GLOBAL COLLOQUIUM of UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS



(*)GLOBAL COLLOQUIUM of UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS

Jan. 18-19, 2005 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM on INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

by Prof. ÜMİT BERKMAN

I. Introduction

International migration varies both in scale and substance (see for example Korner, 1991; Kritz et al., 1992). Some scholars talk about “the age of migration (Castles and Miller, 1998), while others prefer to conceptualize it as “transnational migration” (Schiller et al., 1992), and still others call attention to “the turbulence of migration” (Papastergiadis, 2000).

As can be expected, the economic and development aspects of international migration for both the sending and the receiving countries have been studied quite thoroughly (for example, Thomas,1986; Appleyard, 1992; Giersch, 1994; Borjas, 1994; Friedberg and Hunt, 1995), including within the context of international trade (for example see Russel, 1992).

The relationship between “globalization” and international migration has also been a recent concern (for example, Brah et al., 1999; Stalker, 2000).

Political and cultural aspects, which together make up another important dimension of international migration (for example, Layton-Henry, 1990; Cohen and Layton-Henry, 1997; Chapin, 1997), have received their fair share of attention.

Case studies of the above facets of international migration (for example Serow et al., 1990) together with historical cases (for example Freeman and Jupp, 1992; Hatton and Williamson, 1994) have also provided interesting insights for comparative studies.

However, international migration seems to be attaining new dimensions and/or is bringing to light new issues, as in the case of the transitional processes in the Eastern European countries (for example Siebert, 1994), and as in the case of the European Union as well, where concepts and practices relating to “national” and “international” have become somewhat blurred (Collinson, 1993).

Furthermore, responses to new “threat” issues, such as security in the aftermath of 9/11 and the restrictions related to it, indicate that the implementation of responses/ restrictions, including new border control and visa systems, deportations and anti-trafficking legislation, will be an ongoing process (for example Papademetrious and Hamilton, 1996).

In other words, it can be said that international migration will continue to generate new topics and issues, as it is a dynamic process taking place in a complex global environment.

Development assistance programs, international trade, foreign investments and political stability now seem to be playing a different and a more crucial role within the context of international migration issues.

II. Brief Notes About Turkey’s Situation and Benefit-Cost Considerations

Turkey has basically been a sender country, even though more recently it has become a receiving and a transit country as well. Especially after the 1960s skilled, and semi-skilled workers migrated to Western Europe, most notably to Germany, which now has a Turkish population of around 2.5 million (see for example Abadan-Unat, 1976): After the 1970s Turkish emigrants this time including certain professionals such as engineers, managers began to go to the Middle East and North Africa (see for example Barısık et al., 1990) and in the last decade to the Eastern and Central European countries and Russia. The increased restrictions on immigration by Western European countries have almost stopped emigration to these countries (except for the purpose of family reunification), and the former Soviet Union countries have become the new outlet for workers, professionals and small businessmen.

The most salient feature of recent Turkish emigration is the predominance of project-tied moves where workers, technicians and some professionals are hired by foreign or Turkish contracting firms (OECD, 1995).

It should also be mentioned that highly qualified professionals and academics, though in numbers that remain rather modest when compared with the above, have found respectable jobs in the United States (it is this group which we will later focus on).

In these cases benefits (which sometimes may be in conflict) for the individuals, for Turkey and for the receiving country can be summarized as follows:

Benefits for the Individuals

Employment opportunities

Greater and better economic opportunities for the highly qualified and professional individuals

Improvement of existing skills and knowledge and/or acquisitions of new skills and knowledge

Personal enrichment (experience of + interaction with other cultures)

Benefits for Turkey

Reduction of the unemployment problem + receipt of remittances

Improved national image + the potential for effective lobbying for Turkey’s interests

Better human resources when emigrants return

Positive effects on country image and quality of human resources; and more conscious citizens

