Making labour migration easier can deepen Asean economic integration: WB

Intra-regional migration in Asean increased significantly between 1995 and 2015, turning Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand into regional migration hubs with 6.5 million migrants – 96 per cent of the total number of migrant workers in Asean, according to the bank’s “Migrating to Opportunity” report.
Approximately US$62 billion (Bt2 trillion) in remittances was sent to Asean countries in 2015. 
Low-skilled, and often undocumented, Asean migrants move in search of economic opportunity, mainly in the construction, plantation, and domestic services sectors. 
Higher-salary jobs are available, yet workers are not always able to take advantage of these opportunities, the report states. 
The Asean Economic Community has taken steps to facilitate mobility, but these regulations only cover certain skilled professions – doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers, architects, accountants, and tourism professionals – or just 5 per cent of jobs in the region.
“With the right policy choices, sending countries can reap the economic benefits of out-migration while protecting their citizens who choose to migrate for work. In receiving countries, foreign workers can fill labour shortages and promote sustained economic growth, if migration policies are aligned with their economic needs. 
“Inappropriate policies and ineffective institutions mean that the region is missing opportunities to gain fully from migration,” said Sudhir Shetty, World Bank chief economist for the East Asia and Pacific region.
Overall, migration procedures across Asean remain restrictive. 
Barriers such as costly and lengthy recruitment processes, restrictive quotas on the number of foreign workers allowed in a country, and rigid employment policies constrain workers’ employment options and impact their welfare. 
These restrictive policies are partly influenced by the perception that an influx of migrants would have negative impacts on receiving economies. 
However, there is evidence to the contrary, according to the report. In Malaysia, simulations find that a 10-per-cent net increase in low-skilled immigrant workers increases real GDP by 1.1 per cent. 
In Thailand, recent analysis finds that, without migrants in the labour force, GDP would fall by 0.75 per cent.
“No matter where workers wish to migrate in Asean, they face mobility costs several times the annual average wage. Improvements in the migration process can ease these costs on prospective migrants, and help countries respond better to their labor market needs,” said the World Bank economist for Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, Mauro Testaverde, the lead author of the report.
The impact of labour mobility on the region’s economies can be significant, as migration could provide individuals from lower-income countries with the opportunity to increase their incomes. 
A range of policies can be implemented to enhance workers’ mobility, while more oversight of recruitment agencies is needed across the region. 
Receiving countries can introduce measures to maximise the benefits from labour mobility. Thailand may benefit from formalising undocumented migrants and making entry procedures less costly, the report suggests.