Russian Skilled Migration:

Development through Empowerment

Esuna Dugarova2 March 2013

Migration:Development Opportunities

• Contributions to destination countries– Filling labour market shortages– Reducing dependency ratios– Potential for entrepreneurship, etc.

• Contributions to origin countries – Remittances (e.g. investments in education, capital and infrastructure)– Transfer/exchange of knowledge, experience, skills, innovations,

information (via physical or virtual mobility)– Diaspora bonds– Temporary, long-term or virtual “return”

Further benefits of skilled migration for origin country

• Skilled migrants can operate as creators, multipliers and transmitters of knowledge

• Migrants’ contribution to development is not conditional upon their return, and that many migrants live transnational lives, combining activities in origin and destination countries

• Well-integrated migrants seem to have an increased capacity to contribute to development (subject to conditions in origin countries)

• Migrants’ considerable weight can eventually create a push for political and economic reforms, democratization, increasing political and bureaucratic transparency etc.

Defining Empowerment• Empowerment is the process of transforming existing power relations and of

gaining greater control over the sources of power (UNDP, 2004)

• Empowerment builds people’s capacity to act individually and collectively to

make choice about the way they want to be and do things to improve their life

situation (ditto)

• Empowerment entails a process of change, with power exercised in a variety of

settings, including social, economic, political and legal (UNRISD, 2005)

• For empowerment to occur, there must be an enabling environment that will

allow people to participate effectively in decision making (Report of UN Secretary

General, 2012, E/CN.5/2013/3)

Four Dimensions of Empowerment• Social empowerment: increasing capacity to foster social relationships and

institutional interactions for well-being (e.g. social integration, social belonging)

• Economic empowerment: exercising greater control over resources and life

choices (e.g. access to decent job and income)

• Political empowerment: enhancing ability to influence processes and decisions,

and to hold relevant actors and institutions accountable (e.g. freedom, participation)

• Legal empowerment: strengthening capacity to exercise their rights, while making

legal frameworks respond better to people’s needs (e.g. rule of law, policies)

Migration for Empowerment

• Migration - essential strategy to improve and empower peoples’ lives (IOM).

• Migration enables migrants to enrich not only on their lives, but also lives of members of their families.

• Promoting migrants’ contribution to social and economic development of their countries of origin and destination is a mutually beneficial and empowering strategy

• Empowering conditions: choice, freedom, capacity, participation and control over one’s own destiny, increased resources and capacity, and improved quality of life

• Skilled migrants – important transnational agents of change

HypothesisIf we hypothesize that migration is empowering people and equips them with necessary resources and capacities (subject to enabling conditions), then we would expect the following regarding Russian migrants:

a. Social empowerment: they would be well integrated into society of the receiving country and as such may have an increased capacity to contribute to the development of both the receiving and sending country

b. Economic empowerment: they would have a greater control over resources (through better access to decent work and higher income)

c. Political empowerment: their ability to influence decisions through higher participation and freedom (in politically relevant contexts) would be improved

d. Legal empowerment: capacity to exercise their legal rights would be enhanced

Origin country Destination countryMigrants(C1) (C2)

Enabling

environment

Drain

Gain

Social Economic Political Legal

empowerment

Case Study: Russian Migration• Respondents’ profile: 159 participants in UK, USA,

Australia, Japan

Russian Migration: Social Empowerment

Russian Migration: Social Empowerment

Russian Migration: Social Empowerment

Russian Migration: Social Empowerment

Some Implications for Policy Making

• The important pre-condition for development gains is setting up effective policies and an enabling environment covering all aspects of the migration cycle.

• Host countries can contribute to shaping such an environment through migration policies (from admission to granting citizenship) as well as through other structural settings, encompassing social, economic policies, R&D policies and development cooperation.

• Development in sending countries is an essential part of social and economic investment by migrants. Policies aimed at increasing people’s welfare, creating functioning markets and improving social security and public services, are likely to enhance the contribution that migration can make to development.