Title	International Migrations in Latin America and the Caribbean Edition Nº 65 May-August 2002
Author:	Permanent Secretariat of SELA

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN:
SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC TRAITS

Miguel Villa and Jorge Martínez
(ECLAC  / CELADE, Santiago, Chile)

II. Profiles and Repercussions of Migration of People from Latin America and the Caribbean

The background data gathered by the IMILA Project show that the growing international migration flows of the people from Latin American and the Caribbean -both among the countries of the region and towards the rest of the world- have undergone qualitative changes. These changes are reflected, for instance, in the composition of such groups according to sex and in the presence of skilled workers among the migrants forming part of the labor force. To a great extent, these changes are due to the continued economic pressures experienced by the countries of the region. These pressures, which deepened as a result of the ongoing crisis of the "lost decade" of the 1980s and of the immediate effects of the structural adjustment programs implemented throughout the region, also impacted on the functioning of labour markets. However, equally important were the repercussions of the serious unrest besetting the socio-political landscape, a situation that in certain cases led to the militarization of conflicts and to the breakdown of the norms governing civilized coexistence. The amendments made to regulations set by the countries of destination may also have had some bearing on the changing composition of the profiles of migrants. The implementation of restrictive regulations governing entry and residence in such countries has resulted in increased levels of illegal immigration and in the fact that certain itinerant and recurrent types of migrations have become more fixed, thus necessitating the reunion of families in the countries of destination. In addition to their qualitative features, the migratory patterns among people from Latin America and the Caribbean tend to produce far-reaching repercussions, one of these being the transfer of abundant financial resources in the form of remittances.¹¹

1. Specificity of Gender and Visibility of Women

A study of regional male migration levels throughout the continent will throw some light on the shift from a situation that was dominated by women in 1970 and 1980 to one that was predominantly male-oriented in 1990. However, interregional migration shows a trend towards ongoing "feminisation" (Chart 4).¹² This apparent paradox may be attributed to the rise in the number of men comprising the stock of Latin American immigrants in the United States, a trend that basically highlights the effects of the most numerous flows (especially those originating in Mexico), given that most of the remaining flows tend to be predominantly female-oriented.¹³

An in-depth analysis shows that the gender-related composition of various migratory trends is heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is in no way systematically related to the migrants' countries of origin or of destination, nor to the distances covered. However, it seems to stem from other factors. One such factor is the apparent complementarity between the labour markets of the countries of origin and of destination, given that certain migration circuits seem to be influenced by the demand for labour in specific sectors of activity and occupations. Thus, the flows of Mexicans to the United States and of Bolivians and Chileans to Argentina are predominantly male-oriented, which is presumably due to the strong demand for labourers to work in agro-extractive jobs in the countries of destination. This is different from the flows of Colombians to Venezuela and of Paraguayans to Argentina, which consist mostly of female migrants - due largely to their entry into service-related activities, including those of domestic helpers. With regard to migration trends within the Caribbean Community, census data for the countries as a whole reveal a slight predominance of female migrants, a phenomenon that may very well be associated with jobs in the tourist industry (Thomas-Hope, 2000). Nevertheless, the predominant presence of women in certain flows should not be attributed exclusively to their joining the labour forces of the countries of destination. At the same time, other factors, such as the role of migrant community networks or the intention of reuniting with families also tend to bear on male migration levels.

There are a host of reasons why the significance of the levels of male and female participation in migration trends should be studied in greater depth. (United Nations, 2000 and 1996). First of all, it is necessary to explore the hypothesis that female migration does not always stem simply from attempts or reasons to find work; even so, it is not valid, either, to affirm that women migrate only because they are economically dependent (for example, to take advantage of a mechanism that allows them to reunite with their families), given that many do so on their own free will and in tune with the transformations taking place in labour markets, with the swings in regional integration patterns and with the pace at which the economies are opening up.¹⁴   Secondly, in spite of the high levels of female migrant workers forming part of migration flows towards the United States, there are signs that the "feminisation" of such flows tends to be associated with a scant variety of job opportunities for such migrants (as illustrated by the pre-eminence of the domestic service area and other areas in the tertiary sector, which, because of cultural trends associated with gender, are reserved for women). This phenomenon influences both the tapping of human resources and the expectations of full personal development afforded by the countries of destination.

