bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
China
Authors: Zhu Yu , Lin Liyue , Qi Xinhua , Xia Jinlin
Published: January 2015

In general, data on international migration in China are limited. The Entry-Exit Administration classifies foreigners in China into short-term migrants, long-term migrants and permanent residents. Emigrants from China include tourists, those visiting relatives, students, workers, permanent residents, Xinyimin (new emigrants or those who left China from 1978 to live permanently abroad), and ChuJing (leaving the border or Mainland Chinese bound for Taiwan, China; Hong Kong (China) and Macau (China). The census does not collect information on international migration. Furthermore, data on unauthorized migration into and from China are unavailable. China needs an agency that would coordinate the collection of data on international migration.
Republic of Korea
Authors: Park Young-Bum
Published: January 2015

International migration in the Republic of Korea consists of the migration of foreign workers into the country and the migration of Koreans to other countries. The need for human capital has made it a destination country for foreign workers while economic development has given its nationals the option to emigrate. As a destination country, the share of foreigners to the total population is relatively small compared to other destination countries in Asia. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor are the main sources for collecting data on international migration. Further improvements in data collection, production and dissemination are areas that need to be addressed.
Japanese Immigration Policy at a Turning Point
Authors: Tai Eika
Published: January 2015

This article looks into how the Japanese government has recently been changing policies and discourses on immigration. I begin by sketching the historical background of immigration policy. Then, I discuss policies, proposals and reports made in the 2000s, paying close attention to documents produced after 2005. Since then, the Japanese government, confronting the domestic problem of demographic change and the global competition for human resources, has become seriously concerned about the integration of foreign residents and has also come to engage with the question of how to expand the admission of foreign workers. In discussing this change, I am particularly interested in shedding light on how the idea of multiculturalism has been applied to the context of Japan, as this idea presents a challenge to the dominant discourse of mono-ethnicity in postwar Japan. Japanese immigration policy is at a turning point not only in the sense that it has become more inclusive but also in the sense that it has come to present a view of Japan as multicultural. Though there is resistance against the inclusion of foreigners and the idea of multiculturalism, relatively moderate approaches taken by those favoring multiculturalism may be effective in curtailing resistance and bringing about actual changes.
Strategies of Resistance among Filipina and Indonesian Domestic Workers in Singapore
Authors: Ueno Kayoko
Published: January 2015

This paper presents the analysis of interviews with Filipina and Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore regarding their strategies of resistance in response to exploitation and coercion by employment agencies, employers, the Singaporean public, and kin and family members in their home countries. Many strategies identified in previous studies about domestic workers' resistance/negotiation elsewhere might not be applicable in Singapore because of greater surveillance and stricter regulations there. Various strategies noted in this study are likely to be more subtle and inconspicuous. Although these women are rendered victims by the global economic system, they have developed various strategies to protect themselves. This study also discusses the relative and fluid position of vulnerability among domestic workers of different nationalities.
Co-Location of Services for Refugees: An Evaluation of a Pilot Program in Western Australia
Authors: Hancock Peter , Cooper Trudi , Bahn Suzanne
Published: January 2015

In recent years newly arrived refugees from Africa, Burma and Middle Eastern nations have dominated the refugee intake to Australia. Coming from war torn nations, extremely poor economies and rural areas, their transition into Australia has not been easy. This paper is based on the evaluation of the Integrated Services Centre Pilot Project (ISC) which assessed co-location as an alternative service delivery model. The evaluation focused on project staff, service providers and a small sample of the refugees themselves. The objectives of the research did not warrant a greater focus on the clients as the evaluation centered on co-location as an alternate service delivery model. Data gathered from the evaluation indicated that the basic support needs of African refugees were not being met by traditional refugee services, but that the ISC Project was meeting these needs. Data also showed that African refugees had a higher level of need than other refugee groups. The article concludes with some recommendations on how current service provision can be more responsive to the needs of African refugees.
The Australian Labor Market for Medical Practitioners and Nurses: Training, Migration and Policy Issues
Authors: Iredale Robyn
Published: January 2015

Australia has a long history of migration of medical practitioners and nurses. This paper will provide an overview of the current situation regarding the supply of and demand for doctors and nurses and Australia's immigration policies and regulatory framework. Trends in training numbers and the relationship to demand will be analyzed and it will be shown that a continuation of widespread shortages can be expected.

