DevelopmentontheMove:Measuring andOptimisingMigration’sEconomicand SocialImpacts AStudyofMigration’sImpactsonDevelopmentin JamaicaandhowPolicyMightRespond byElizabethThomas-Hope,ClaremontKirton,PaulineKnight,NatashaMortleyandMikhail-Ann Urquhart,withClaudelNoel,HilaryRobertson-HicklingandEastonWilliams June2009 ©ipprandGDN2009 GlobalDevelopmentNetworkandInstituteforPublicPolicyResearch 1 GDNandippr |AStudyofMigration’sImpactsonDevelopmentinJamaicaandhowPolicyMightRespond Foreword Thisreportisthefirstmajoroutputfromtheproject‘DevelopmentontheMove:Measuringand OptimisingMigration’sEconomicandSocialImpacts’. DevelopmentontheMoveisajointprojectofthe GlobalDevelopmentNetwork(GDN),aninternationalorganisationheadquarteredinDelhi,Indiaand dedicatedtopromotingdevelopmentresearch;andtheInstituteforPublicPolicyResearch(ippr),oneof theUK’sleadingthinktanks. DevelopmentontheMoveisaground-breakingglobalresearchprojectgatheringnewqualitativeand quantitativedataaboutmigration’sdevelopmentimpacts.Theprojectaimstocomprehensivelyassess howmigrationaffectsdevelopmentinanumberofdifferentcountriesaroundtheworld,andhowpolicy canmaximisemigration’sdevelopmentbenefitsandminimiseitscosts. Webelievetheprojectisuniqueintermsofscope,depthandfocus.Weareconductingcomparable researchinsevencountries,eachonadifferentcontinent,speakingtohundredsofthousandsofpeople andgatheringin-depthdatafrommorethan10,000households.Wearelookingatawiderangeof migration’sdevelopmentimpacts,thustakingamulti-issueapproach,thinkingabouthowmigration asa whole affectsdevelopment asawhole .Andtheprojectisuniquelypolicyfocused,withpolicymakerinputs atvariousstagesoftheresearchandfresh,workablepolicyideasoneofthekeyprojectgoals. Therangeofoutputstheprojectisproducingisdiverse,includingworkshops,aworkingpaperseries,a shortfilm,anumberofcomparativereports,apubliclyavailablehouseholddataset,andasetofin-depth countrystudies.Theoutputsalreadyavailable(suchasthefirstfourworkingpapers),canbefoundonour websites.Thisreport,acountrystudyfocusingonJamaica,isthefirstmajorpublicationfromtheproject. TheJamaicaresearchwasour‘pilot’phaseoftheproject,andassuchdiffersinsomewaysfromthe forthcomingcountrystudies.Thehouseholdsurveywhichformsthefoundationofmuchofthenew analysiswassmallerinJamaicathanintheothercountries(involving486households,versus1200+)and wasbasedonaslightlydifferentquestionnaire.Thefocusoftheanalysisinthiscaseisalsomore descriptivethanfuturestudieswillbe,whichwilltrytotacklethequestionofthe‘counterfactual’–what wouldhavehappenedintheabsenceofmigration–morecomprehensively.However,inmostwaysthe researchisverysimilar–itaddressesthesameresearchquestions,usingthesameresearchinputs,and producingthesamekindofoutput–acomprehensivecountryreport–asalltheforthcomingstudies. Jamaicawasaparticularlyinterestingcaseforourpilotanalysisbecauseoftheregion’slonghistoryof migration,aswellasitscontinuedprevalencetoday.TheOrganisationforEconomicCooperationand Development,forexample,hasestimatedthatJamaicaisoneofthecountriesmostaffectedbybrain drainanywhereintheworld.However,despitethelonghistoryofmigrationandthemanyinsightful studiesthathavebeenconductedintodifferentaspectsofit,theextenttowhichmigration–inallits