Let workers move : using bilateral labor agreements to increase trade in services / / Sebastian Saez, editor

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910811985003321
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Washington, D.C., : World Bank, 2013
• ISBN: 0-8213-9916-0
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: xix, 168 pages : illustrations ; ; 26 cm
• Collana: Directions in development. Trade
• Altri autori (Persone): SaezSebastian
• Disciplina: 331.12/791
• Soggetti: Working class; Labor economics
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references.
• Nota di contenuto: Front Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Contributors -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Trade in Services and Bilateral Labor Agreements: Overview -- Why Do People Migrate? -- Have Multilateral and Regional Agreements Increased Opportunities for Labor Migration? -- Can BLAs Succeed Where Multilateral and Regional Agreements Have Not? -- What Do the Case Studies Show? -- Can BLAs Expand Exports of Services? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2 How Well Have Trade Agreements Facilitated Temporary Mobility? -- Extent of Temporary Mobility -- Barriers to Temporary Mobility -- Contribution of the GATS -- Problems Implementing Temporary Mobility through the GATS -- Performance of PTAs -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 3 When and Why Should Bilateral Labor Agreements Be Used? -- Potential Advantages of BLAs -- Potential Disadvantages of BLAs -- Best Practice in BLAs for the Poor -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 4 Can Bilateral Labor Agreements Help Colombia and Ecuador Increase Their Service Exports to Spain? -- Spain's Immigration Policy Framework -- Exporting Services to Spain through Mode 4 of the GATS -- Spain's BLAs with Colombia and Ecuador -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 5 To What Extent Do Bilateral Migration Agreements Contribute to Development in Source Countries? An Analysis of France's Migration Pacts -- WTO/GATS Commitments versus Bilateral Labor Agreements -- Goals and Policy Objectives of ; France's Migration Pacts -- Implementing the European Union's GAM -- Labor Migration: An Overrated Component of France's Migration Pacts -- Conclusion -- Annex 5A: France's Migration-Related Agreements -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 6 Bilateral Labor Agreements and Trade in Services: The Experience of the Philippines.; Substantive Provisions of the Philippines' BLAs -- Regulatory Framework for Implementing BLAs -- Safeguard Mechanisms -- Development Impacts of Temporary Labor Migration -- Addressing Issues Raised by the GATS and the AFAS -- Linkages between BLAs and Agreements on Trade in Services -- Best Practices of the Philippines in Implementing BLAs -- Conclusion -- Annex 6A: Overseas Filipino Workers in Selected Economies -- References -- Chapter 7 Bilateral Labor Agreements in the Pacific: A Development-Friendly Case Study -- Types of BLAs -- Drivers for Establishing Labor Migration Schemes in the Pacific -- Scope and Structure of BLAs -- Lessons on the Development Benefits of Labor Migration -- Conclusion -- Note -- References -- Chapter 8 Bilateral Labor Agreements: Experience from the Caribbean -- Caribbean Economies and Trade in Services -- Trends in Temporary Migration, 1998-2011 -- BLAs in the Caribbean -- Conclusions and Recommendations -- Notes -- References -- Boxes -- Figures -- Tables -- Back Cover.
• Sommario/riassunto: Unlike the movement of capital, the movement of labor across countries remains highly restricted—despite the huge global returns to international labor mobility. If the benefits of temporary labor mobility are so great, why is there not more movement? Progress appears to have been stymied not by the forum of negotiations but by the political sensitivity associated with even temporary labor mobility. To circumvent this problem, the use of bilateral labor agreements, which are generally not part of trade agreements, has been proposed as an alternative means of increasing temporary labor mobility. This book analyses the viability and performance of these agreements as a complement to other efforts to liberalize the temporary movement of people. It is based on the experiences of sending and receiving countries in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Although bilateral labor agreements are not designed to promote services exports by the sending country, they can be used to do so. Countries can design flexible strategies that combine both international trade and bilateral labor agreements. Trade agreements can provide rules and disciplines that grant market access for a wide range of activities. In contrast, bilateral labor agreements can allow countries, especially developing countries, to focus on the temporary movement of very specific categories of workers, such as computer programmers or electricians within the construction sector. The experiences of some Caribbean countries, the Pacific Islands countries, and the Philippines illustrate the importance of shared responsibility—at the design, implementation, and institutional levels. At the design level, sending and receiving countries need to agree on a set of objectives and align the design to meet them. At the implementation level, joint and cooperative management involving; state and nonstate actors on both sides is required. At the institution-building level, needs must be jointly diagnosed, capacity constraints addressed, and, if possible, progress monitored and evaluated. Bilateral labor agreements 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.