In recent years, Australia has been the forerunner, among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, in its overt policy initiatives to attract overseas-trained doctors. It has shown little concern for the negative consequences on some sending countries that lose their doctors and nurses. Also, it has not entered into the spirit of international attempts to try to ameliorate the potential effects of developing-to-developed country health professional migration and trade, where there are negative consequences for the sending country. It will be argued that Australia could become a better global “citizen.”
International Labor Visits and Knowledge Transfers
Authors: Tani Massimiliano
Published: January 2015

This paper presents new data on international work-related visits collected from a survey of about 2,000 people traveling to/from Australia. Visits emerge as the prime medium for face-to-face interactions to exchange knowledge rather than as a substitute for migration. Exchanging knowledge through visits is strong among outgoing visitors but statistically insignificant among incoming ones, implying that benefits to Australia's knowledge stock are more likely to come from the former rather than the latter. Governments and universities use visits to exchange information and data. In contrast, Australian small- and medium-size enterprises are more likely to exchange knowledge related to operative competences, like product development, manufacturing and distribution.
Demographic Structure and International Student Mobility: An Investigation of Chinese Students in Australia
Authors: Guo Fei
Published: January 2015

Recently, an increasing number of Chinese students has come to Australia to study; some of them opted to settle in Australia as permanent residents while others chose to return to China. More Chinese students are pursuing further studies overseas due to China's recent rapid economic growth, which increased the ranks of middle- and upper-middle class families who have the means to send their children to study abroad. The trend also reflects China's intergenerational wealth transfer in the “first demographic dividend” period. This paper reviews the recent patterns of international mobility of Chinese students to Australia and examines the factors that affect Chinese students' settlement decisions. The paper links the patterns of international mobility of students to the demographic structure of the sending country.
The Riddle of the Alien-Citizen: Filipino Migrants as US Nationals and the Anomalies of Citizenship, 1900s–1930s
Authors: Aguilar Filomeno V.
Published: January 2015

This article interrogates the classification of Filipino migrants in the United States as US nationals, during the period of American sovereignty in the Philippines. It reveals the history behind this legal status by looking at two broad aspects. Firstly, this article narrates the circumstances that led to the creation of Philippine citizenship even if the Philippines was not a sovereign state. This citizenship had legal force only because Filipinos owed allegiance to the US, and because of this allegiance Filipinos could not be classed as aliens and denied entry to the US at a time of stiff racial barriers. Secondly, this article examines how the range of Filipino migrant responses to racial prejudice and violence in the US, especially in the late 1920s and the 1930s, pushed the limits to reveal the contradictions of both Philippine and US citizenships. Because Filipinos asserted their entitlement as US nationals, US government officials eventually admitted the anomalous exclusion of Filipinos from US citizenship. An illuminating case is the successful claim of Filipino fishers in Alaska for their traditional fishing rights not to be curtailed as a local territorial law had intended.
Information Flows and Migration: Recent Survey Evidence from the South Pacific
Authors: Gibson John , Rohorua Halahingano , McKenzie David , Stillman Steven
Published: January 2015

Standard models of the migration decision-making assume potential migrants are well informed of the employment opportunities available in different labor markets, and decide whether or not to migrate on this basis. This paper uses new survey data collected in Tonga and Vanuatu to assess the information migrants and potential migrants have about employment opportunities available through the new Recognized Seasonal Employer program, and the means of communication used to acquire this information. We also employ additional surveys of Tongans and Tongan emigrants to measure the extent to which knowledge acts as a constraint to migration through the Pacific Access Category, and to examine whether even very highly skilled emigrants know whether or not they can collect pension income earned abroad if they return to Tonga. The data reveal significant gaps in information about employment opportunities abroad, despite a large emigrant network and quite high levels of communication between New Zealand and these Pacific Islands.
Remittances, Living Arrangements and the Welfare of the Elderly in Vietnam
Authors: Pfau Wade Donald , Long Giang Thanh
Published: January 2015

During a time of rapid economic transformation in Vietnam, we examined two possibilities for elderly support: living together with children and receiving remittances. Our analysis used four household surveys conducted in Vietnam between 1992 and 2004. With the highly detailed 1997–1998 survey, we found that 73.1 percent of Vietnamese elderly are living with children and 34.8 percent were either receiving remittances directly or married to a recipient. From our logistic regression analysis, we determined further that living with children and remittances both serve continuing roles for elderly support, and our findings suggest that expanding the pension system in Vietnam can potentially play an important role in reducing elderly poverty without crowding out these other support mechanisms.
East Timorese Women in Australia: Community, Gender and Identity
Authors: Costa-Pinto Maya , Whittaker Andrea
Published: January 2015

