The Development Impact of a Best Practice Seasonal Worker Policy
Seasonal migration programs are widely used around the world, and are increasingly seen as offering a potential "triple-win"-- benefiting the migrant, sending country, and receiving country. Yet there is a dearth of rigorous evidence as t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20101130131212 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3970 |
| Summary: | Seasonal migration programs are widely
used around the world, and are increasingly seen as offering
a potential "triple-win"-- benefiting the migrant,
sending country, and receiving country. Yet there is a
dearth of rigorous evidence as to their development impact,
and concerns about whether the time periods involved are too
short to realize much in the way of benefits, and whether
poorer, less skilled households actually get to participate
in such programs. This paper studies the development impacts
of a recently introduced seasonal worker program that has
been deemed to be "best practice." New
Zealand's Recognized Seasonal Employer program was
launched in 2007 with an explicit focus on development in
the Pacific alongside the aim of benefiting employers at
home. A multi-year prospective evaluation allows measurement
of the impact of participation in this program on households
and communities in Tonga and Vanuatu. Using a matched
difference-in-differences analysis based on detailed surveys
fielded before, during, and after participation, the authors
find that the Recognized Seasonal Employer program has
indeed had largely positive development impacts. It has
increased income and consumption of households, allowed
households to purchase more durable goods, increased the
subjective standard of living, and had additional benefits
at the community level. It also increased child schooling in
Tonga. This should rank it among the most effective
development policies evaluated to date. The policy was
designed as a best practice example based on lessons
elsewhere, and now should serve as a model for other
countries to follow. |
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