Benefits for the Receiving Country

Reduction of human resources shortages

In certain instances, a less expensive labor force

Brain gain

A human resource pool more open to gaining new skills and knowledge

Cultural enrichment

With respect to costs, a short list is provided below:

Costs for the Individuals

Being away from home

Leaving the family behind and family reunification problems

Facing hostility unless adaptation to a new environment +culture* is achieved

Difficulties in readaptation upon returning home

Costs for Turkey

In the case of highly qualified and professional people, loss of strategic human resources and brain drain

Divided families

If not, negative effects on the country image

The necessity to properly employ those who return, and make use of their skills

Costs for the Receiving Country

Employment problems may emerge; immigrants seen as threats to job opportunities

Possibility of clash of cultures and negative consequences such as hostility towards immigrants and upsurge of extreme nationalistic tendencies, with no tolerance for cultural diversity

Replacement problems

;

As a receiver, the inflow of migrants to Turkey has been small compared to migration from Turkey to other countries. On two occasions in the late 1980s and early 1990s relatively large numbers of immigrants arrived: from Bulgaria around 250,000 and from Iraq, initially around 450,000 Northern Iraqis following the Gulf War (OECD, 1995, p.128). In these cases, political factors in the country of origin triggered the immigration process. The individuals’ benefit was coming to a safe haven, while Turkey benefited morally by serving a humanitarian purpose. The basic costs involved were relocation costs for migrants and financial costs for Turkey in providing food and shelter.

However, in the last decade and especially after 2000, the inflow of migrants for economic reasons has increased significantly. It was estimated by the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce that there were about one million immigrants most of whom were entering illegally and working in construction, small food and textile factories, and household domestic service for low wages and no social security.

Legal entrants have come primarily from Moldavia, Ukraine, Romania, and Russia, while illegal entrants have come mainly form Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Morocco.

*Adaptation is very closely related with knowing/learning the language and demonstrating good will in trying to understand the culture.

The legal migrants, as might be expected, are more qualified in terms of education, skills and abilities. Although the volume is not significant, another group of immigrants consists of women from the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe who have come to work in the entertainment industry. They provide a needed human resource, especially on the Mediterranean coast, where tourism is an important source of revenue for Turkey. The disintegration of the USSR and the globalization process have been effective in these recent trends.

Turkey’s situation as a “transit country” has been a problematic one, since in this case smugglers have used the country as a route for transporting illegal migrants destined for Western European countries. The number of such migrants is estimated to be around 100,000 per year. The end of this illegal trafficking of human beings has sometimes been tragic, as in cases where would-be immigrants have suffocated in trucks or drowned at sea.

III. Concluding Remarks

In principle, the movement of individuals for the purpose of pursuing greater economic opportunities and/or seeking better lives should be accepted as rights of the individuals. On the other hand, governments within today’s nation-state system generally and to some extent justifiably wish to control the flow of individuals. Which one should have priority? There is no easy, definite and short answer or solution to this question/problem.

Two of the crucial phrases and dimensions of the problem are:

a) Before Migration: assisting developing countries to create job opportunities through refocused international trade and foreign investment; and assisting them to upgrade their public administration systems through refocused foreign aid and development assistance programs.

b) After Migration: assisting the immigrants in adjusting to their new environment. Many of the negative effects of migration stem from failure in integrating immigrants into the host countries. In this adjustment process, the role of NGOs may be more effective than that of the host governments. International organizations can be instrumental in bringing NGOs into the picture.

In this context, looking at existing international cooperation at both the academic level and the agency level will certainly provide insights into the issue. I would like to repeat the above point: development assistance programs, international trade, foreign investment, and political stability have today attained a different and a more crucial role within the scope of international migration issues. The case outlined below is presented in this regard.