This paper examines how East Timorese women in Melbourne, Australia view gender relations within the context of their resettlement and integration process in Australia as part of a broader question about gender and the construction of ethnic identities within a diverse community. Based upon a small qualitative study with fifteen East Timorese migrant women, we examine the complexity of the ethnic identity of East Timorese women in Australia, whose community reflects the diversity of their homeland, status divisions used historically within East Timor, different migration experiences and socio-economic and generational differences. The experience of East Timorese women varies according to the circumstances and timing of their arrival in Australia. Although most fled conflict and trauma, for the most part the women interviewed do not describe themselves in terms of a traumatized self-identity and depict their community in terms of engagement, support and resilience. Gender relationships changed with migration to Australia, with women enjoying more ‘equality’ in their relationships, in contrast to their past lives in East Timor. Yet many women also describe the maintenance of strong patriarchal values within the family, continued expectations of their responsibility to domestic affairs and the importance of maintaining a public face of appropriate behavior as ‘good Timorese women.’ They maintain Timorese identity through raising children and transmitting the potent cultural markers of food and language skills.
Social Change, Cohort Quality and Economic Adaptation of Chinese Immigrants in Hong Kong, 1991–2006
Authors: Zhang Zhuoni , Wu Xiaogang
Published: January 2015

This paper analyzes a series of population census and by-census data from 1991 to 2006 to examine the economic adaptation of Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong, focusing on their employment, occupational and earnings attainment. We pay particular attention to the adaptation of immigrants over time, and the effect of changes in the (overall) quality of the immigration cohort as a result of the immigration policy shift after Hong Kong's reunification with China in 1997. Results show that at the time of entry, mainland immigrants were less likely to be employed, more likely to be trapped in elementary occupations and to be earning much less than the natives. As they stayed longer, the gaps tended to decrease, but most immigrants were unable to reach parity with the natives with respect to earnings throughout their working lives. Men generally adapted at a faster pace than women. While new immigrants after 1997 fared worse in terms of employment and occupational attainment compared to those who arrived earlier (before 1997), there is no evidence to suggest that the changing cohort quality had any significant effect on overall income inequality.
Population Aging and Immigration in Japan
Authors: Ogawa Naohiro
Published: January 2015

This article discusses the development of immigration policies in postwar Japan by taking into consideration the long-term socioeconomic and demographic transformations of Japanese society. We demonstrate how Japan is experiencing the tension between the evident need of domestic enterprises for unskilled labor and the stated policies of not admitting foreign unskilled workers. We also point out that by the time Japan is ready to open its door to foreign laborers, particularly those from Asia, many of the Asian developing countries may find themselves in a situation where they have lost their potential to supply labor due to accelerating fertility decline. Finally, we conclude that since the processes shaping international labor migration are extremely complex – which involve economic, political, institutional and social elements – and the conditions in the world are constantly changing, it is virtually impossible to make any definite predictions regarding future international flows of labor into Japan.
Immigration without Inclusion: Non-Nationals in Nation-Building in the Gulf States
Authors: Fargues Philippe
Published: January 2015

Migrants represent between one-third and four-fifths of the population in the Gulf states. Despite their sizable numbers, migrants can only have temporary residency, they have no access to citizenship, and they have limited membership in society, conditions which are unique to the Gulf states as destination countries. The first section argues that non-nationals have been instrumental in shaping the social link between nationals, and the relationship between them and their rulers. The second section shows how oil-generated wealth has allowed demographic growth through high fertility among nationals, and high immigration among non-nationals. The faster growth among non-nationals has produced societies with a continuously shrinking proportion of nationals. Indeed, while policies of not allowing immigrants' integration in the citizenry have worked well, policies aiming at reducing dependency on foreign workers through indigenizing the workforce and those limiting their duration of stay have not been successful. The exceptional demography of the Gulf states is not explained by an exceptional level of immigration as much as by an exceptional closure of local societies.
Reforming the Kafala: Challenges and Opportunities in Moving Forward
Authors: Khan Azfar , Harroff-Tavel Hélène
Published: January 2015

This paper provides an overview of the kafala or sponsorship system, and explains the role the sponsor ( kafeel) assumes in the legal and economic responsibilities for the migrant worker for the contract period. The paper then assesses the initiatives undertaken to reform it in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, as well as in Jordan and Lebanon. An analysis of the previous attempts to reform the system shows that the results have been very limited to date. The paper goes on to examine reasons behind the lack of real reform, and ends with policy recommendations for an alternative to the system.
Outflows of Chinese Koreans in Yanbian Prefecture
Authors: Xue Yang , Xiaofeng Wang , Weijiang Liu
Published: January 2015