Thirdly, international migration involves changes in family structures, as is the case whenever the individual who migrates is the head of a household and leaves his closest relatives behind. Of particular interest is the fact that relationships established between female migrants and their families in the countries of origin tend to have a decisive effect on the functioning of migratory networks that serve as feedback mechanisms for migration.

Fourthly, evidence of the growing trade in women and young girls have shed light on a complex situation -inseparably linked to the vulnerability of female migrants- which undermines the assumption that migration may serve as a tool for strengthening women or for promoting gender equality (Lim, 1998). Another study that is as important as the one on female migration trends is the study on the conditions of women who do not migrate, especially when the emigration of their husbands forces them to assume the leadership of their households and the administration of the remittances often sent to them.


Source: IMILA Project, CELADE.

2. Participation of Skilled Workers

According to the data collected by IMILA, the total number of technicians, professionals and other skilled workers forming part of the regional stock of migrants throughout the continent doubled between 1970 and 1980 to include 220 thousand people. The following decade, the absolute size of the increase was somewhat lower as, by 1990, the total stock was just a little over 300 thousand people, two thirds of which were in the United States.¹⁵ As a result, the proportion of skilled workers among economically active migrants throughout the continent fell from 8% in 1970 to 6% in 1990, a decline that was sharper among Latin Americans surveyed in the United States. However the situation was different in the case of interregional migration patterns as the participation of professionals, technicians and other skilled workers in flows comprising economically active migrants rose from 6% to 8% between 1970 and 1990. (In absolute terms, the number of migrants of this kind tripled during those twenty years.) (Chart 5). The subsequent mass migration to the United States during the 1980s may have been responsible for the relative decline in skilled workers. Even so, two observations are in order: a) In the United States, people from Latin America and the Caribbean have constantly faced difficulties finding jobs consistent with their levels of qualification and skills; and b) the absolute size of skilled workers in the region is vital to the national resource base of the different countries (Pellegrino and Martínez, 2001). Yet, the fact that skilled workers account for a growing fraction of migrants among the countries of the Latin American region is significant as it contributes to any assessment of this migration pattern and challenges the belief that migrants of this kind are inadequately trained. Moreover, this trend offers powerful motivation for the development of cooperation efforts in the shared used of human resources, particularly within the framework of subregional integration schemes.

As in the case of gender, the composition of specific migration flows is characterized by its high level of heterogeneity. Hence, among the Latin American immigrants living in the United States, the percentage of professionals, technicians and other skilled workers form South America is twice that of migrants from Mexico and some Caribbean and Central American countries. Similar differences are apparent in Argentina and Venezuela when we compare the relatively low percentage of skilled workers from bordering countries (except Uruguay) to that of workers from the rest of Latin America. Overall, it may be observed that the relative participation of professionals, technicians and other skilled workers tends to be lower in countries with high levels of emigration, with the exception of Cuba and Uruguay. On the other hand, emigrants from high-immigration Latin American countries, such as Argentina and Venezuela, tend to be skilled workers.
The latter trend may also be observed in the case of migration among the countries of the Caribbean Community, particularly in the case of Jamaica more than half of whose immigrants tend to be professionals and technicians.(Mills, 1997). On average, the academic level of English-speaking inter-Caribbean migrants tends to be higher than that of the local populations of both the country of origin and the country of destination. In Antigua, the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands, for instance, the proportion of university-trained immigrants from the rest of the Caribbean Community exceeds that of the local population by more than twofold, while in the case of Barbados, this ratio is more than sevenfold. (Thomas-Hope, 2000).

