Managed Labor Migration in Afghanistan : Experience and Evidence with International Afghan Labor Mobility at Micro Level

Garrote Sanchez, Daniel

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: LABOR MOBILITY;    LABOR MARKET;    MIGRATION;    MIGRANT LABOR;    LIVELIHOODS;   

RP-ID  :  122982

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper analyzes Afghanistan’smigration phenomenon from a microeconomic perspective. Giventhe elevated pressures in the labor market, a common tool tosustain livelihoods is migration, affecting 16 percent ofAfghan households, both current migrants and returnees.Compared to nonmigrants, returnees are more educated andhave higher earnings, while the opposite is true forout-migrants. For most of them, remittances represent asupplement to their income, particularly for those familiesthat currently have a member abroad. Comparing earnings ofAfghans abroad to those of similar workers in Afghanistan,wide wage gaps are observed, creating strong pull factorsfor migration. A strong self-selection of migrants alsooccurs across countries. Overall, migration represents anopportunity to improve livelihoods, although under itscurrent form it does not incentivize upskilling, as mostirregular Afghans find jobs in neighboring countries likeIran in low-skilled sectors where returns to education are low.