Liberalization of the Temporary Movement of Natural Persons and the Gulf Between Unskilled and Skilled Service Suppliers; Suggestions for Further Liberalization of Gats Mode 4

Liberalization of the Temporary Movement of Natural Persons and the Gulf Between Unskilled and Skilled Service Suppliers; Suggestions for Further Liberalization of Gats Mode 4
Author: Aaron A. Ostrovsky
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper seeks to explore the transboundary movement of labor, in connection with services provision and the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This paper seeks to explore how the further liberalization of trade in services, specifically the movement of natural persons, will be beneficial to skilled, unskilled and semi-skilled workers in developing countries. Large quantities of inexpensive unskilled labor has long been the comparative advantage of developing countries. However, it is not necessarily clear that the comparative advantage is maintained when that labor is sent abroad. While the GATS regime may be useful in solving some of the problems traditionally associated with the movement of skilled and semi-skilled labor from developing to developed countries, it cannot solve the problems associated with the movement of unskilled workers. Indeed, in some situations it would exacerbate those problems.

Liberalising Temporary Movement of Natural Persons

Liberalising Temporary Movement of Natural Persons
Author: L. Alan Winters
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003
Genre:
ISBN:

We discuss liberalising the temporary mobility of workers under Mode 4 of the GATS, particularly the movement of medium and low skilled service providers between developing and developed countries. Such mobility potentially offers huge returns: a flow equivalent to three per cent of developed countries' skilled and unskilled work forces would generate an estimated increase in world welfare of over US $150 billion, shared fairly equally between developing and developed countries. The larger part of this emanates from the less-skilled, essentially because losing higher-skilled workers cuts output in developing countries severely. The mass migration of less skilled workers raises fears in developed countries for cultural identity, problems of assimilation and the drain on the public purse. These fears are hardly relevant to temporary movement, however. The biggest economic concern from temporary mobility is its competitive challenge to local less skilled workers. But as populations age and the average levels of training and education rise, developed countries will face an increasing scarcity of less skilled labour. Temporary mobility thus actually offers a strong communality of interest between developing and developed countries. The remainder of the paper looks at the GATS provisions on Mode 4 and the commitments that have been made under it. The paper reviews several official proposals for the Doha talks, including the very detailed one from India, and considers several countries' existing schemes for the temporary movement of foreign workers. Many countries have long had bilateral foreign worker programs, and some regional agreements provide for liberal and flexible movement. These show what is feasible and how concerns can be overcome. We caution that, to be useful, any WTO agreement must increase mobility, not just bureaucratise it. The paper concludes with some modest and practical proposals. We suggest, inter alia, that licensing firms to arrange the movement of labour is the most promising short-term approach to increasing temporary mobility.

India–EU People Mobility

India–EU People Mobility
Author: Rupa Chanda
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2015-12-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1316673944

This book provides an overview of the trends and characteristics of mobility between India and the EU from an historical (diaspora), economic (trade and investment) and regulatory (immigration) perspective. It also analyses the movement of professionals in selected sectors and occupations, such as IT, architecture, engineering and legal services, as well as student mobility between the two regions. The book discusses sector-specific as well as cross-cutting factors that shape the different types of mobility between the EU and India, the regulatory and other constraints to these migration flows, their impact and contribution on both sides, and the associated sensitivities and concerns. Drawing upon the analysis of these different types of mobility and the associated challenges, the book highlights how such mobility could be facilitated and managed through bilateral discussions between India and the EU, under formal as well as other arrangements.

Moving People to Deliver Services

Moving People to Deliver Services
Author: Aaditya Mattoo
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2003-06-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0821383655

The WTO is today dealing with an issue that lies at the interface of two major challenges the world faces, trade liberalization and international migration. Greater freedom for the "temporary movement of individual service suppliers" is being negotiated under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Conditions in many developed economies - ranging from aging populations to shortages of skilled labor - suggest that this may be a propitious time to put labor mobility squarely on the negotiating agenda. Yet there is limited awareness of how the GATS mechanism can be used to foster liber.

