Migration Matters in the Asia-Pacific Region: Immigration Frameworks, Knowledge Workers and National Policies

Abstract

In the past three decades the Asia-Pacific region has experienced a major wave of immigration despite tighter migration policies and better border controls. Southeast Asia has been prominent in this change, with some countries being important sources and destinations of skilled and unskilled migrants. Australia has also increased its migration quotas, particularly the skilled migration intake. The emergence of new regional migration patterns, the fast growth in the demand for knowledge workers and skilled migrants in specific occupational categories, and the creation of subregional labour markets are all manifestations of the scale and diversity of recent migratory movements in the region. Key factors accounting for these developments include disparities in economic growth; income and poverty levels between countries; labour shortages arising from demographic transformations; structural change in labour supply; and the role of social networks and the migration industry as drivers of migration.