While the academic level of Latin American emigrants to the United states is lower than that of the country's local population, Pellegrino (2000) observes -in accordance with Sassen's scheme (1988)- that the profiles of such emigrants tend to be polarized at two extremes: one set of highly trained individuals who enter occupations in the areas of management and science and technology and a more numerous group of people who tend to enter low-productivity economic sub-sectors and includes individuals who might be overqualified for some of the functions they perform. This polarization reveals that while the least qualified tend to predominate in the stock of immigrants from the region to the United States -a condition that may seem exaggerated by the types of occupations declared- the number of those possessing relatively high levels of training is considerably high when compared with the availability of such human resources in the countries of origin. This is evidenced by the fact that professionals and technicians account for over 15% of the migrants from Argentina, Venezuela, and Chile. The stock of immigrants from the Caribbean to the United States also comprises a higher number of professionals than those available in the countries of origin. This trend may be interpreted as a selectivity trait, which may impact negatively on the fragile economies of the Caribbean countries, as emigration drains them of many of their most highly qualified workers. The effect is made worse by the fact that these emigrants are generally young adults, some of whom do not return to their countries of origin until they are over 50 years of age (Thomas-Hope, 2000).

As shown by Alba (2000), in addition to being more widely spread out geographically, in terms of places of origin, migration flows from Mexico to the United States in the last quarter of the 20th century also became less cyclical or circular and more fixed. This massive migration trend (the annual average number of "permanent" emigrants doubled between the 1970s and the 1990s) was related to the deep restructuring of Mexico's economy resulting from its closer integration with the North American economy. One of the sharpest effects of this process was the change in the demand for labour dynamics, which reacted differently according to sectors, job categories and qualification levels.

Thus, the lower selectivity level of migrants, as regards their level of skills, may seemingly be explained by the mass emigration toward the United States. With regard to Central America, the same author (Alba, 2000) points out that the process of mass emigration to the United States occurred over barely two decades. Economic crises, socio-political upheavals and natural disasters all contributed to this process by giving a more "definitive" and prolonged character to movements that previously occurred on a temporary basis and covered short distances. Domestic labour markets that were hard hit by both internal economic stagnation and countries' entry into the global market as primary goods producers, were unable to absorb the supply of manpower, a gap that widened with the effects of demographic transition processes (Castillo and Palma, 1999; CEPAL/CELADE/OIM, 1999). Hence, the forces that contributed to the massive expansion of emigrants from Mexico and Central American countries (most notably El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua) to the United States are also responsible for the decrease in the percentage of skilled workers within the stock of immigrants from the region registered in the United States in1990. Even so, the emigration of skilled workers continues to deplete the countries of the region of a vast number of individuals who are vital for their development, a fact that explains why all such countries are still grappling with the brain drain problem. (Pellegrino and Martínez, 2001).

 

Source: IMILA Project, CELADE.


3. Other Repercussions of Emigration and the Case of Remittances

Global migration causes numerous repercussions that are at the social, economic and cultural level.Thus, in Latin American and Caribbean countries this phenomenon seems to have contributed to alleviating tensions between demographic trends and the creation of jobs, as well as tensions caused by social, political, ethnic and religious conflicts and by environmental deterioration. At the individual level, emigration offers the chance of finding a job and of promoting personal development, opportunities that often are not available in the countries of origin.

However, on the other side of the scale the "escape valve" hypothesis is counterbalanced by the erosion of human resources, which may have adverse effects on the social and economic development of the countries in the region. Added to this is the problem of illegal immigration, which stems from the enforcement of national regulations governing the entry and stay of individuals and which may potentially strain relations between the migrants' countries of origin and destination. Moreover, at the individual level emigration may lead to vulnerability, frustration and discriminatory treatment. Likewise, it is well known that in some immigration countries negative perceptions regarding the costs involved in immigrants' utilization of social, subsidized services (health, education, social security) or regarding "unfair" competition for jobs are gaining strength. And yet, such countries derive benefits from immigration, such as the ongoing supply of cheap labour or the possibility of tapping highly qualified personnel without the need to finance their training.¹⁶

Another consequence of migration is the establishment of migrants' community networks. While the existence of migrant organizations is nothing new in immigration countries, in recent years such organizations have become particularly visible among Latin Americans and West Indians living in the United States. Several studies stress the transnational character of these communities and view them as new ways of strengthening identity, which allow for a continued and sustained relationship between migrants and their countries of origin, facilitating the accumulation of social capital (Portes, 1997) and generating feedback impulses in migration flows.

