls sharing mothers’
workload
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Migration and Rapidly Changing
Communities
•
•
•
•
•
•
Individualization of community works.
Pressure to generate more income.
Diverging interests and more conflicts.
Changing caste relations.
Male labour shortage.
Male youth not interested in education.
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Extended Community?
• Multi-locational livelihood strategies.
• Village community reproduced in other
spaces through diasporas (Japan, Gulf
States, New York City).
• Migrants bringing in skills.
• Resource generation and skill transfer for
schools, hospitals and other village
development.
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Regulations and policies
Present migration related Acts/policies/regulations/procedure
Other supportive policies
Foreign Employment Act 2007
The Interim Constitution 2007
Foreign Employment Rules 2008
Passports Act 1967
Foreign Employment Policy 2012
Nepal Citizenship Act 2006
Internal Working Directive of Department of Foreign Employment
Non-Resident Nepali Act 2008
2009 (2066 AD).
Directives for Emigration for Women Domestic Help, 2012
Nepal Rastra Bank Remittance Rules 2010
Report of a Task-Force constituted to make recommendation to
National Micro-finance Policy 2064
improve foreign labour migration 2010
Nepal Rastra Bank Provision Related to
EPS system
Providing Credit to Poor (Bipanna Barga)
Executive Order 17
JITCO Directive 2009
Working Procedure to send Caregiver to Israel, 2011
Bilateral agreements and MoUs
Three Year Plan (2010-2013)
Immigration Act 1992 and Labor Act 1992Jagannath
(guide immigration)
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Policy evolution/mainstreaming
•
•
•
Before 1985 - only domestic employment generation was emphasized.
7th Plan (1985-1990) and 8th Plan (1992-1997): realization of importance of
foreign employment.
The ninth Plan (1997-2002) – emphasized the need to take advantage of
globalization process through foreign labour migration promotion of skill
development and economic diplomacy.
- Policy to send 200 workers for foreign employment from each electoral
constituency, numbering 201 constituencies at that time,
- To provide loan of Rs 100,000 to conflict affected and socially excluded groups
so that they could take the opportunity for foreign employment.
•
Both these policies did not continue.
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2013
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Political change 2006:
• Foreign Employment Act (2007) and Foreign Employment Rules
(2008)
• Current Interim Plan (2011-2013) separate chapter on foreign
employment
Foreign Employment Policy 2012:
• To mobilize remittances for human development and in the
manufacturing sector.
• Mainstreaming of foreign employment in local level projects through
collaboration with local agencies, which will also be responsible for
awareness raising on foreign employment.
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Policies to use social remittances
• Foreign Employment Policy 2012 and Interim
Plan (2011-2013) give concern for use of
social remittances.
“looking at migration as a means of brining in
new skills and technology. Using the skills
and experiences of returned migrants for the
development of enterprises to develop
country and reduce poverty”.
• Lacks concrete programs.
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Migration policies and other policies:
• Not much inter-linkage in related policies in migration and
development/environment, which refers to migration but do not
mainstream it.
• Interest in policies to use remittances as a means of poverty
reduction (PRSPs -10th plan and in other periodic plans).
• Conversely, poverty reduction and women development policies do
not deal with migration and remittances.
• The Three Year Plan (2011-2013) has clearly stated that it will
encourage bank and financial institutions to provide soft loans to the
needy people but not in action. Nepal Rastra Bank’s micro-credit
policy on ‘poor’ has provision for loan for migration.
• Reservation for 10% seats (social inclusion of women, Dalits and
marginalized groups) in Foreign Employment Rules.
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Policy Gaps: Mainstreaming Migration to
development
• There is a clear case for mainstreaming migration for development and for
improving livelihoods.
• There has been gradual evolution in migration policies – which aim
basically at migration safety, welfare and using remittances for productive
use.
• There is recognition/discussion in different policies eg poverty reduction,
agricultural development, climate change adaptation, social development
(eg women development, children development, social welfare) microfinance on migration taking places and remittances coming in and their
consequences on society and economy.
• But, they are short of mainstreaming migration in their policies and
programs.
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Policy gaps….
• Policy on information system, particularly information sharing through
digital means among different related agencies, is lacking leading to
duplications and hassles for workers.
• Vertical thinking/action in sectoral ministries.
• Decentralization policies do not deal with foreign employment and
remittances at local level.
• Policy to use remittances for encouraging productive investment is lacking.
• Simple things like having a migration resource center in CDO office while
getting passport and having a facility to watch at video about migration
could be beneficial.
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Thank You
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