International migration in Asia and the Pacific: trends, problems, and recommendations
Alberto Diaz, C.
Initiatives in Population 8(2): 23-30
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0115-2181 PMID: 12280743 Document Number: 260818
Like other parts of the world, the Asia and Pacific region has experienced mass movements of the population within and across countries. This report presents the issues and problems discussed, and the recommendations given at the Expert Group Meeting on International Migration in Asia and the Pacific, held in 1984 in Manila. The 9 issues discussed include: 1) available data on international migration are often inconsistent, incomplete, and inadequate for a thorough analysis of the migration situation; 2) the conventional economic theory of migration, and the modern view are different, but related; 3) are internal and international migration 2 distinct phenomena, or are they simply opposite ends of a continuum ranging from short-distance moves within a country to long-distance moves across national boundaries?; 4) permanent migration from Asia and the Pacific to the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand has risen sharply over the the past few years; 5) international migration could have considerable effects on the size, composition, growth, and structure of the populations of both sending and receiving countries; 6) temporary labor migration to the Middle East increased rapidly in the recent past; 7) temporary labor migration has benefits and costs to the home country and to the returning workers and their families; 8) refugee movements within and from Asia have had significant repercussions, not only in the lives of the migrants themselves, but also in the national policies and social structures of the asylum countries; and 9) international migration, if properly controlled and organized, could work for the benefit of every country involved.