The transnational character of such immigrants' communities is strengthened by the fact that their activities transcend political and cultural borders (Canales y Zlolniski, 2000) establishing a network of interrelated activities. These communities largely shape the migrants environment for social reproduction and interaction, as it is in such communities that solidarity is expressed in its different forms and that intense cultural exchanges take place through dance, fine arts, crafts, gastronomy, and festivities typical festivities. The role of these communities is quite complex in the sense that they not only help foster collective remittances but also play a leading role in taking affirmative action vis-à-vis the social rejection of migrants in the countries of destination (ECLAC, 2002).

The above observations provide a frame of reference to better understand the role of remittances. In addition to opening up the possibility of establishing positive links with which to incorporate new technologies and promote productive investment in the countries of origin, emigration also represents a source of foreign exchange for migration countries and for communities and families in these countries. According to one ECLAC estimate, based on the balance-of-payments of such countries, in the year 2000 the total amount of remittances transferred by Latin American and West Indian emigrants reached approximately US$ 18 billion (more than one-third of which was sent to Mexico). It is noteworthy that during the 1990's the annual average growth rate of this income topped 13% and exceeded 20% in the cases of Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru (ECLAC, 2002).¹⁷ With regard to their macroeconomic impact, it may be pointed out that these remittances account for between 8% and 14% of the GDP of the economies of El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica (and equal 48% of the total value of El Salvador's exports). (ECLAC, 2002).

Samuel (2000) argues that remittances may be viewed as part of a time-differed contractual arrangement that accrues benefits to both the migrants and their families back home. This arrangement involves the investment that a family makes in one of its members, when defraying education costs, in the hope that upon migrating he or she will compensate such expenses through remittances. This is a risky investment whose risk, however, will decrease once that person migrates.

Studies conducted by ECLAC (2000b) in Central America reveal that most remittances are to support the family, although some contribution is also made to home improvement, the purchase of land and to working capital. Remittances play a vital role in the support of the family. Given the strong emphasis on consumption, often the socio-economic impact of these transfers beyond the family is underestimated (Torres, 2000). Indeed, if this consumption were merely superfluous, remittances' contribution to development would be limited in the sense that they would only promote the dependency of families (and local communities) on an external source of saving whose stability is not insured (regularity and continuity of cash flows). However, if these remittances were used to finance the costs of quality education, to improve health and to increase living standards and productivity, they would make a far more significant contribution to development.

Information on how families use remittances is not systematic and is ambiguous. Even so, the most recent studies conducted in Mexico (1999) and in the Dominican Republic (1997) reveal that the amounts earmarked for investment range from 15% to 23% of the total resources sent by emigrants to their families in the countries of origin. If the latter figure is taken as a reference for the five countries specified above, it may be concluded that the estimated overall total of the investment in 1999 was almost US$ 1. 4 billion, a sum equal to allocations made by social investment funds for social infrastructure for the same year (Torres, 2000). In light of the vast amounts of resources involved in family remittances, certain Mexican states have devised local investment instruments to finance infrastructure works and productive projects designed to retain local populations in heavy emigration areas. Such instruments serve as shared financing mechanisms, as they are supported by contributions (drawn from some of the profits obtained from the transfer of remittances) from financial intermediation agencies established by the states involved and by the emigrants themselves.

In the Dominican Republic, programs have been designed to promote the development of community projects and micro-enterprises, with the participation of families receiving remittances. In addition to family remittances, there are other types of collective remittances usually organized by emigrant associations in order to finance community projects in their places of origin. With a view to strengthening the impact of these investments, Mexico has devised a financing mechanism in which emigrants, together with the central, state and municipal public sector, are actively involved (ECLAC, 2000b and 2002).

