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World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees and Societies
Released by- World Bank
About the report-
• Provides a comprehensive analysis of international migration and its potential to serve
as a force for growth and shared prosperity in all countries.
• Proposes an innovative approach to maximize the development impacts of cross-
border movements on both destination and origin countries and on migrants and
refugees themselves.
• The framework rests on a “match and motive” matrix that focuses on two factors:
o How closely migrants’ skills and attributes match the needs of destination
countries?
o What motives underlie their movements?
As per report, the “match” aspect is grounded in labour economics and focuses on how well
migrants’ skills and related attributes match the needs of the destination countries and “motive”
refers to the circumstances under which a person moves in search of opportunity.
By combining “match” and “motive,” the framework identified policy priorities for countries of
origin, transit and destination and the international community.
Migrants includes those who change their country of habitual residence and who are not citizens
of their country of residence. Such changes of country exclude short- term movement for
purposes such as recreation, business, medical treatment, or religious pilgrimage.
Key findings
• Identifies “Migration” as a development
challenge.
• About 2.3% of the world’s population i.e.
184 million people, including 37 million
refugees, live outside their country of
nationality.
o 43% of above live in low- and
middle-income countries.
o
• Categorises migrants into 4-types:
o Economic migrants with strong
skill match (Indian IT professionals
in the US or construction workers in
GCC nations)
o Refugees with skills in demand at
destination (Syrian entrepreneur refugees in
Türkiye)
o Distressed migrants (some poorly skilled migrants at the US southern border)
o Refugees (Rohingya in Bangladesh)
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## Note: Above image is only for better understanding of 4-types of migrants as per WDR2023.
• Top migration corridors:
o India-US, India-GCC and Bangladesh-India have been identified to be among
the top migration corridors globally along with Mexico-US, China-US,
Philippines-US and Kazakhstan-Russia.
• Reasons of migration:
o Aging and lower fertility rates in countries results into migration, which, if
managed properly "provides benefits for all people in origin and destination
societies".
• As the world struggles to cope with global economic imbalances, diverging
demographic trends, and climate change, migration will become a necessity in the
decades to come for countries at all levels of income.
• The share of working-age adults will drop sharply in many countries over the next few
decades.
• As populations across the globe age at an unprecedented pace, the global
competition for workers and talent will intensify.
• Many countries will be increasingly reliant on migration to realise their long-term
growth potential.
• Spain, with a population of 47 million, is projected to shrink by more than one-third by
2100, with those above age 65 increasing from 20 per cent to 39 per cent of the
population.
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o Countries like Mexico, Thailand, Tunisia and Türkiye may soon need more
foreign workers because their population is no longer growing.
• Most low-income countries are expected to see rapid population growth, putting them
under pressure to create more jobs for young people.
• Migration as a challenge:
o The Migrations related issues are becoming even more widespread and urgent
due to severe divergences between and within countries— in terms of real
wages, labour market opportunities, demographic patterns and climate costs.
Income gain due to migration
• Migration leads to large wage increases for most people whose skills and attributes
are a strong match with the needs of the destination society.
o The gains are so large that at current rates of economic growth it would take
decades for the average low-skilled person working in some countries of origin
to earn the income they achieve by migrating to a high-income country.
India Specific
• It has estimated a 120% income gain for Indians going to work overseas, compared
to a 40% rise in case of internal migration.
• Low-skilled Indians migrating to the US stand to gain the most as they would see a
jump in income of nearly 500%, followed by UAE at almost 300%.
• People migrating to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, comprising Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE, stand to gain less.
• Gains are much higher for highly skilled workers, like tech workers migrating to
Silicon Valley or doctors, even low-skilled workers experience multi-fold jumps.
• Gains for highly-skilled workers such as engineers or doctors are much higher,
however, low-skilled workers are also finding themselves in having multi-fold jump
in their income.
• Trends of Remittances: Remittances have increased to some of the countries with a
large migrant population, including India, Mexico, China and the Philippines.
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o It estimated that an Indian migrant worker in the UAE, for instance, sends nearly
70% of his/her income to the family, with women likely to remit a higher
amount.
o The migration of Indian workers from certain parts of the country has also
resulted in internal migration.
• Factors impacting income: Skills, destination, language ability and age play crucial
role in deciding the income.
Recommendations:
• Distinguish between various types of movements to identify appropriate policy
responses. How well migrants’ skills and attributes match the needs of destination
countries largely determines the economic effects of their movements.
The motives underlying movements determine destination countries’ obligations under
international law.
o Maximize net gains when people bring skills and attributes that strongly match
the needs of their destination society—for them, their countries of destination,
and their countries of origin.
o Provide international protection to refuges in a manner that can be sustained,
financially and socially—because most refugee situations last many years.
o Reduce the need for distressed movements, while respecting migrants’ human
rights and dignity—and recognize development’s key role in this effort.
• Manage migration strategically— in both origin and destination countries.
o Governments in origin countries should make labor migration an explicit part of
their development strategy, while governments in destination countries should
use “strong match” migration to meet their labor needs.
• Manage cross-border movements differently.
o Use bilateral cooperation to strengthen the match of migrants’ skills and
attributes with the needs of destination economies.
o Organize regional and global responses to address refugee movements and
reduce the need for distressed movements.
o Develop new and predictable financing instruments.
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