SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

encourage young workers from neighbouring
countries to join their domestic labour force.
Among East Asian countries and territories,
Hong Kong, China (SAR); Japan; Macau, China
(SAR) and Republic of Korea host large numbers
of migrants from countries in the region
with younger populations. 44 The same scenario
applies to Australia and New Zealand, which
absorb many migrants from the Pacific small
island developing states.
The Republic of Korea provides a classic
example of encouraging migration to mitigate
the negative impacts of ageing (Box 1.3). As a
result, the migrant population edged up from
0.5 million in 1990 to 1.2 million in 2013, about
2.5 percent of the total population. International
migration is unlikely to reverse long-term
demographic trends such as ageing, however.
To keep its working population constant at the
36.6 million people projected for 2020, the
Republic of Korea will need some 6.4 million
immigrants between 2020 and 2050, or 213,000
per year, an implausible scenario for reasons
including uncertainty about the source of so
many migrants. 45
BOX 1.3:
Promoting migration to welcome a younger labour force
Rising rates of migration within countries in
large part stem from historically rapid urbanization,
and can also shift the distribution of
age groups. Youth and younger working adults
tend to migrate to cities for higher education or
employment, whereas older people stay behind
in rural areas. This pattern is likely to remain a
key driver of demographic changes in the coming
decades, particularly in Asia-Pacific developing
countries. The socioeconomic implications are
many and diverse, such as growing demand for
jobs in cities, and greater need for improved
health care in rural areas.
HOW DEMOGRAPHIC
TRANSITION WORKS
Demographic transition stems from changes
in human behaviour, socioeconomic and cultural
factors, levels of human capabilities and
opportunities, and the overall state of human
development. These dimensions, widely variable
across different countries, determine the pace
Demographic
transformations
pose significant
opportunities and risks
In 2003, the Republic of Korea introduced the
Employment Permit System for hiring low-skilled
workers aged 18 to 38 in manufacturing, construction,
agriculture, services and fishery. The system
operates through bilateral government-to-government
agreements with, so far, 15 sending countries.
This approach is an attempt to ensure that labour
laws apply to migrant workers, reduce corruption,
curtail human rights abuses, and promote transparency
in recruitment and employment. The Republic
of Korea, for example, requires that recruitment,
selection and placement of workers be managed
by the sending country’s government or government-affiliated
organizations. Fees are fixed and
openly advertised in the country of origin.
Viet Nam and Indonesia have sent the largest numbers
of migrant workers under the scheme. Viet
Nam has a relatively large and young population,
and it has introduced a labour exporting policy
to reduce pressure on its domestic labour force
and enhance poverty reduction. In 2013, nearly
55,000 migrants from Viet Nam went to the Republic
of Korea through the Employment Permit
System, 23 percent of the total. Remittances in
2014 totalled $525 million, comprising 4 percent
of the total received in Viet Nam. About 6 percent
of Vietnamese households receive remittances,
although lower-income households only capture
3 percent of the total.
Indonesia has a relatively young population and
a high youth unemployment rate of around 21.8
percent. It sent just over 26,000 migrant workers
through the Employment Permit System in 2013,
11.1 percent of the total. In 2014, remittances from
the Republic of Korea reached $68 million. As the
majority of Indonesian migrant workers come from
low-income groups, remittances are often the main
income for their households, contributing approximately
31.2 percent of total income.
Source: ADB 2012d, ILO 2015h, ILO 2015I, UNESCAP 2015b, World Bank 2015b.
35