Beyond the initiatives designed to facilitate the transfer of remittances and to foster the use of such remittances in productive investments, one complex issue concerning these transfers is the effect they have on income distribution patterns. As Samuel (2000)points out, if there were any reliable basis for the theoretical assumption that the remittances sent to poor households are higher, one logical consequence of such flows would be the improvement in income distribution. However, background data -albeit insufficient- does not validate this assumption. Given that the tendency to migrate seems higher among groups that are not poor and that the amounts transferred in remittances are closely related to the jobs held by migrants in their countries of destination, it is likely that these transfers do not really contribute to promoting higher levels of socio-economic equity in the countries of origin. This assessment is further corroborated by the fact that during the 1990s inequalities in income distribution and poverty levels rose in several countries that received significant flows of remittances but register the lowest levels of per capita social expenditure.

In summary, it is clear that the debate on the impact of remittances -and, in general, of migration- on income distribution, poverty, and well-being is still far from being settled. More obvious, however, is the fact that the initiatives designed to promote the productive use of these remittances should be viewed as a complement to the development efforts of the countries receiving them. Moreover, such initiatives should safeguard the full respect of the decisions of those involved (ECLAC, 2002).


III. A Note on the Future of Global Migration and its Governability

The outlook described above is based on the most general empirical background information available on migration trends in Latin America and the Caribbean until the 1990s. As the information relates to the movement of people (strictly speaking, migrants) who have changed their customary countries of residence, this panorama is not specific enough with regard to other forms of global movements involving groups of people that in recent years, might have developed or grown in relative importance. It is likely that the growing openness of national economies, coupled with technological changes in the areas of transport and communications and with the resulting reduction in constraints imposed by physical distance and culture, will facilitate temporary, cyclical or circulatory movements that do not involve changes of residence, and that will make contemporary migration a more transnational process. Current global migration trends thus involve two very different situations which may be superimposed, with considerable complexity, on the three major patterns already identified. The paucity of adequate information therefore tends to limit the scope of any significant study on global migration. This is particularly true where the assessment of the potential impact of regional integration processes undertaken in the 1990s is concerned. Notwithstanding all this, the scarcity of information does not prevent any meaningful reflection (even somewhat speculatively) on the uncertainties surrounding future trends and on the opportunities that will arise to guide the countries involved along the path leading to the effective governability of migration.

1.    Migration and Globalization

Even though it is difficult to predict the effects of liberal economic reforms -even in subregions engaged in integration schemes- it is logical to assume that, if the wide inequalities in the relative development levels of countries persist, the inclination to migrate will increase - at least in the medium to long term (ECLAC, 2002; Tuirán, 1998).
The growing intensity of economic interaction among countries and the increasing levels of communication worldwide will contribute to making these inequalities more pronounced in the eyes of local populations and will feed their hopes of migrating. Furthermore, it is possible that the social networks set up by migrants will encourage potential migrants and t assist them in realizing their aspirations (Alba, 1998). In the longer term, should the development gaps widen, the tendency to migrate might become less intense. The only plausible assumption underlying this assessment, however, is that socio-economic (and cultural) convergence will eventually put a damper on migration as an option. Even so, some specialists believe that should this occur it will be in the distant future, as short- and medium-term market integration schemes may encourage migration given that the job opportunities such schemes tend to offer will enable individuals to earn the resources needed to finance travel expenses18. In addition, if such integration arrangements were to lead to a breakdown in intensive labour production units, the resulting net effect would be an increase in migration trends (Working Group on International Migration, 1998).

As current globalization trends do not point to a real decrease in the wide inequalities between countries' relative development levels -and as migrant social and community networks seem to have gained momentum- the tendency to migrate, according to all apparent signs, will be spurred by the likely increase in job opportunities (and better salaries) in a more informed and interconnected world. Thus, with the help of foreign direct investment, the economic growth of the traditional labour exporting countries is likely to generate a climate more favourable to emigration. (Alba, 1998; Rowlands and Weston, 1996; Tuirán, 1998; Working Group on International Migration, 1998).

In this regard, the logical link between increased development and increased migration, which may later result in a fall in migration trends, was described long ago with the metaphor of the "migration hump", which refers to a transnational migration process associated with economic growth strategies, including exchanging technology and overcoming impediments, such as low wages and unemployment (Ghosh, 1997; Stalker, 2000). One corollary of this is that, in the long term -and only as the development gap closes- the intensity of migration may decrease. This hypothesis seems to have greater relevance for the region's emigration flows (a typical case of south-north migration) than for the interregional pattern, the future of which will depend more on the way in which the large subregional integration areas are developed.

