Search

Mobile remittances have a high development potential as they hold the promise of providing quick, easy and cheap money transfers. In Africa mobile phone usage has increased sharply and mobile banking providers are extending their services, enabling greater opportunities for mobile remittances. The rise of mobile banking in Africa, however, differs substantially across countries, mainly due to a lack of financial infrastructure. Consequently, the opportunities that mobile banking offers for mobile remittances vary geographically. The services provided do not always meet the needs of remittance senders and the African remittances market is generally under-acknowledged as an important market by providers. Restrictive financial regulations play a key role as well. Mobile remittances have the potential to become an important and revolutionary tool for remittances sending in Africa. Effective policies should therefore address the limitations in the regulatory and financial infrastructure for mobile banking to become the foundation for mobile remittances.

The past decades have seen a rise of survey research in migration studies, which is often cross-national due to the very nature of migration. Conducting cross-country surveys presents challenges for researchers in terms of survey design, implementation, and data collection. A thematic focus on migration brings additional challenges due to the complexity of migration, issues of definitions, sampling and the geographical areas of interest. This paper gives insight into the practicalities of implementing a migration household survey in a developing country, conflict-affected setting. By focusing on these settings this paper is one of the few to target survey methodology in a non-developed country context. We highlight specific areas for attention within survey implementation stages: (1) scoping, (2) survey design, (3) training, (4) pilot, and (5) data collection. We specifically use the examples of the IS Academy project in Ethiopia and Burundi, hereby highlighting the differences between the two countries. The aim of this paper is to give practical guidelines for researchers and practitioners working in the area of migration research.

Using the specific case of the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Temporary Return of Qualified Nationals (TRQN) project, this paper illustrates the effect the short-term return of highly qualified migrants abroad can have on capacity building in the origin country through knowledge transfer, innovation and technological change. The paper specifically examines the needs, expectations and delivery of knowledge through the TRQN project in Afghanistan.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the well-being of elderly left behind by migrant household members in Moldova. Using data derived from a nationally-representative, large-scale household survey conducted between September 2011 and February of 2012 among 3,255 households in all regions of Moldova (except Transnistria) with a total sample of 1,743 households containing at least one elderly person aged 60 or over, we empirically look at different dimensions of elderly well-being. Well-being of elderly in Moldova is broken down by 5 different dimensions of well-being: physical health and independence, material well-being, housing well-being, social well-being, and emotional health. Each indicator is examined individually and then aggregated together as an index. Well-being is also broken down by age group and migration status of the household (current migrant, return migrant and no migration experience). Migration in and of itself does not seem to have a negative impact on the well-being of the elderly in any of the dimensions analyzed. The age of the elderly and the material living standard experienced by the household are much stronger predictors of well-being in a number of different dimensions. The results suggest that migration does not play a significant role in shaping elderly well-being outcomes, contrary to popular belief.

Migration dynamics from Turkey have considerably changed over the last 60 years, which has produced a vast diaspora of around 5 million people. The diaspora's role in the early years of Turkish (labour) migration was characterized in economic terms (remittances and return migration), with the idea that the diaspora would contribute to the country's economic development and welfare. By the time Turkey witnessed economic liberalization in the 1980s, and a transition from temporary migration to permanent settlement of its migrant citizens abroad, the diaspora's obligations toward Turkey did not decline, but changed strategically in favour of the country's political objectives. Turkey now sees its diaspora as a lobbying power both for internal and external relations of the country, and more specifically as its representatives in Europe legitimizing Turkey's claim to EU citizenship. Accordingly, today the policies and Turkish institutions concerned with the diaspora focus not on financial engagement, but on the successful integration of the diaspora in the destination countries, which is expected to consequently benefit the country's image and political claims.

Many countries are currently exploring their diaspora's potential to contribute to local development processes. These countries face numerous challenges in effectively engaging their diasporas such as a lack of experience and resources. Conflict-affected countries, however, face legacies from the past that might challenge diaspora engagement processes. They often also struggle with security issues in the post-conflict phase in addition to these challenges. This chapter compares the diaspora engagement initiatives of two neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa: Rwanda and Burundi. Both countries recognize the potential of their diasporas, but they are at different stages of diaspora policy development. Results show that Rwanda actively addresses the challenges in reaching out to their diaspora by focusing on diasporic unity and communication between diaspora groups and the Rwanda government. Rwanda has also embedded its Diaspora Policy in its long-term development plan. A lack of data however exists on the effectiveness of these efforts. In contrast, Burundi still needs to create the diasporic institutional environment for its diaspora engagement and diaspora engagement policies. A high level of cooperation should be present between ministries, international organizations and the diaspora to create effective policies. For diaspora engagement initiatives to succeed in conflict-affected societies such as Burundi and Rwanda, however, the most important condition is that the countries' security situations become increasingly stable in the near future.

The Indian overseas communities are the result of different waves of migration. Acknowledging that country's migration history and current conditions of migrants influence these perceptions, this paper begins by describing Indian migration from the early colonial period to the present day and presents the current geography of diaspora with exposing the main concentration areas. We then go on to lay out current policies and institutions that shape Indian diaspora engagement. Special attention is devoted to the set up of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), which serves as a single stop agency for any kind of matters relating to overseas Indians and is meant as a focal point for overseas Indians, immigrant organizations, as well as for trade, industry and any other organization with stakes in overseas Indian affairs. By setting up the MOIA in 2004 and dedicating suffient time and resources for support of institutions, the Government of India declared its long-term commitment to reach out to their migrants. Moreover, the Indian government has signed a number of agreements for bilateral cooperation with the main countries of destinations and takes an active part in regional and global initiatives for migration management. India has, in this way, already emerged as a leader in this field with one of the most comprehensive state level diaspora engagement policies, which makes India's institutional practices particularly interesting to observe. The chapter summarizes with the discussion on the current debates, pointing to the continuing renegotiation of diaspora's involvement in the development of India.

Immigrant access to social protection in the Netherlands has changed quite markedly over time. This paper discusses the changes from an historical perspective and introduces a theoretical framework (the Welfare Pentagon) explaining how immigrants cope with (economic) hardship when they do not have access to formal social protection. The relationship between migrants and social protection in the Netherlands has been and still is marked by asymmetries in entitlements and contributions (taxes). Shifting notions of fairness throughout time to both documented and undocumented migrants are noticed and interpreted.

Ethiopia is one of the largest and poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Emigration from Ethiopia began in the mid-1970s with large refugee flows and continues today with skilled migrants seeking opportunities outside of the country. Since 2002, the Government of Ethiopia has become one of the most active countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in engaging the diaspora. This paper offers a review of the institutional and policy arrang1ements developed in Ethiopia in the last decade and the effect of these institutions and policy on the diaspora and debates in Ethiopia.