A Short Case Study on Reverse Brain Drain: The Bilkent Experience

As indicated at the beginning, international migration takes many and different forms in various parts in the world. A significant portion of concern and attention has rightly been devoted to the migration to developed countries, the migrants being mostly unskilled or semi-skilled people who find no or limited opportunity at home to earn a living and/or seek a better future for themselves and their families. Indeed the problems and risks they face - - falling prey to smugglers, doing dangerous and/or difficult jobs without proper pay and safety conditions, being subjected to discrimination and other human rights violations - - are many and no doubt these are and will continue to be the primary concerns of the international community (see for example Borjas 1991; UN, 1990; Chant and Radcliffe, 1992).

However, another kind of international migration, much less problematic in many respects for the host country, is that characterized as brain drain, where the migrants are highly educated, highly qualified and professional, and in a sense at the other extreme of spectrum from the above-mentioned migrants and immigrants (see for example Chang and Deng, 1992; Chang, 1992, Obian, 1993).

How can brain drain be reversed? In other words, under what circumstances would these highly qualified and educated human resources return to their country of origin (see for example Yoon, 1992) This is the question and the issue that I will try to briefly address by relating the experience of Bilkent University, which has been relatively successful in reversing brain drain.

These migrants in simple terms, want to live in a stable and ethical environment where the rules of engagement between the individual, the society, and the state operate on a legal, fair, and consistent basis (see for example Hammar and Tamas, 1997): Put differently, they seek a system in which corruption and unethical behavior are not the mode of life.

Turning to the specific case at hand, more than three-quarters of Bilkent University’s assistant, associate and full professors were, in North America or Western Europe, and came to Turkey because they received a job offer from Bilkent. What made the Bilkent offer attractive was not simply the competitive remuneration; it was the environment that Bilkent provided. It offered not merely a job, but a way of life for their entire family.

For instance, Bilkent has primary, secondary and high schools for the children of its faculty where ethical principles take primacy, as the following example indicates: In Turkey, students generally go to university test preparation centers in their last two years of high school, since entrance to universities is through a nationwide standardized exam. A common practice is to obtain false medical reports, which allow students to be absent from their regular schools for extended periods in order to go to the above-mentioned preparation centers. This process involves highly unethical behavior on the part of the doctor who is in a sense “lying”, the parent who is asking for a false document, the student who does not attend his/her school, and the officials who are aware of this situation but take no measure to remedy it. In Bilkent schools, such medical leaves are not permitted, since their use is an unethical act.

Still another example of this type of unethical behavior is obtaining falsified documentation so that a person can receive a government subsidy to undergo a medical operation abroad. This is in contrast to Bilkent’s health insurance system, which covers such operations.

Considering that examples such as these have analogies across the full spectrum of daily life, it is obvious that most people would prefer a way of life that has less of these. And this can be a major factor/reason in a person’s choice of where to live.

Reversing the brain drain, in which Bilkent has been successful, is hence not just a remuneration issue; it also involves providing a way of life in which legal and administrative system does not allow corruption. In other words, reduction of corruption in the developing countries can increase incentives for reverse brain drain.

What is desired, needed and crucial is an impartial, objective, honest, transparent, accountable and sensitive public administration. This administration should be based on ethical values and principles that would be instrumental in reducing corruption, in upgrading the quality of public service, and in recapturing the trust of the citizenry in the state apparatus and public organizations.

In fact, steps in this regard and direction have been taken by the UN such as organizing international conferences and publishing works on public service ethics (for example UN 2000 a, 2000 b).

Assistance programs should be refocused so as to provide assistance to countries that take the above measures and implement them diligently. International trade with and foreign investments in these countries should also be encouraged and promoted.

REFERENCES:

Abadan-Unat, 1976. Turkish Workers in Europe 1960-1975, Brill.

Appleyard, R. 1992 “International Migration and Development-An Unresolved Relationship,” International Migration, Vol. XXX, no.s 3-4, pp.251-266.

Barısık, A., Eraydin, A. and Gedik, A. 1990. “Turkey” in W.J. Serow, C.B. Nam, D.F. Sly, and R.H. Weller eds. Handbook of International Migration, Greenwood, pp. 301-323

Borjas, G. J. 1991, “Immigrants in the US Labor Market 1940-80,” American Economic Review, Vol.81 pp.287-291

Borjas, G. J. 1994. “The Economics of Immigration,” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 32, pp 1667-1717.