The above observations suggest that, at least in the short term, migration will continue to exhibit an upward trend. Under such circumstances, there is a marked inconsistency between the increased liberalization in the circulation of goods and services and the rigorous government restrictions imposed on the movement of people. Such restriction have been encouraged -and probably reinforced in current global trends- by the existence, in more highly developed countries¹⁹, of an environment that is socially averse to immigration.  In the face of contemporary economic processes, traditional, unilateral migration policies based on control seem to lose legitimacy and effectiveness. (Escobar, 1998; Moulier-Boutang y Papademetriou, 1994; Pellegrino, 1995). After scrutinizing the development of migration stocks, flows and systems in the contemporary world, Tapinos and Delaunay (2000) have concluded that persistent restrictions (whether implicit or explicit) on movement go against the effective functioning of market forces (that favour migration) and lead to the absence of a migrating globalization. This is particularly visible in the case of the migration of highly qualified workers who may be better positioned to participate in today's movements of people²⁰, but who are still likely to come up against the unyielding defence of the interests of powerful guilds. This, in turn, leads to strict implementation of the so-called "rule of priority" and thwarts the effective tapping of the potential involved. (ECLAC, 2002; Iredale, 1998). These and other factors, justify a word of caution on the creation of the global market of skilled human resources (ECLAC, 2002; Pellegrino and Martínez, 2001).²¹

The unease and apparent resistance that migration engenders, particularly in developed nations, may inhibit the potential of the market liberalization process to foster a more equitable development worldwide. This very unease seems to be behind the almost systematic exclusion of the topic of migration in negotiations leading to the signing of multinational tariff and trade agreements. This act, however, is equivalent to making an abstraction of reality - the exchange of human resources - and its perpetration involves problems that may be tackled by means of joint efforts to address in such issues as enhanced labour conditions and genuine enforcement of the rights of migrants. This is why Tapinos and Delaunay (2000) argue that, although in years gone by, migration played a fundamental role in the fostering of socio-economic links between countries, today it is excluded from the globalization process.

2.    Migration and Integration within the Context of Globalization

In view of the expectations and uncertainties raised by the initiatives aimed at promoting the economic integration of the countries of the Americas; of the experience accumulated in the area of subregional agreements and of the acknowledgment of the region's increasing openness to the rest of the world, proposals for an open regionalism take on greater force.²² These proposals have won general acceptance from governments and civilians in societies throughout the region and have opened up new possibilities for explicitly addressing the problems of, and potential benefits to be derived from migration. These possibilities will increase if integration schemes are geared toward optimising "the full range of economic, cultural and political opportunities" involved, instead of being restricted to a purely "market-based conception". (Di Filippo, 1998). In addition to benefiting from the enormous geographical, economic, cultural and political advantages to be found in the area, and to reinforcing democratic regimes, open regionalism can also encourage the linking of common interests, by guaranteeing the protection of the human rights of immigrants and by promoting a decrease in the various forms of illegal immigration, the battle against the trade in humans, the establishment of shared information systems, the alignment of migration policies, the signing of agreements in such areas as job protection and the transfer (and shared employment) of skilled human resources and, generally speaking, the enforcement of agreements on the treatment of migrants.

The task of designing policies in the area of population movements is still incomplete, and its absolute importance is evidenced by the difficulty of acknowledging and facing realities with the potential to compromise the international community. Such a task calls for the combined effort and cooperation of the countries involved to ensure that migration processes are properly conducted within the wider context of social equality.²³ In the area of subregional integration efforts, this task may be complemented by the strengthening of institutional mechanisms to foster the alignment of national migration policies. A sign of progress in this regard is the Regional Conference on Migration (set up in 1996 in Puebla, Mexico), a consultation and communication body of which the countries of the North American continent and Central America are members. A similar initiative involving the countries of South America is currently being developed.
If it is accepted as a basic principle that the right of each State to control the entry of foreigners is only one aspect of global migration and that this right does not, in absolute terms, go against the criteria of admission common to the countries in the region, then it is possible to analyse the feasibility of agreements on other areas of migration, such as those related to the world of work and to social security benefits and to the reunion of families (CEPAL/CELADE, 1995).

