Migration and Remittances Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union Willem van Eeghen World Bank Eu

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Migration and RemittancesEastern Europe and the
Former Soviet UnionWillem van EeghenWorld
BankEurope and Central Asia Region

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Key Messages

• Migration in ECA is unique, significant, and
  likely to grow
• Remittances are the second most important source
  of financing for many and the first for poorest
• Good economic policies and institutions maximize
  gains for sending and receiving countries and
  migrants (Triple Win)
• Current immigration policies, largely bilateral,
  may not stem large undocumented migration
• Further study and policy experimentation may help
  overcome the limitations of the existing framework

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Migration has followed a biaxial pattern Eastern
to Western Europe and Low Income CIS to Russia,
Kazakhstan, and Ukraine
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A lot of early migration was driven by civil
conflict and war
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Net migration rates were volatile in Central Asia
during the early years of transition
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This volatility is consistent with patterns found
in other parts of the CIS...
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and Central and Eastern Europe during the early
1990s
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Pool of labor within ECACentral Asia, Caucasus,
Balkans
Data are from 2000-2003
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Losing population to emigration and
demographicsBaltics, SE Europe, Poland, Ukraine
and Moldova
Data are from 2000-2003
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Declining population despite immigrationCentral
Europe, Russia and Belarus
Data are from 2000-2003
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It is likely that migration will increase for
five main reasons

• Differentials in expected quality of life
  increasing
• Demand for non-traded services from increasingly
  affluent and large middle class (demand needs to
  be factored into policy)
• Much lower transportation costs (esp. low cost
  airlines) and easier to keep in touch
• Only quick way to build savings and human capital
• Demographic decline in Europe and parts of the
  CIS (especially Russia)-now at an interlude

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Remittances are large as a portion of GDP in many
ECA countries
Workers Remittances Compensation of Employees
to GDP (2006)
Source IMF Balance of Payments Statistics
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Several ECA countries lead the world in
remittances receipts
Workers Remittances Compensation of Employees
to GDP (2006)
Source IMF Balance of Payments Statistics.
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The Use of Remittance Transfer Channels Vary
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Transfer costs can be high
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The majority of remittances in Central Asia go to
fund basic subsistence
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Policy experimentation and pilots could be useful

• World Bank is working on implementing pilot
  migration schemes with several EU member-states
• More information and data are available at
• http//www.worldbank.org/eca/migration