Let Workers Move : Using Bilateral Labor Agreements to Increase Trade in Services
Unlike the movement of capital, the movement of labor across countries remains highly restricted-despite the huge global returns to international labor mobility. According to one estimate, allowing the temporary migration of skilled and unskilled w...
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| Format: | Publication |
| Language: | English en_US |
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/01/17900283/using-bilateral-labor-agreements-increase-trade-services http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15800 |
| Summary: | Unlike the movement of capital, the
movement of labor across countries remains highly
restricted-despite the huge global returns to international
labor mobility. According to one estimate, allowing the
temporary migration of skilled and unskilled workers
equivalent to 3 percent of the workforces of the
world's developed countries would increase global
welfare by more than US$156 billion a year. The objective of
this book is to identify and discuss possible options for
increasing services trade through the temporary movement of
people, as a complement, not a substitute, to what can be
achieved at the World Trade Organization (WTO), regional,
and bilateral levels through trade agreement. Bilateral
labor agreements (BLAs) could play a complementary role
provided they are designed with the aim of promoting
services trade through the temporary movement of people and
fulfill specific requirements, including requirements that
ensure temporariness. In general, such agreements have not
been designed to promote trade in services; they have
traditionally been tailored to facilitate or manage labor
migration flows. The book is divided into two parts.
Chapters one to three assess what has been achieved so far
in trade agreements in terms of the temporary movement of
services providers. They also discuss the pros and cons of
using BLAs as possible channels for the expansion of trade
in services. Chapter's four to eight use case studies
to examine the viability and performance of BLAs as a
complement to other efforts to liberalize the temporary
movement of people. They are based on the experiences of
sending and receiving countries in Europe, North America,
the Caribbean, and the Pacific. BLAs can be an attractive
option for middle-income countries whose migratory flows are
relatively small and do not generate fears in receiving
countries. Source country governments should make credible
commitments to ensure the temporary nature of these flows.
In conjunction with the private sector, they should
establish mechanisms for selecting the sectors to promote in
target markets. |
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