Migration, Diaspora and Development in the Caribbean

Dr. Keith Nurse

Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas &

Canadian Foundation for the Americas

Zacatecas, Mexico

October 2004

Diaspora and Globalization

Globalization of labour – more restricted than previous era of globalization

Globalization of travel, communication, media & consumption style

Globalization of higher education Globalization from below – “globalization in

reverse” Deterritorialization of nation-states Proliferation of transnational communities,

networks & hybrid identities

The Global Migration Context The migratory flow of people from Developing

Countries is driven by two global imbalances: The widening socio-economic polarization (i.e. the

widening income gap) between and within the countries of

the North and the South. CULTURE OF EMIGRATION

Labour shortages and demographic polarization in terms of the relative ageing of the population of the North, the looming generational crisis.

REPLACEMENT & LABOUR MIGRATION

Diaspora & the New International Division of Labour

Labour importation is the flipside of the relocation of production (sectors not yet mechanized): Export-oriented manufacturing & services Export processing zones or Maquiladoras

Labour importation supplies sectors that are not able or yet ready to migrate: Agricultural jobs Personal, education & health services Science & technology, IT & technical skills

Remittances: Sending & Receiving Countries, 2002

Sending Countries US $28.4bn Saudi Arabia $15.1bn Germany $8.2bn Canada $5.2bn

Receiving Countries India $11.5bn Mexico $9.9bn Philippines $6.4bn Egypt $3.7bn Morocco $3.3bn

Financial Inflows to Developing Countries, 2002

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

FDI Debt Aid Remit

Financial Inflows

Remittances by Region, 2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Total LAC Africa SSA

Region Shares

The Caribbean Diaspora, 1996

80%

3%

3%

4%

10%

USCanadaFranceNeth.UK

The Caribbean diaspora is located in North America and in former colonizer countries like UK, France and the Netherlands.

Includes foreign-born & persons with one or both parents of Caribbean origin.

Types of Caribbean Migrants

Settlers: kinship, family reunification, economic migrants

Contract workers: domestics, farm workers, sex workers

Seasonal workers: e.g. CSAWP Professionals: doctors, nurses, sports players,

entrepreneurs Asylum seekers and refugees Swallows

Remittances to the Caribbean, 2002

Country Remittances US$m

Barbados 84

Cuba 1138

Dominican Republic 2111

Guyana 119

Haiti 931

Jamaica 1288

Trinidad & Tobago 59

Total 5730

Migration & Development: The Balance Sheet

Positive Remittances - stable source

of FEX Vent for surplus population Skills transfer & brain gain Diasporic investments Diasporic exports Diasporic tourism Diasporic lobby Transnational networks (e.g.

HTAs) Regional & hemispheric

integration

Negative Unearned income a disincentive Brain drain Educational investment & taxes

foregone Family breakup & gender

imbalance Culture of emigration Mobile populations & HIV/AIDS Deportees & crime New mode of dependency &

vulnerability

Remittances & Other Financial Flows to the

Caribbean, 1996 and 2001 (US$bn)

Year Remittances FDI ODA

1996 2.4 0.7 0.7

2001 4.5 2.7 0.5

Remittances compared to other Inflows and Key Economic Sectors, 1999

Countries Remitt-ancesUS$m

Tourism%

Agro Exports

%

Total Exports

%

Dom.Rep 1747 69 290 34

Haiti 720 1241 5455 220

Jamaica 781 63 12 52

Caribbean Brain Drain, 1990

Countries Tertiary Educated share of Total Migrants

Migration Rates of Tertiary Educated

Dominican Republic 22.6 14.2

Jamaica 41.7 67.3

Trinidad & Tobago 46.7 57.2

Guyana 40.7 77.3

Global Poaching of Labour: The Case of Nurses from the Caribbean

Country Number of Nurse per 10,000 persons

United States of America

97.2

Jamaica 11.3

Nursing Vacancies in Jamaica, 2001

Job Type Level of Vacancies (%)

Registered Nurses 37

Public Health Nurses 28

Nurse Practitioners 17

Assistant Nurses 61

Diaspora & New Global Political Economy The growth of the Diasporic political economy

signals the emergence of a new post-national, post-industrial & post-development phase in the GPE:

Diasporic flows exceed traditional external flows, for example, FDI, ODA, Debt financing.

Remittances, barrel imports, diasporic tourism, exports & investment are the new drivers of the LAC economy.

Diasporic diplomacy emerging as new plank of international relations and international security in the post 9/11 era.

Global Migration Problematique The exodus of human capital is a function of

diminishing returns in Latin America & the Caribbean

Labour migration is a process of shifting cultivation

The labour migration problem is one of the devil take the hindmost Rural Urban Global Cities Low income Middle income High Income Haiti Dom. Rep. New York

Strategic Responses

Secure rights of migrants and expand negotiating power (e.g. ILO conventions)

Reduce transaction cost of remittances Encourage remitters and recipients to use

banking system and expand savings Establish bilateral arrangements to train

labour for export

Strategic Responses (cont’d)

Facilitate diasporic investments, exports, tourism

Lobby for reduced restrictions on the mobility of natural persons (WTO GATS mode 4)

Need for more participatory action research.

Goals of June 2004 Conference – Jamaican Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1. To strengthen the linkages among Jamaican communities overseas;

2. To create the platform for increased business contracts between Jamaicans at home and abroad;

3. To create a platform to comprehensively involve more overseas Jamaicans in the political, social and cultural life of Jamaica;

4. To elicit ideas from the Diaspora community for the formulation of public policy, and

5. To see the formulation of high-powered lobby groups in the US, Canada and the UK to assist Jamaica in international trade