Most ethnic Koreans in China live in Yanbian Prefecture. Since 1996, the population of Yanbian Koreans has registered a negative growth, which is largely attributed to population outflow. According to the 2003 Sample Survey to Examine the Negative Population Growth of Yanbian Koreans, 37 percent of the households reported having members who sought work elsewhere. Logistic regression analysis shows that people with higher educational level and those engaged in agriculture had a higher probability of leaving. Men and those who completed secondary education were more likely to choose to go to South Korea while those who are married and are engaged in non-agricultural work were more likely to participate in intra- or inter-provincial search for employment in China.
Balikbayan Boxes and the Performance of Intimacy by Filipino Migrant Women in Hong Kong
Authors: Camposano Clement C.
Published: January 2015

This article explores how the sending of goods by Filipino migrant women in Hong Kong to their families in the Philippines is a gendered process that “maps” these migrant women back into the emotional economy of the household. I argue that the practice is a performance of intimacy, a way for migrant women to bridge the Hong Kong and Philippine segments of their diasporic and fragmented lives, which enables them to sustain coherent narratives of the self. The kind of intimacy being performed, however, is unconventional and “diasporic” as it is defined by both engagement with and estrangement from the domestic spaces of home.
Foreigners Cometh! Paths to Multiculturalism in Japan, Korea and Taiwan
Authors: Kim Hyuk-Rae , Oh Ingyu
Published: January 2015

This paper has a four-fold goal: (1) it examines the difficulties faced by Japan, Korea and Taiwan in developing and implementing multicultural programs for their newly arriving migrants; (2) it offers an analysis of indigenous ethnic formation and migration of workers and marriage migrants in the context of ongoing debates on multiculturalism in East Asia; (3) it analyzes narratives behind the educational reforms to shed light on the political contention surrounding multicultural governance in the region; and (4) it discusses why educational institutions in East Asia seem uninterested in offering courses on multiculturalism. This paper suggests that the three countries will continue to face substantial difficulties in institutionalizing their own democratic multiculturalism(s) due to pressures from global and domestic forces. We expect that the three countries will continue to modify their approaches to multicultural governance despite institutional constraints.
Freedom Found? The Later-Life Transnational Migration of Japanese Women to Western Australia and Thailand
Authors: Thang Leng Leng , Sone Sachiko , Toyota Mika
Published: January 2015

Despite being a relatively recent research topic, studies on transnational later-life retirement have noted the diversity of the phenomenon. This study of Japanese women in later-life moving to live in Western Australia and Thailand adds to the diversity by examining the gendered dimension of the phenomenon. Through an analysis of the dominant narrative of “seeking for freedom” in their motivation to leave Japan, the paper examines what are the expressions of freedom as perceived by the women and the challenges confronting them in later-life migration. Their subjective experiences reflect migration in later-life as a dynamic process, and later-life migration as more complex than mere classification of their motivations into amenity-seeking or otherwise.
Transnationalism from Below: Evidence from Vietnam-Taiwan Cross-Border Marriages
Authors: Bélanger Danièle , Wang Hong-Zen
Published: January 2015

This paper examines marriage migration in Asia through the lens of transnationalism. We pull together results from various studies we conducted on marriage migration in Vietnam and Taiwan between 2004 and 2010, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Our main contention is that marriage migration constitutes a significant vector of social change for both sending and receiving areas of migrants. We examine the gendered aspects of this transformation, since the vast majority of migrant spouses in Asia are women. We use the concept of ‘transnationalism from below’ to frame the social impact of marriage migration. In this paper, we first review activities of marriage migrants and their families that constitute either economic or social transnationalism. In the second part, we discuss how these transnational activities contribute to social change in both societies. In brief, the paper shows the far-reaching significance of this migration flow for the region and aims to move forward the conceptualization of marriage migration in Asia.
Circuitous Pathways: Marriage as a Route toward (Il)Legality for Indonesian Migrant Workers in Malaysia
Authors: Leng Chee Heng , Yeoh Brenda S.A. , Shuib Rashidah
Published: January 2015

This paper addresses the disjuncture between an immigration regime that seeks to prevent unskilled migrant workers from marrying citizens, and the reality that many are actually able to carve a marital pathway toward legality of residence. Beginning from the premise that the state constructs (il)legality through laws and policies, we draw from 38 interviews conducted among Indonesian migrant workers and their citizen spouses in Malaysia to highlight the agency of migrants and local citizens in reconfiguring and reshaping this construction. Locating our discussion within the migration literature that challenges the construction of legality and illegality as rigidly separate and non-overlapping zones, we trace the circuitous marital pathways that our interviewees forge toward (il)legality as they navigate through blurred categories of legal and illegal, wife and worker. State institutionalization of marriage has produced its own ambiguities, and a marriage can be religiously valid even if not officially registered. Societal ambiguities arise from the tensions between what is valid according to religion and custom and what is prohibited according to state policy. These ambiguities allow for the institutionalization of a marital pathway, though complicated and circuitous, from temporary legality and illegality toward (il)legality of residence, though not necessarily toward full membership in the nation.
Creating Pan-Karen Identity: The Wrist Tying Ceremony in the United States
Authors: MacLachlan Heather
Published: January 2015