International Trade in Health Services and the GATS

International Trade in Health Services and the GATS
Author: Chantal Blouin
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2005-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821362127

Health ministries around the world face a new challenge: to assess the risks and respond to the opportunities of the increasing openness in health services under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). 'International Trade in Health Services and the GATS' addresses this challenge head-on by providing analytical tools to policymakers in health and trade ministries alike who are involved in the liberalization agenda and, specifically, in the GATS negotiations. This book informs and assists policymakers in formulating trade policy and negotiating internationally. There is ongoing and animated international debate about the impact of GATS on public services in general and health in particular. In response, the book offers different perspectives from more than 15 leading experts. Some of the authors stress opportunities linked to trade in health services, others focus more on the risks. The book offers: Detailed legal analysis of the impact of the agreement on health policy An overview of trade commitments in health-related services New empirical evidence from nine country studies A simple 10-step explanation on how to deal with GATS negotiations. 'International Trade in Health Services and the GATS' is a must-have resource for policymakers and other practitioners working in the trade and health sectors.

Let Their People Come

Let Their People Come
Author: Lant Pritchett
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2006-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1944691065

In Let Their People Come, Lant Pritchett discusses five "irresistible forces" of global labor migration, and the "immovable ideas" that form a political backlash against it. Increasing wage gaps, different demographic futures, "everything but labor" globalization, and the continued employment growth in low skilled, labor intensive industries all contribute to the forces compelling labor to migrate across national borders. Pritchett analyzes the fifth irresistible force of "ghosts and zombies," or the rapid and massive shifts in desired populations of countries, and says that this aspect has been neglected in the discussion of global labor mobility. Let Their People Come provides six policy recommendations for unskilled immigration policy that seek to reconcile the irresistible force of migration with the immovable ideas in rich countries that keep this force in check. In clear, accessible prose, this volume explores ways to regulate migration flows so that they are a benefit to both the global North and global South.

Trade in Higher Education

Trade in Higher Education
Author: Jandhyala B. G. Tilak
Publisher: UNESCO
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Education and globalization
ISBN: 9789280313628

Trade in Higher Education: The role of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) - Internationalization of higher education has been evolving over the years. Today, trade in education has become an important framework under which cross-border mobility of students, institutions, programs, and teachers takes place. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has systematized and formalized the conditions for trade in services including education. This book provides a detailed analysis of various dimensions of the GATS and its implications for development of higher education, especially in developing countries. The analysis also provides a critical assessment of the benefits derived and potential threats posed by trading in education. It is hoped that the study will provide useful insights on the issue for educational policy-makers, planners, and researchers.

Labor, Globalization and the State

Labor, Globalization and the State
Author: Debdas Banerjee
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2007-12-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1134059752

This book explores the impact of neoliberal globalization on labour markets and the state in the developed and developing world. It focuses especially on the United States and the economies of Asia – in particular, India. Liberalized trade and investment are thought by neoliberals to be the best levers for raising labour standards, provided labour market flexibility and capital market restructuring accompany them. Labour market flexibility and capital market restructuring, at a first glance, appear to be complementary and symmetric policies. In practice, however, they might have very asymmetric consequences. This book addresses these issues, and it presents a comprehensive analysis of the key questions such as: How far is globalization a ‘real’ threat to the conventional systems of wage fixation, employment pattern, and basic rights at work in both developed, as well as underdeveloped countries? Are casualization and informalization of the workforce direct outcomes of deregulation? How do labour organizations cope with the volatility of the labour market? Are the existing labour market conditions and forms of labour organizations misfits in the globalized business world? Is it at all feasible to choose a high road that combines some degree of labour market flexibility with better labour standards? This book will be of interest to academics working on International Development, Development Economics, Political Economy, Comparative Labour Studies and Asian Studies.

A Handbook of International Trade in Services

A Handbook of International Trade in Services
Author: Aaditya Mattoo
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 675
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 019923521X

This title provides a comprehensive introduction to the key issues in trade and liberalization of services. Providing a useful overview of the players involved, the barriers to trade, and case studies in a number of service industries, this is ideal for policymakers and students interested in trade.

Trade in Health Services

Trade in Health Services
Author: Nick Drager
Publisher: Pan American Health Organization
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Contains selected papers presented at the inter-regional meeting on health and trade issues, held in Washington DC in November 1999. The principal objective of the meeting was to identify and explore options for co-operation between the health service and trade sectors, in order to effectively develop health protection and promotion strategies.