Labor Migration in Asia: Increasing the Development Impact of Migration through Finance and Technology

As diasporas increase, governments have reached out to citizens abroad to provide them with financial instruments. Remittance channels have long been consolidated, but financial technology is changing how migrants remit—reducing fees and opening opportunities for new actors. One occupation driving labor migration, and incurring its own challenges, is work in information technology (IT). This book examines some of the latest developments in financial products and technology aimed at labor migrants from and in Asia, and discerns the factors determining the success of mobile IT workers from India. The four chapters in this book draw on issues raised and discussed during the Seventh Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia: Finance and Technology to Increase the Positive Impact of Migration on Home Countries, held in Manila on 18–19 January 2017. The event brought together regional experts and policy makers and was organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Labour Organization, and the Asian Development Bank. The book’s introductory chapter reviews recent regional migration trends. Two statistical annexes provide an overview of migration flows within Asia and between Asia and other regions.