A movement to unite all Karen-language speaking people under the banner of a distinct and unified Karen identity has been afoot for more than a century. Buddhist and Christian Karens from Burma, now living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, are forging – and contesting – a universal Karen identity through the celebration of the “traditional” wrist tying ceremony. This articulation of pan-Karen identity is an example of Baumann and Gingrich's (2004) theory of identity construction, which they call a “grammar of encompassment.” This case study shows that the theory, which claims that instances of encompassment are often contested by the encompassed (that is, the subordinate people whose alterity is denied), must be extended. In the United States, it is the encompassers (that is, the Christians who have greater economic and political power) who are the most deeply troubled by the denial of difference demanded by the discourse of encompassment.
Governing Environmentally-Related Migration in Bangladesh: Responsibilities, Security and the Causality Problem
Authors: Mayer Benoît , Boas Ingrid , Ewing J. Jackson , Baillat Alice , Das Uttam Kumar
Published: January 2015

Environmentally-related migration is often cited as one of the human consequences of environmental stress, especially in the context of climate change. Nonetheless, there is a lack of effective and appropriate governance strategies that address the issue due to the complex and multicausal character of environmentally-related migration and the tendency to discuss the issue through security-based discourses that favor alarmist narratives.

This paper suggests alternative approaches in responding to environmentally-related migration that seek to avoid these pitfalls. Through the case of Bangladesh, this paper illustrates the need to form cross-sectoral governance policies that avoid oversimplifying environmentally-related migration. Specifically, the paper highlights the limits and dangers of the security-based framework to environmentally-related migration and calls for policy coordination as a potential pathway forward.
The Subjective Well-Being of Children in Transnational and Non-Migrant Households: Evidence from Thailand
Authors: Jampaklay Aree , Vapattanawong Patama
Published: January 2015

To date, research that includes children's views on parental migration has been insufficient. Based on the children's assessment of well-being, we use a case study of Thailand to ask whether children of overseas migrant parents are less or more resilient compared to children of non-migrant parents. We make use of data from the Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia (CHAMPSEA) Project, one of the few studies that provide space for children, both of migrant and non-migrant parents, to voice their views. Our sample includes 496 children aged 9 to 11 years old. The outcome variable captures children's subjective well-being as an indicator of whether they are a resilient child. Our multivariate analysis controls for other potential contributing factors, including the children's individual attributes, carer's mental health, parents' education, family functioning as reported by the children, and household economic status in order to investigate the effects of parental migration. Qualitative information from in-depth interviews with selected carers and group interviews with community leaders are also used to explain the results. Our findings highlight the importance of taking into account children's own perceptions. Compared to children of non-migrant parents, those of migrant parents are more likely to give a positive assessment of their own well-being. The other contributing factors include whether the child sees their family as functioning well. In Thailand, international migration is predominantly undertaken by fathers while childcare remains the responsibility of mothers, and public attitudes towards overseas migration, especially paternal migration, is generally favorable. This may help explain the positive perception of children of migrants towards themselves.
Securing a Better Living Environment for Left-Behind Children: Implications and Challenges for Policies
Authors: Lam Theodora , Ee Miriam , Anh Hoang Lan , Yeoh Brenda SA.
Published: January 2015

Migration is an increasingly significant driver of transformations in family configurations and caregiving practices as well as living arrangements. The sustainability of geographically-split family formations is dependent on several factors, including the presence and strength of care support networks among migrants and their left-behind families, access to communication infrastructure and the stability of the families' financial resources. Drawing on both a selective review of relevant academic literature as well as key findings from the CHAMPSEA Project, the article first examines the effects of these three factors on the well-being of migrants' left-behind family members, especially children. The article also considers major implications of the project's findings, as well as possible challenges for migration and development policies. One area of concern for migration and development policy arising from our research findings is the need to provide better support for left-behind caregivers or carers who are substituting for the absent migrant in childcare and domestic work but who may also need care and support themselves. Another area relates to the need to improve communication infrastructure to help migrants and their families maintain their relationships across transnational spaces; while a third lies with the importance of minimizing migrant families' economic stress stemming from the cycle of debts resulting from exorbitant broker fees and the mismanagement of remittances. By acknowledging both the social and economic costs of international labor migration on families, governments of labor-sending countries can create a more effective legal and institutional framework as well as design suitable supporting mechanisms for left-behind families. There is then a stronger possibility that migration can become a sustainable development strategy for transnational families in South-East Asia.
Ambivalent Calculations in Toronto: Negotiating the Meaning of Success among Early Study Abroad High School Students
Authors: Shin Hyunjung
Published: January 2015

