Publications & Documents

Japan has historically been among the OECD countries with the lowest migration flows relative to its population. However, the situation has changed significantly in the past few years. To counteract the impact of rapid population ageing on the labour market, Japan has introduced major policy changes in the governance of recruitment from abroad. This review examines the role of labour migration policy in the specific context of Japan and identifies policy directions for the future. Covering labour migration at all skill levels, the review assesses how the long-standing migration channels for international students and high-skilled migrants fare in attracting and retaining international talent. It also reviews the main channels for low to medium skill trades, including the recently introduced Specified Skilled Worker Programme.

Since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 10 million people have been displaced, either within Ukraine or abroad. Labour market integration of internally and externally displaced individuals remains challenging. While many immediate measures were undertaken in Ukraine and in host countries to support displaced Ukrainians, longer-term solutions are needed to enhance their human capital, and allow them not only to integrate into their receiving communities but also contribute to the recovery of Ukraine.

This report is based on the discussions at the 13th ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia: Integrating Skills Development and Certification into the Labor Migration Cycle, held on 27–28 June 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. The annual roundtable brings together labor experts and policy makers from across Asia to discuss trends in labor migration and emerging policy and issues on migrant workers. Chapter 1 analyzes labor migration flows in Asia and relevant policy developments, including a section on the flow and cost of remittances. Chapter 2 looks at the pathways for middle-skilled migration and the accompanying skills recognition or certification approaches in Singapore and Thailand, focusing on the construction sector. Chapter 3 examines programs for seasonal workers in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and how they relate to other programs for migrant workers in agriculture. The chapter also provides an overview of seasonal migrant worker options in the agriculture sector in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and Thai seasonal workers in Nordic countries. Statistical annexes provide updated economy-specific notes and comparative tables on country-level migration flows.

Since the onset of Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine, millions of people have been forced to flee their homes in search of a safe haven. This report synthesises the findings of the Survey of Arriving Migrants from Ukraine (SAM-UKR), conducted by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), covering prevailing themes of forced displacement from Ukraine. These themes encompass demographics, reasons for departure, experiences along the journey, life in the host country, return intentions, and future aspirations. In addition to presenting survey results, the report draws on over 1 500 personal testimonies provided by respondents to offer a more direct insight into the decision-making process and emotional state of displaced persons, thereby illuminating their struggles, anxieties, hopes, and aspirations resulting from their displacement.

Return migration has emerged as a critical policy concern for both destination and origin countries. While policy attention in destination countries has been focused on assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) programs, particularly for migrants with expulsion orders, these efforts represent only a fraction of broader return movements. This report, based on a project carried out by the OECD with support from the German Corporation for International Co-operation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH – GIZ), commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, analyses the scope and characteristics of different categories of return migration. The report draws on three workshops, held in Tunis, Rabat and Brussels, that discussed return migration in different contexts. It examines the multiple factors that influence migrants' decisions to return to their countries of origin and their reintegration at home, including the role of family and community. The report emphasises the pre-existing structures and networks of returning migrants in origin countries and their role in supporting different types of return migrants. The report also looks at potential re-migration.

Avec les mutations économiques et technologiques enregistrées au cours des dernières décennies, les perspectives économiques individuelles sont aujourd’hui plus incertaines qu’autrefois. La présente synthèse résume les principales conclusions du rapport Un équilibre précaire ? Instabilité des revenus et insécurité économique en Europe, le premier produit par l’Observatoire de l’OCDE sur la mobilité sociale et l’égalité des chances. Ses auteurs ont fait appel à des techniques innovantes pour identifier les catégories de population en situation d’insécurité économique dans les pays européens de l’OCDE – autrement dit celles qui sont les plus exposées et les plus vulnérables à l’instabilité des revenus – et pour déterminer comment l’évolution des revenus et l’insécurité économique influencent les conditions de vie des individus, la mobilité sociale et les inégalités. Il passe également en revue une série de mesures propres à rendre la protection sociale plus réactive afin d’améliorer le soutien apporté à ceux dont les revenus sont instables et étudient des solutions qui permettraient d’aider ceux que l’insécurité économique guette plus particulièrement à constituer des réserves financières.

Citizenship and residency by investment (CBI/RBI) programmes are government-administered programmes that grant citizenship or residency to foreign investors by expediting or bypassing normal migration processes. These programmes can help spur economic growth through foreign direct investment, but they are also attractive to criminals and corrupt officials seeking to evade justice and launder the proceeds of crime reaching into the billions of dollars. This report highlights how CBI programmes can allow criminals more global mobility and help them hide their identity and criminal activities behind shell companies in other jurisdictions. It highlights the vulnerabilities of these complex and international investment migration programmes, including the frequent use of intermediaries, involvement of multiple government agencies, abuse by professional enablers and lack of proper governance of the CBI/RBI programmes. The report proposes measures and examples of good practice, that can help policy makers and those responsible for managing the investment migration programmes address these risks. These include an in-depth analysis and understanding of how criminals can exploit CBI or RBI programmes and incorporating risk mitigation measures, such as multi-layer due diligence, in the design of the investment migration programme.

The pandemic resulted in a significant increase in the number of deaths in many OECD countries. With detailed data now available by age and sex, this OECD Health Working Paper examines the trends and differences in mortality patterns over the three-year span of the pandemic. While a simple comparison of the raw number of deaths with reference to a historical base period has proved to be an important and straightforward indicator to assess the overall impact of the pandemic, most OECD countries have undergone major changes in population size and structure. This paper reviews the methodology of calculating changes in mortality to take account of such demographic trends and, in producing a revised set of estimates using adjusted numbers of deaths, highlights some important variations in mortality across years, countries and age groups.

Le déplacement des ukrainiens dans les pays de l’OCDE s’inscrivant dans la durée, une aide supplémentaire à l’intégration est nécessaire pour parvenir à des résultats adéquats, mais la nature et la portée de cette aide peuvent ne pas correspondre aux pratiques d’intégration habituelles car il est probable que de nombreux réfugiés voudront vouloir rentrer chez eux lorsque la situation le permettra. Au vu de ces besoins apparemment contradictoires, adopter une approche de l’intégration visant un double objectif permettrait de prévoir à la fois la possibilité d’un séjour d’une durée indéterminée dans le pays d’accueil et celle d’un retour des réfugiés en Ukraine, tout en s'attachant à minimiser les éventuels obstacles au retour.