Vol. 32, No. 2 December 2017 Asia-Pacific Published since 1986 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Population Pacific (ESCAP), the Asia-Pacific Population Journal (APPJ) brings out high-quality, evidence-based and forward-looking articles on a wide range of population and development issues in Asia and the Pacific. Journal This issue of the Asia-Pacific Population Journal contains the following articles: Asia-Pacific Population Jour Remittances in North and Central Asian Countries: Enhancing Development Potential By Anna Prokhorova Impact of Remittance Outflows on Sending Economies: The Case of the Russian Federation By George Naufal and Ismail Genc Gender Dimension of Migration from Central Asia to the Russian Federation By Anna Rocheva and Evgeni Varshaver 32, No. 2 December 2017 nal Vol. The Economic Impact of Migration in the Russian Federation: Taxation of Migrant Workers By Tatiana Karabchuk and Daria Salnikova ISBN 978-92-1-120770-5 United Nations publication Printed in Thailand December 2017 – 500 Asia-Pacific Population Journal Full text of the articles available at: www.unescap.org/announcement/asia-pacific-population-journal ASIA-PACIFIC POPULATION JOURNAL Vol. 32, No. 2, December 2017 The Asia-Pacific Population Journal is published at least twice a year in English by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The Journal provides a medium for the international exchange of knowledge, experience, technical information and data on population-related issues as a basis for policymaking and programme development. References to dollars ($) are to United States dollars, unless otherwise specified. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this periodical do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The opinions, figures and estimates set forth in these Journal articles are the responsibility of the authors, and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or carrying the endorsement of the United Nations. Mention of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. ESCAP is not accountable for the accuracy or authenticity of any quotations from sources identified in this publication. Questions concerning quoted materials should be addressed to the sources directly. This issue of the Asia-Pacific Population Journal has been issued without formal editing. ST/ESCAP/2813 ii CONTENTS page Abstracts ......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 3 Remittances in North and Central Asian Countries: Enhancing Development Potential By Anna Prokhorova ........................................................................................ 9 Impact of Remittance Outflows on Sending Economies: The Case of the Russian Federation By George Naufal and Ismail Genc .................................................................. 61 Gender Dimension of Migration from Central Asia to the Russian Federation By Anna Rocheva and Evgeni Varshaver ........................................................ 87 The Economic Impact of Migration in the Russian Federation: Taxation of Migrant Workers By Tatiana Karabchuk and Daria Salnikova .................................................... 137 iii Abstracts Remittances in North and Central Asian Countries: Enhancing Development Potential The article addresses the impacts of remittances in recipient countries in North and Central Asia, noting the high level of dependence of many countries of the subregion on remittances. While remittances are found to produce positive short-term benefits related to the reduction of transitory poverty, they also can contribute to negative impacts such as “Dutch Disease”, dollarization, public and private moral hazard, especially given the use of remittances in consumptive rather than productive activities, saving or investment. Assessing the behaviour of remittance recipients, it is found that few make use of formal means of saving remittances, due to the lack of dedicated remittance-backed products, low levels of development of and trust in the financial sector, and lack of financial literacy among recipients of remittances. Measures to address this situation are proposed and assessed for their relevance to countries of the subregion, drawing from relevant examples such as the use of diaspora bonds, matching grants to promote investment of remittances, and techniques from behavioural economics to promote more productive use of remittances. Impact of Remittance Outflows on Sending Economies: The Case of the Russian Federation The literature on remittance flows has grown steadily over the last few decades together with the growth in international migration of the workforce. Unfortunately, however, most of the literature as well policymakers are concerned with remittance inflows rather than outflows. Despite the fact that the Russian Federation consistently ranks among the top remittance senders in the world, the Russian case remains largely unstudied. This article concentrates on remittance outflows from the Russian economy in order to fill this gap. The findings show that, although large in absolute terms, remittance outflows are still very small compared with GDP. It was also found that, given the declining birth rate as well as deteriorating labour productivity in the Russian Federation juxtaposed with the enormous size of its economy, the Russian economy will continue to need foreign labour. So-called push factors in neighbouring countries will also continue to make the Russian Federation an attractive workplace for foreign workers. Addressing usually negative political sentiments towards remittance outflows, the authors encourage the Government of the Russian Federation to take pre-emptive measures for both political and economic reasons, such as offering more investment opportunities for expatriate workers. Gender Dimension of Migration from Central Asia to the Russian Federation The article considers the relationship between migration from Central Asia to the Russian Federation and gender relations on the basis of statistics of the Russian Federation and international organizations, qualitative and quantitative studies of the article’s authors and other researchers. In particular, the paper describes the age-sex composition of the migration 1 Asia-Pacific Population Journal Vol. 32, No. 2 flows from three countries of the subregion (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan) and discusses the case of Kyrgyzstan with its active female migration. Comparison of the positions migrants take in the labour market shows that male migrants are more often employed in construction and are paid more than female migrants, who work mostly in trade and services. However, men and women show almost no difference in complying with migration laws, vulnerability in interactions with the state, relations with employers and apartment owners as well as transnational practices. Some differences are observed: a significant gendered consequence of the State’s vision of labour migration is the lack of legal grounds for the labour migrant’s family members to stay with him/her long term, an issue which especially affects wives of migrants. Female migrants communicate more often with non-co-ethnics than men, although their co-ethnic men can strive to limit such communication, and these efforts to limit contact sometimes reach the level of physical violence. The scarcity of the research on the way migration impacts women who stay behind leads to conclusions regarding the necessity of further studies, and of the development of mechanisms of assistance to those women who do not receive financial assistance from their husbands. The article also finds that migrants’ sexual and reproductive behaviour is characterized by limited access to information about risks and also requires thorough studies. The Economic Impact of Migration in the Russian Federation: Taxation of Migrant Workers The article contains an outline of migration and taxation in the Russian Federation. The characteristics of migration, the legal and regulatory situation of migrant workers with regard to taxation, actual practices in this regard and the steps required to bridge the gap between potential tax payments from migrants and actual taxation practices are the topics considered. The article is divided into three sections, the first of which reveals the current migration inflows into the Russian Federation, particularly from countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The focus is on the characteristics of the migrants and their opportunities in the Russian labour market, including for informal employment. The second section contains a review of migration legislation, laws and procedures on migrant taxation; it is focused more specifically on the obstacles to such taxation and factors related to tax underpayment among migrant workers. Information is provided on taxes paid by migrants through patents into the Russian budget as well as the estimated sum of average monthly taxes paid by registered migrants. The third section contains a discussion of the interrelationship between irregular migration