This paper illustrates how Korean Early Study Abroad students in Toronto make sense of admission to the University of Toronto as a symbol of success in their transnational educational enterprise by appropriating the discourse of “springboard to the US” and Korean ideology of school hierarchy. By examining how these Korean families negotiate the meaning of success to deal with their anxiety of being oriented to multiple markets in relation to the local constraints and the material conditions that surround them, the article examines how transnationalism, as a strategy for class mobility by Korean middle-class families, ultimately contributes to the reproduction of the Korean class system based on educational and linguistic capital.
Immigrant Entrepreneurship and the Opportunity Structure of the International Education Industry in Vancouver and Toronto
Authors: Kwak Min-Jung
Published: January 2015

This study is situated within a broad research field of immigrant entrepreneurship and pays particular attention to the international education businesses owned and operated by Korean immigrants. Seeking causal factors of disproportionately high rates of self-employment among immigrant groups, researchers in this field have developed two distinct streams of theoretical explanation. While social capital, class and ethnic resources are often identified as major factors of successful immigrant entrepreneurship, the political economic structure (i.e., a wide range of opportunity structures including business regulations and market conditions) is also seen as an important pre-condition for immigrant business ventures. Drawing upon the analytical framework of the mixed embeddedness model by Kloostermen and Rath (2001), this study examines how different institutional environments and the consumer demand base of the international education industry result in different opportunity structures for Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada.
Employment and Poverty Status of Female Marriage Immigrants in South Korea
Authors: Kim Hansung , Lee Sun Young , Choi In Hee
Published: January 2015

This study explores the economic status of female marriage immigrants in South Korea. Multilevel analyses were performed to examine the effects of individual characteristics and social context on their employment and poverty status. The results revealed that human capital, social capital and family conditions are significantly associated with employment and poverty status. Assimilation-related factors also had an indirect effect on poverty by impacting employment. Social context factors exhibited unique and significant effects on economic status; in particular, rurality and unemployment rates were negatively associated with employment. Finally, regardless of employment status, female marriage immigrants in rural areas were at greater risk of falling into poverty than their urban counterparts.
Japanese Women Migrants in Australia: Situating the Self between Ethnicity and Femininity
Authors: Hamano Takeshi
Published: January 2015

Based on fieldwork in Sydney, Australia, this paper discusses the ways in which Japanese women marriage migrants remold their gender identity in the process of settlement. Among recent Japanese migrants to Australia, women migrants, i.e., those who migrated to Australia on account of their marriage to an Australian resident or citizen, constitute the largest number. Their settlement experience suggests navigating relationships and interactions with the local ethnic Japanese community, their cross-cultural family, and the host community. In the process, they situate themselves in daily life through their gendered identity, which assumes as important a role as ethnicity. The maternal role is central in defining their identity in Australia, although for some, this essentialized identity creates ambivalence about the self in the host society.
Live-in Migrant Care Workers in Taiwan: The Debate on the Household Service Act
Authors: Liang Li-Fang
Published: January 2015

The increasing flow of migrant care workers from poorer to wealthier countries not only reflects care deficits in the latter countries, but also reveals issues concerning the rights and working conditions of migrant care workers. The discussion on the Household Services Act in Taiwan draws attention to the vulnerable and marginalized situation of live-in migrant care workers in society. In this essay, I investigate the debates around legislating the Household Service Act in Taiwan to shed light on the complexities of care work and care relations. By illustrating the care paradoxes and dynamics between care workers and care recipients and their families, I argue that the state has an important role in providing care resources and support to families.
International Migration within and from the East and Southeast Asian Region: A Review Essay
Authors: Skeldon Ronald
Published: January 2015

Five migration systems are described: settler, student, contract labor, skilled labor, and refugee. Settler migration to the U.S., Canada and Australia has consisted primarily of family members; the future may bring a greater emphasis on highly skilled and business categories. Contract labor migration, particularly to the Middle East, has provided jobs, foreign currency through remittances and greater participation of women, but also led to illegal migration, skills drain, and labor abuses. The hierarchy of development has led to intra-regional flows: (1) skilled labor mainly from Japan to other countries in the region, and (2) contract labor and illegal migration from the LDCs to the NIEs and Japan.
Asian Immigration: The View from the United States
Authors: Gardner Robert W.
Published: January 2015