forms–isoccurringinJamaicatoday,andwhatitsvariousdevelopmentalimpactsare,arestillnotclear. Thissuggeststhatourreportaddressesanimportantknowledgegap. Itisworthnoting,too,thatJamaica’sdevelopmentalcircumstancesmakeitaparticularlyinteresting countryinwhichtoundertakeourpilotanalysis.ThestakeholderworkshopheldinthecapitalKingstonto launchtheresearchmadeclear,forexample,theimportanceofaddressingsecurityissuesinorderto strengthenJamaicandevelopment;Jamaica’smurderrateatmorethan1000murdersperyearisofalevel thatcouldclassifythecountryasexperiencingawarorhigh-intensityconflict,makingtheissueamajor policypriority.Itisimperative,then,thatourreporttakesintoaccountJamaica’suniquedevelopmental circumstances,touchingonissuesofcrimeandsecurity,andhowmigrationaffectsthem.Thisishelpedby thefactthatallourin-depthcountryreportsareauthoredbyresearchteamsprimarilycomposedof researcherslivingandworkinginthecountryofstudy.Thisensuresthatourresearchisshapedbyand 2 GDNandippr |AStudyofMigration’sImpactsonDevelopmentinJamaicaandhowPolicyMightRespond referencesthelocalcontext,helpingtomaketheanalysisandresultingpolicyrecommendationsas relevantaspossible. Theprojectmanagementteamaregratefultothepaperauthorsfortheirimportantworkonthisproject, aswellastheteamfromtheStatisticalInstituteofJamaicawhodidanexcellentjobincarryingoutthe householdsurveyuponwhichasubstantialpartoftheanalysisisbased.Theprojectwouldalsonothave beenpossiblewithoutthegeneroussupportprovidedbyaninternationalgroupofdonors,comprisingthe AustralianAgencyforInternationalDevelopment,theAustrianMinistryofFinance,theFinnishMinistryof ForeignAffairs,theLuxembourgMinistryofFinance,theNorwegianAgencyforDevelopment Cooperation,theSpanishMinistryofForeignAffairs,andtheUKDepartmentforInternational Development.However,theviewsinthispaperdonotnecessarilyrepresentthoseofanyoftheproject funders. PleasecontactipprandGDNwithanyquestionsorcommentsyouhaveonreadingthisreport. DevelopmentontheMoveisacollaborativeendeavourbetweenpartnersfromallovertheworldhoping tolearnfromoneanotherwhileaddingtotheglobalstockofknowledge.Wewouldbedelightedto furtherbroadenthatdialogue. RamonaAngelescu,LauraChappell,GeorgeMavrotas,LoicSanchez,Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah ProjectManagementTeam 3 GDNandippr |AStudyofMigration’sImpactsonDevelopmentinJamaicaandhowPolicyMightRespond Contents AboutGDN 4 Aboutippr 4 Abouttheauthors 5 Acknowledgements 6 Executivesummary 7 1.Introduction 10 2.PatternsofJamaicanmigration 15 3.ConsequencesofJamaicanmigration 32 4.Migration’sdevelopmentimpacts 48 5.Policy 51 6.Concludingsummary 59 References 60 Appendix1:Institutionsfromwhich stakeholdersweredrawn 64 Appendix2:Householdsurveysummary 65 4 GDNandippr |AStudyofMigration’sImpactsonDevelopmentinJamaicaandhowPolicyMightRespond AboutGDN GDN,basedinDelhi,strivestopromotehomegrownexpertiseindevelopmentresearch.Ithelps researchersfromthedevelopingandtransitioncountriestogeneratenewknowledgeinthesocialsciences andbuildresearchexcellence,shareresearchoutput,data,andexperiencesacrossregionsaswellasto applyresearchtopolicyandinformpolicymakers. GDNistheworld’slargestnetworkofresearchersandpolicyinstitutionsdedicatedtopromotingpolicy- relevantresearchforthepurposesofdevelopment.GDNhassignificantexperienceworkingonmigration