Migration, Diaspora and Development in the Caribbean Dr. Keith Nurse Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas & Canadian Foundation for the Americas Zacatecas, Mexico October 2004

Diaspora and Globalization Globalization of labour – more restricted than previous era of globalization Globalization of travel, communication, media & consumption style Globalization of higher education Globalization from below – “globalization in reverse” Deterritorialization of nation-states Proliferation of transnational communities, networks & hybrid identities

The Global Migration Context The migratory flow of people from Developing Countries is driven by two global imbalances: The widening socio-economic polarization (i.e. the widening income gap) between and within the countries of the North and the South. CULTURE OF EMIGRATION Labour shortages and demographic polarization in terms of the relative ageing of the population of the North, the looming generational crisis. REPLACEMENT & LABOUR MIGRATION

Diaspora & the New International Division of Labour Labour importation is the flipside of the relocation of production (sectors not yet mechanized): Export-oriented manufacturing & services Export processing zones or Maquiladoras Labour importation supplies sectors that are not able or yet ready to migrate: Agricultural jobs Personal, education & health services Science & technology, IT & technical skills

Remittances: Sending & Receiving Countries, 2002 Sending Countries US $28.4bn Saudi Arabia $15.1bn Germany $8.2bn Canada $5.2bn Receiving Countries India $11.5bn Mexico $9.9bn Philippines $6.4bn Egypt $3.7bn Morocco $3.3bn

Financial Inflows to Developing Countries, 2002

Remittances by Region, 2002

The Caribbean Diaspora, 1996 The Caribbean diaspora is located in North America and in former colonizer countries like UK, France and the Netherlands. Includes foreign-born & persons with one or both parents of Caribbean origin.

Types of Caribbean Migrants Settlers: kinship, family reunification, economic migrants Contract workers: domestics, farm workers, sex workers Seasonal workers: e.g. CSAWP Professionals: doctors, nurses, sports players, entrepreneurs Asylum seekers and refugees Swallows

Remittances to the Caribbean, 2002 CountryRemittances US$m Barbados84 Cuba1138 Dominican Republic2111 Guyana119 Haiti931 Jamaica1288 Trinidad & Tobago59 Total5730

Migration & Development: The Balance Sheet Positive Remittances - stable source of FEX Vent for surplus population Skills transfer & brain gain Diasporic investments Diasporic exports Diasporic tourism Diasporic lobby Transnational networks (e.g. HTAs) Regional & hemispheric integration Negative Unearned income a disincentive Brain drain Educational investment & taxes foregone Family breakup & gender imbalance Culture of emigration Mobile populations & HIV/AIDS Deportees & crime New mode of dependency & vulnerability

Remittances & Other Financial Flows to the Caribbean, 1996 and 2001 (US$bn) Year RemittancesFDIODA

Remittances compared to other Inflows and Key Economic Sectors, 1999 CountriesRemitt- ances US$m Tourism % Agro Exports % Total Exports % Dom.Rep Haiti Jamaica

Caribbean Brain Drain, 1990 Countries Tertiary Educated share of Total Migrants Migration Rates of Tertiary Educated Dominican Republic Jamaica Trinidad & Tobago Guyana

Global Poaching of Labour: The Case of Nurses from the Caribbean CountryNumber of Nurse per 10,000 persons United States of America97.2 Jamaica11.3

Nursing Vacancies in Jamaica, 2001 Job TypeLevel of Vacancies (%) Registered Nurses37 Public Health Nurses28 Nurse Practitioners17 Assistant Nurses61

Diaspora & New Global Political Economy The growth of the Diasporic political economy signals the emergence of a new post-national, post-industrial & post-development phase in the GPE: Diasporic flows exceed traditional external flows, for example, FDI, ODA, Debt financing. Remittances, barrel imports, diasporic tourism, exports & investment are the new drivers of the LAC economy. Diasporic diplomacy emerging as new plank of international relations and international security in the post 9/11 era.

Global Migration Problematique The exodus of human capital is a function of diminishing returns in Latin America & the Caribbean Labour migration is a process of shifting cultivation The labour migration problem is one of the devil take the hindmost Rural  Urban  Global Cities Low income  Middle income  High Income Haiti  Dom. Rep.  New York

Strategic Responses Secure rights of migrants and expand negotiating power (e.g. ILO conventions) Reduce transaction cost of remittances Encourage remitters and recipients to use banking system and expand savings Establish bilateral arrangements to train labour for export

Strategic Responses (cont’d) Facilitate diasporic investments, exports, tourism Lobby for reduced restrictions on the mobility of natural persons (WTO GATS mode 4) Need for more participatory action research.

Goals of June 2004 Conference – Jamaican Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1.To strengthen the linkages among Jamaican communities overseas; 2.To create the platform for increased business contracts between Jamaicans at home and abroad; 3.To create a platform to comprehensively involve more overseas Jamaicans in the political, social and cultural life of Jamaica; 4.To elicit ideas from the Diaspora community for the formulation of public policy, and 5.To see the formulation of high-powered lobby groups in the US, Canada and the UK to assist Jamaica in international trade