Between the 1965 immigration law and 1990, Asian immigration to the United States increased tenfold to a quarter of a million annually. As sender of the most immigrants, Japan has yielded to the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, India, and China. From 1974–1989, over 900,000 Southeast Asian refugees entered the United States. Most Asians today are admitted in the family preference category. On average, the sex ratio is balanced, but over 55% of immigrants from South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan are female. Asians are occupationally diverse, with a greater number of professionals/executives (35%) than laborers (14%). Though relatively few in number, Asians concentrate geographically (notably in California) and exert growing political influence in those areas. Except for refugees, Asians are generally viewed as having a positive impact as students and workers. On the other hand, inas much as they contribute to ethnic diversity, they fan the current fears over threats to a common American cultural heritage. Anti-Asian hate crimes and interethnic violence have risen. Asian immigration is likely to continue to rise and show greater emphasis on employment preference categories.
The Status of Circular Migration in the Evolution of Melanesian Towns: An Attempt at Explanation
Authors: Walsh A. Crosbie
Published: January 2015

The debate on circular migration in Melanesia has given too little recognition to the temporal and spatial context for this movement and too much attention to descriptions of migration behavior rather than larger processes of change. What is lacking is a broad design theory for Pacific islands migration. This article proposes a model of Melanesian urbanization and associated forms of migration, both permanent and temporary/circular The model describes four stages of urban development, spanning the arrival of capitalism to a futuristic city of the next century. The author links the future of circular migration in Melanesia to the relative strengths of the precapitalist and capitalist modes of production and associated social relations particularly the wantok.
The Future of Western Samoan Migration to New Zealand
Authors: Vaa Leulu Felise
Published: January 2015

The history of Samoan migration to New Zealand, a demographic profile of the migrants, and the future of such migration are discussed. Migration became a serious phenomenon after independence in 1962, with primarily young, unskilled workers moving to take up jobs in the agricultural and service sectors. Remaining essentially unchanged since 1962, New Zealand's immigration policy gives preferential treatment to Western Samoans and recognizes their valuable labor contribution. The future of migration to New Zealand is discussed in the context of the costs and benefits to Western Samoa. Contrary to some observers, the author argues that emigration has been beneficial rather than deleterious to Western Samoa's development and predicts the continuation of Samoan migration to New Zealand, Australia, United States and other countries, with increased emphasis on family reunion.
Absorbing Temporary Foreign Workers: The Experience of Singapore
Authors: Fong Pang Eng
Published: January 2015

Singapore has emerged as one of the major importers of temporary workers in East Asia, particularly from Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, and has developed policies to maximize the benefits of foreign labor while minimizing its social and economic costs. Government policies restrict unskilled foreign workers to approved sectors and prohibit settlement in Singapore. Illegal workers are subject to imprisonment and the controversial punishment of mandatory caning. On the other hand, policies toward highly qualified and professional workers are exceptionally liberal, with new rules designed to attract skilled people from Hong Kong. As regional labor flows grow, Singapore's dependence on skilled and unskilled foreign labor will go beyond the primacy of a domestic focus and lead to an increased emphasis on managing labor problems through skillful diplomacy and migrant protection.
Vietnamese Refugees and Blocked Mobility
Authors: Gold Steve , Kibria Nazli
Published: January 2015

Recent media reports have described Vietnamese refugees as a “model minority” — a group whose cultural orientations have enabled them to overcome disadvantages and achieve economic success. This paper examines data from published sources and ethnographic studies conducted by the authors in Oakland, California and Philadelphia to assess the economic situation of Vietnamese refugees in the United States. Evidence suggests that in strong contrast to being a “success story,” the economic status of many recently arrived Vietnamese refugees is characterized by unstable, minimum-wage employment, welfare dependency and participation in the informal economy. The paper suggests that the group's economic opportunities have been limited by the configuration of circumstances that have surrounded their entry and settlement into the United States as refugees, as well as by the demographic structure of the group.
Labor Mobility, Trade and Structural Change: The Philippine Experience
Authors: Abella Manolo I.
Published: January 2015