Brah, A., Hickman, M., and Ghaille, M. eds. 1999. Global Futures: Migration, Environment and Globalization, MacMillan.

Castles, S. and Miller, M. J. 1998. The Age of Migration: International Movements in the Mode in World, MacMillan.

Chang, P. and Deng. Z. 1992, “The Chinese Brain Drain and Policy Options,” Studies in Comparative International Development, Vol.27, no.1, pp.44-60.

Chang, S. L. 1992, “Causes of Brain Drain and Solutions: The Taiwanese Experience,” Studies in Comparative International Development, Vol.27, pp.27-43.

Chant, S. and Radcliffe, S.A. 1992 eds. Gender and Migration in Developing Countries, Belhaven.

Chapin, W. 1997. Germany for the Germans: The Political Effects of International Migration, Greenwood.

Cohen, R. and Layton-Henry, Z. eds. 1997. The Politics of Migration, Elgar.

Collinson, S. 1993. Europe and International Migration

Freeman, G.P. and Jupp, J. eds. 1992 Nations of Immigrants: Australia, the United States and International Migration, Oxford University Press.

Friedberg, R. M. and Hunt, J. 1995. “The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth,” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol.9, no. 2, pp 23-44.

Giersch, H. 1994 ed. Economic Aspects of International Migration, Springer Verlag.

Hammar, T. and Tamas, K. 1997. “Why Do People Go or Stay?” in T. Hammar, G. Brochmann, K. Tamas and T. Faist eds. International Migration, Immobility and Development, Berg.

Hatton, T.J. and Williamson, J.G. 1994. “What Drove the Mass Migrations from Europe in the Late Nineteenth Century?,” Population and Development Review, Vol. 20, no.3, pp 533-559.

Kritz, M. M., Lim, L. L. and Zlotnik, H. 1992 eds. International Migration Systems: A Global Approach, Clarendon Press.

Korner, H. 1991 “Future Trends in International Migration,” Intereconomics, Vol. 26 (1), pp 41-44.

Layton-Henry, Z. ed. 1990. Political Rights of Migrant Workers in Western Europe, Sage.

Obia, G.C. 1993. “Brain Drain and African Development,” Journal of the Third World Studies, Vol.X, no. 74-95.

OECD, 1995. Trends in International Migration.

Papademetrious, D. and Hamilton. K. A. 1996. Converging Paths to Restriction: French, Italian, and British Responses to Migration, Brookings Inst.

Papastergiadis, N. 2000. The Turbulence of Migration: Globalization, Deterritorialization and Hybridity, Polity Press.

Russell, S. S. 1992. International Migration and International Trade, World Bank.

Schiller, N.G., Basch, L. and Blanc-Szanton, C. eds. 1992. Towards a Transnational Perspective on Migration: Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Nationalism Reconsidered, New York Academy of Sciences.

Serow, W. J., Nam, C. B., Sly, D.F. and Weller, R.H. eds. 1990. Handbook on International Migration, Greenwood.

Siebert, H. 1994. Migration: A Challenge for Europe, Tubingen.

Stalker, P. 2000. Workers Without Frontiers: The Impact of Globalization on International Migration, Lynne Rienner Publications.

Thomas, B. ed. 1986. Economics of International Migration, MacMillan.

UN, 1995. International Migration Policies and the Status of Female Migrants.

2000 a. Promoting Ethics in the Public Service.

2000 b. Professionalism and Ethics in the Public Service: Issues and Practices in Selected Regions.

Yoon, B.L. 1992 “Reverse Brain Drain in South Korea: State-Led Model,” Studies in Comparative International Development, Vol,27, no.1, pp.4-26.

(*) Professor, Dept. of Management, Bilkent University, Ankara-Turkey.

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