issuesthroughdesigningandimplementingglobalresearchprojectsthatemphasisedevelopingcountry perspectivesonmigration. www.gdnet.org Aboutippr TheInstituteforPublicPolicyResearch(ippr)istheUK’sleadingprogressivethinktank,producing cutting-edgeresearchandinnovativepolicyideasforajust,democraticandsustainableworld.Since 1988,wehavebeenattheforefrontofprogressivedebateandpolicymakingintheUK.Throughour independentresearchandanalysiswedefinenewagendasforchangeandprovidepracticalsolutionsto challengesacrossthefullrangeofpublicpolicyissues. WithofficesinbothLondonandNewcastle,weensureouroutlookisasbroad-basedaspossible,while ourinternationalandmigrationteamsandclimatechangeprogrammeextendourpartnershipsand influencebeyondtheUK,givingusatrulyworld-classreputationforhighqualityresearch. Inrecentyears,ipprhasexaminedmigrationanddevelopmentissuesforvariousorganisationsincluding theGlobalForumonMigrationandDevelopment(GFMD),theGlobalCommissiononInternational Migration(GCIM),theInternationalOrganizationforMigration(IOM),theOrganisationforEconomic CooperationandDevelopment(OECD)andtheUnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme(UNDP). www.ippr.org 5 GDNandippr |AStudyofMigration’sImpactsonDevelopmentinJamaicaandhowPolicyMightRespond Abouttheauthors ElizabethThomasElizabethThomas----HopeHopeHopeistheJamesSeivrightMoss-Solomon(Snr.)ChairofEnvironmentalManagement attheUniversityoftheWestIndies(UWI).SheisamemberoftheAdvisoryBoardoftheEU-UNJoint MigrationandDevelopmentInitiative,andtheAdvisoryCommitteeoftheUnitedNationsDevelopment ProgrammeReport2009. ClaremontKirtonClaremontKirtonisaSeniorLecturerandHeadoftheDepartmentofEconomicsattheUniversityofthe WestIndies(UWI),Mona,Jamaica.Heisamemberofthe CaribbeanDiasporaEconomyResearchGroup (CDERG) intheDepartmentofEconomics. PaulineKnightPaulineKnightistheDirectoroftheSocialPolicy,PlanningandResearchDivisionofthePlanning InstituteofJamaica.SheisamemberoftheCabinetCommitteeonHumanResourcesandisVice-Chairof theVitalStatisticsCommission. NatashaKayMortleyNatashaKayMortleyholdsaPhDinMigrationandDiasporaStudiesfromtheUniversityoftheWest Indies(UWI),Jamaica.ShecurrentlyworksasaResearchFellowattheUWIintheareaofGender, LeadershipandDevelopmentfortheCaribbean. MikhailMikhail----AnnUrquhartAnnUrquhartAnnUrquhartisanAssistantLecturerintheDepartmentofEconomicsatUWI,Mona,Jamaica. ShehasreceivedseveralacademicawardsincludingtheG.ArthurBrownScholarshipsponsoredbythe BankoftheJamaica. ClaudelNoelClaudelNoel(PhD)iscurrentlymanagingtheCampusPlasticBottleRecyclingPilotProject,Centreforthe Environment,UWI,Mona,Jamaica.HealsolecturescoursesinResearchMethodsandSolidWaste ManagementSystemsatUWIMona. HilaryRobertsonHilaryRobertson----HicklingHicklingHickling(PhD)isaLecturerinHumanResourceManagementatUWI,Mona,Jamaica. Herresearchinterestsincludemigrationandmentalhealth,themigrationofthehealthworkforce,cultural therapyandresilience. EastonWilliamsEastonWilliamsistheManagerofthePopulationUnitintheSocialPolicy,PlanningandResearchDivision ofthePlanningInstituteofJamaica.HeisJamaica’sfocalpointfortheGlobalForumonInternational MigrationandDevelopmentandisamemberoftheWorkingGrouponPolicyCoherence,Dataand