World Development Report 2023

World Development Report 2023
 

News: Recently, the ‘World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies’ was released by the World Bank.
 

Background:
 Annual report published since 1978
 It gives detailed analysis of a specific aspect of economic development.
 

Key Findings:
 Share of working age population will drop sharply in many developing countries.
 For example, Spain, with a population of 47 million, is projected to shrink by more than one-third by 2100, with those above age 65 increasing from 20 to 39% of the population.
 Majority of low income countries is projected to see increased population growth increasing pressure to create more jobs.
 

What are opportunities offered by migration?
 It can be a unique opportunity for economies and people as migrants transfer ideas, knowledge, and technology, which will increase job creation and modernisation – just as US Silicon Valley expatriates did when they helped nurture India’s IT sector.
 However, about 184 million people worldwide (including 37 million refugees) lack citizenship in the country in which they live.
 

What are steps recommended by government to promote migration?
 Origin countries should make labour migration an explicit part of their development strategy.
 Destination countries should facilitate their inclusion and address social impacts that raise concerns among their citizens.
 By combining “match” and “motive,” the framework identified policy priorities for countries.
 The “match” aspect is grounded in labour economics and focuses on how well migrants’ skills and related attributes match the needs of the destination countries while the “motive” refers to the circumstances under which a person moves in search of opportunity. This determines the extent to which migrants, origin countries and destination countries gain from migration: The stronger the match, the larger the gains.
 The report also recommended international cooperation and multilateral efforts to strengthen the match of migrants’ skills with the needs of destination societies.