This article addresses three questions: (1) Is the high rate of emigration of labor from the Philippines related to the country's trade policy? (2) Why have migration and accompanying remittances not made much of an impact on the growth and structure of the Philippine economy? (3) Would economic growth and structural change eventually curtail labor emigration? The Philippines' history of labor export and its economic development are contrasted with those of Asian NIEs which have adopted liberal trade regimes. Structural economic and demographic factors combined with an inward-looking industrialization policy have sustained a strong labor outflow from the Philippines, in contrast to the NIEs which are becoming net importers of labor. In the newly emerging integration of Asian economies, the Philippines must develop exports based on factors other than labor intensity ( e.g., its highly educated workforce) to maintain a competitive edge.
Labor Emigration and the Accumulation and Transfer of Human Capital
Authors: Tan Edita A.
Published: January 2015

This article examines the processes involved in the acquisition and transfer of human capital by Filipino overseas workers. The education/labor market has been flexible in meeting foreign demands for skills, with significant increases in medical schools, nursing schools, and maritime training institutions. Homeward transmission of human capital when overseas workers return depends largely on whether skills acquired on-the-job overseas have domestic application. In the four major occupational groupings (seamen, production/construction workers, domestic helpers and entertainers), little homeward transmission of human capital has been identified.
The Movement of People in Asia: Internal, Intra-Regional and International Migration
Authors: Lim Lin Lean , Abella Manolo
Published: January 2015

The comprehensive overview of Asian-Pacific migration summarizes early population movements during the colonial period and describes the major types of contemporary Asian population movements: (1) environmental refugees, (2) political refugees, (3) internal population movements, (4) contract labor migration, (5) migration of permanent settlers, (6) business related movements and tourism. Projections of net international migration are given. Population growth, employment absorption and emigration pressures are likely to contribute to a large mobility potential for Asia, with significant implications for Australia.
Migration and Singapore: Implications for the Asia Pacific
Authors: Low Linda
Published: January 2015

A crude hypothesis is that the wider the spatial inequalities in wages and incomes, accompanied by trade, capital and technology flows and globalization, the more significant is migration. The challenge in the Asia Pacific region is to unravel and synthesize the sociopolitical, legal and institutional aspects with the help of better theoretical and empirical inputs. This case study of Singapore shows that it has managed to balance sociopolitical sensitivities with economic and even demographic objectives. However, the model is not easy to replicate as the control mechanisms combine levies and quotas for foreign workers and strictly meritocratic criteria for emigrants. The policy implications and recommendations include more research and cooperation to strengthen the statistics and information and more government-to-government effort to regulate and expedite migration.
Roaming Yuppies: Hong Kong Migration to Australia
Authors: Lun Wong Siu
Published: January 2015

Hong Kong has been the top source area for Asian migration to Australia in recent years. The majority of the Hong Kong migrants are young, educated professionals. Using survey data conducted in Hong Kong on emigration tendencies, this article analyzes why they are leaving Hong Kong, what attracts them to Australia, and what impact this influx has on Australian society. It is speculated that this movement may create an enduring change in the identity of emigrant Hong Kongers and have a wider significance in the contradictory currents of geopolitics and geoeconomics which are simultaneously encouraging and resisting migration.
International Migration in China: A Survey of Emigrants from Shanghai
Authors: Hua Miao Jian
Published: January 2015

Migration trends have been largely unexamined in China, due to restrictive government policies and lack of data. This article presents the results of two surveys on emigrants from Shanghai, the largest source of emigrants and the only province with official migration records since 1958. Using information from the 1990 census, passport applications, and a survey of emigrant families in one city ward, the study concludes that migration policies, structural economic and social factors, and individual characteristics and needs shape migration patterns in Shanghai.
Asian and Pacific Migration: The Canadian Experience
Authors: Samuel T. John
Published: January 2015

On a per capita basis, Canada currently accepts more immigrants than any other country in the world. This article examines the characteristics of landed immigrants (permanent settlers) from Asia and explores their settlement, adaptation, and integration experience. Asian immigration has grown by leaps and bounds since the universalization of Canadian immigration policy. The skills content, capital inflow, and entrepreneurial impacts of Asian immigration have been significant. Generally speaking, Asian immigrants have adapted and integrated well. Yet access to Canadian territory as permanent residents, or access to Canadian citizenship, does not necessarily mean access to equal opportunity in the economy and society, though to a certain extent, Canada may have succeeded more than Australia.
Transforming Asian Pacific America: The Challenges of Growth and Diversity
Authors: Nakanishi Don T.
Published: January 2015

The concept of Asian Pacific panethnicity is examined in the light of the growing numbers and diversity of the population in the 1990s. The term “Asian American” originated in the civil rights period of the 1960s to help unify Asian groups in the common struggle against negative stereotypes and discrimination. Revised immigration laws, new immigrant groups and continued hostility have brought new challenges, and it is argued that Asian Pacific Americans as a group can provide important leadership for the U.S.‘s transformation to a more truly multicultural society.