Does migration for domestic work reduce poverty? A review of the literature and an agenda for research

This review of the published academic literature on internal and regional migration for domestic work in Africa and Asia shows a dearth of studies on internal migration for domestic work in South Asia, and both internal and regional migration for domestic work in East Africa and West Africa. The existing literature is heavily dominated by papers on the transnational migration of domestic workers from South East and East Asia which examine in detail the shortcomings of the legal framework for regulating working conditions and recruitment practices resulting in little protection for migrant workers against exploitation. The paper highlights the serious lack of attention paid to the impacts of migration for domestic work on poverty levels within families in source areas. This is a significant gap in the literature given that migration is usually a household decision in which one member migrates to access more remunerative employment and remit money home. The paper offers a number of suggestions for improving the evidence base on this important migration stream

Migration and Human Development in India

The paper discusses how gaps in both the data on migration and the understanding of the role of migration in livelihood strategies and economic growth in India, have led to inaccurate policy prescriptions and a lack of political commitment to improving the living and working conditions of migrants. Field evidence from major migrant employing sectors is synthesised to show that circular migration is the dominant form of economic mobility for the poor; especially the lower castes and tribes. The authors argue that the human costs of migration are high due to faulty implementation of protective legislation and loopholes in the law and not due to migration per se. The paper discusses child labour in specific migration streams in detail stressing that this issue needs to be addressed in parallel. It also highlights the non-economic drivers and outcomes of migration that need to be considered when understanding its impacts. The authors calculate that there are roughly 100 million circular migrants in India contributing 10% to the national GDP. New vulnerabilities created by the economic recession are discussed. Detailed analysis of village resurveys in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are also presented and these show conclusively that migration is an important route out of poverty.India; circular migration; caste; tribe; child labour; human development

Migration and Human Development in India

The paper discusses how gaps in both the data on migration and the understanding of the role of migration in livelihood strategies and economic growth in India, have led to inaccurate policy prescriptions and a lack of political commitment to improving the living and working conditions of migrants. Field evidence from major migrant employing sectors is synthesised to show that circular migration is the dominant form of economic mobility for the poor; especially the lower castes and tribes. The authors argue that the human costs of migration are high due to faulty implementation of protective legislation and loopholes in the law and not due to migration per se. The paper discusses child labour in specific migration streams in detail stressing that this issue needs to be addressed in parallel. It also highlights the non-economic drivers and outcomes of migration that need to be considered when understanding its impacts. The authors calculate that there are roughly 100 million circular migrants in India contributing 10% to the national GDP. New vulnerabilities created by the economic recession are discussed. Detailed analysis of village resurveys in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are also presented and these show conclusively that migration is an important route out of poverty.India; circular migration; caste; tribe; child labour; human development

Irregular migration in senegal faith, dreams and human smuggling through the desert and sea

The paper provides a bottom up view on human smuggling facilitation and the rationale behind extremely high-risk and complex irregular migration journeys from the Kolda region of Senegal across the Sahara and through the Atlantic sea. Interviews with aspiring, returned and deported migrants as well as smugglers and their associates provide insights into the organization of migration facilitation and how this is sustained in the current policy context. The research highlights the role of religious beliefs in preparing for and interpreting the experiences of harrowing journeys with a high risk of harm and death. The study also sheds light on hitherto under-recognised gendered aspects of the infrastructure of migration facilitation in Kolda: while migration is male dominated, women play a critical role in enabling migration by mobilising religious and financial support. The paper also discusses the differences in the social constructions of male and female migration and the differences in their social relations with smugglers and other actors involved in facilitating irregular migration. In conclusion the authors suggest that there is a need to revisit migration policies that are based on dissuading migrants through risk-awareness campaigns and heightened controls towards policies that address global structural inequalities that drive migration; develop a more accurate understanding of personal and family aspirations for change; create more opportunities for legal migration; initiate discourses on culturally sensitive topics such as female migration and failed migration, and the role of Islamic spiritual leaders (Marabouts)

Internal and regional migration for construction work: a research agenda

This working paper reviews evidence from the literature on internal migration for work in construction in developing countries. The literature reviewed was found through a search of academic databases and selected by the authors. The review identifies cases and contexts in which migration for construction work leads to exits from poverty as well as those in which it entrenches poverty. We also focus upon migrant selectivity and discourses within the literature about migration for construction work. The review identifies gaps in the literature and important themes, in particular those issues and phenomena relating to poverty and development. The small and diverse set of literature, identified for the purpose of this paper, focuses mainly on South Asia. Several areas for future research are suggested throughout the paper and in the concluding section

Connection men, pushers and migrant trajectories: examining the dynamics of the migration industry in Ghana and along routes into Europe and the Gulf States

This paper examines the inner workings and operational logic of the array of individuals, agencies, state and non-state actors, institutions and social networks that collectively make up the migration industry in Ghana. It sheds light on how actors in the migration industry facilitate and condition migrant mobility, focusing on workers moving from Ghana along two migration corridors towards Europe and the Gulf States for work in the domestic and construction sectors. The study draws on a broad and nuanced conceptualisation of the “migration industry” which goes beyond a narrow focus on actors operating mainly for financial gain. Instead, it focuses on migration not just as a movement from point of departure to arrival, but as a changing journey over both space and time. This allows not only empirical insights into the processes through which people move, but it also provides an analytical lens to better unpack the complexities of migration processes. We extend the analysis of migration industries by incorporating risk theory into the analysis of the migration decision. The decision takes place in a context where migrants’ high level of knowledge about the dangers of migration has not translated into a reduction in migration flows on these two corridors. We analyse migrants’ rationale for choosing to embark on highly risky journeys, even in the face of increasing knowledge about these risks, and to develop appropriate policy responses

Decent work country programmes and human mobility

The aim of this review is to assess the ways in which Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) address the issue of internal migration, and to evaluate the extent to which this discussion is related to rural-urban linkages and rural livelihood strategies. Toa lesser extent, the review also investigates the discussion of other types of migration within DWCPs –including emigration, immigration and regional migration protocols.DFID/FAO

Comment on ``Strength and genericity of singularities in Tolman-Bondi-de Sitter collapse'' and a note on central singularities

It has been claimed that the Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi-de Sitter solution always admits future-pointing radial time-like geodesics emerging from the shell-focussing singularity, regardless of the nature of the (regular) initial data. This is despite the fact that some data rule out the emergence of future pointing radial null geodesics. We correct this claim and show that in general in spherical symmetry, the absence of radial null geodesics emerging from a central singularity is sufficient to prove that the singularity is censored.Comment: 3 pages, revtex4, submitted to Phys. Lett.

Towards contextualised, disaggregated and intersectional understandings of migration in India

New patterns of mobility are continuously shaping and being shaped by macro processes of liberalisation and capitalism on the one hand and local processes embedded in culture, class, ethnicity and race on the other hand. India is no exception and new transregional alliances as well as actors and institutions are shaping the “power geometry” (Massey, 1993) of migration by determining who migrates, why, where and under what circumstances. There has been an increase incertain forms of migrant labour such as construction work, care work and industrial labouror, what Sassen (2001) calls the “real work” of modern societies