Migration in West Africa– Governance and Links to Labour Markets OECD and UNDP – Dakar 25 March 2010 Lead into the Workshop: The Governance of Migration Abla Safir Poverty Reduction and Social Development Unit OECD Development Centre

Outline Presentation of the Effective Partnerships Project Governance of Migration: Definition and Issues The Different Levels of the Governance of Migration Problematic Evaluation of Specific Policies

The Effective Partnerships Project A project on migration funded by the MacArthur Foundation Thematic and regional focus –Themes: Governance and Links to Labour Markets –Regions: Central America and West Africa Particular interest in topics seldom covered –Impact of emigration on sending countries’ labour markets –South-South migration

The Governance of Migration Governance of Migration : how formal and informal rules are created, managed and enforced, setting constraints and incentives on migration and migration-induced flows Governance at all levels: from global to national

Global Governance of Migration WMO difficult to set in theory Governments, in particular in receiving countries, very reluctant to holding multilateral negotiations on migration Consensus on some issues

Regional Governance of Migration The natural institutions to manage migration? –Regional and extra-regional migration? In the regions we study: –Central America: Regional Conference on Migration –West Africa: a lot of ambition but little success in managing intra-regional migration (OECD 2009)

Is South-South Migration Better Managed than South-North Migration? South country in better position to negotiate with another South country? –Cultural / identity issues easier to solve? –But workers more likely to be substitutes than in the case of South- North migration? Historically, examples of bad governance of South-South migration

Bilateral Agreements - South-North Migration The favourite tool of receiving countries Seemingly little bargaining power of sending countries

Impact of Migration Policies: What do we know? Lack of information on the impact of specific policies –Lack of data –Lack of ex-ante designs to allow for impact evaluation of policies The little we know: –Restrictive policies seem to decrease immigration –In Central America: NAFTA and more border controls have limited impact –Permanent migration programme from Tonga to New Zealand

An example: temporary and circular migration Much ado with no information? An exception: McKenzie and Gibson (2008) examine the poverty impact of a seasonal migration program for low- skilled in New Zealand

25 March 2010 Migration in West Africa– Governance and Links to Labour Markets OECD and UNDP – Dakar We look forward to an informative workshop!