Addressing the numerous issues associated with global migration requires the eradication of essentially restrictive regulatory, official and unilateral views, shared by a significant portion of public opinion, which nurture existing prejudices about the migration. As Sassen (2001) argues, the above also involves taking up the challenge of examining the true nature of the control exercised by the State, but it also implies encouraging progressive flexibility, which will decisively contributes to the sort of migration management needed to facilitate migration and to safeguard the populations involved. (ECLAC, 2002). Thus, the policies which, for example, are designed to promote the global transfer of human resources, may serves as effective channels for fostering the dissemination and globalization of technological exchange as part of a scientific and technological common market sponsored by international cooperation and for opening up possibilities for participation by public and private agents (OIM, 1993; Pellegrino, 2000).
In other words, joint efforts can contribute to more coherent national regulations, to making national regulations more consistent with contemporary global political and economic trends and to optimising on the benefits to be derived from migration, with regard to economic growth and to socially sustainable development. Therefore, far beyond their specifically administrative scope, migration policies must aim at fostering a strategy for governing the movement of people, which should be fully in keeping with development strategies (Mármora, 1997) and which the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean should firmly hold on to in the face of threats of any kind.

In conclusion, it is fitting to reiterate the opportunity that subregional integration agreements offer, in this regard, to spur progress, acknowledging the multi-sectoral character of issues relating global migration and adopting policies guided by the principles of convergence. All this contributes to the establishment of common principles for addressing continent-wide negotiations.

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¹¹ These repercussions vary, among other factors, according to the profiles of emigrants (qualification level, type of entry into the labor force, legal status of residency), to links between them and their homes and communities of origin, to their involvement in migrant associations in the countries of destination and to the period of time they spend abroad.

¹² With regard to extra-regional migration, the available data show a predominance of women in the cases of Australia, Italy and Spain.

¹³ This trend seems to be confirmed by the data gathered from the Current Population Survey of the United States for the year 2000 (Schmidley, 2001).

¹⁴ The fact that Latin American immigration is written
in the feminine
in countries, such as Spain, does not give any reason to sustain the hypothesis that it is a definite project, as Izquierdo (2001) points out, with respect to the studies conducted in immigrant communities in the region.

¹⁵ While the data are not strictly comparable, the Current Population Survey of the United States for the year 2000 yields a figure of 1 million Latin American and West Indian professionals and technicians, or 12% of the immigrant labor force from the area (Schmidley, 2001, pg. 41).

¹⁶ In the United States, the immigration of indocumented Latin Americans and West Indians seems to have encouraged a more relaxed labor market needed to strengthen the competitiveness of the American economy (Escobar, 1998). The sustainable demand for inexpensive manpower, even during periods of recession, may be interpreted as a sign of effectiveness of this immigration (Bustamante, 1994).

¹⁷ In 1999, the per capita value of remittances rose to US$ 218 in El Salvador and to US$ 179 in the Dominican Republic (Torres, 2000).

¹⁸ Several authors even maintain that the development of traditionally labor-issuing countries will, in the short term, encourage emigration as an option, and that even if trade helps to generate employment, this strategy will, by itself, not be enough to retain local populations in their places or origin (Rowlands y Weston, 1996).

¹⁹ Blatant signs of this adverse social climate are the debate on sustained migration at the last meeting of the European Union (held in Seville in June 2002) and the passing of a new Immigration Law in Italy (July 2002) with strict requirements governing conditions for entry and residence, as well as penalties for those violating the law which it a uniquely tough measure. (Consequently, the right to reunions with families is restricted to underage and disabled offspring [sic]) (www.elmundo.es).

²⁰ Many developed countries have enforced flagrantly aggressive regulations favoring the "importation of human capital". Furthermore, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) provides for the temporary movement of individuals who meet certain training requirements (ECLAC, 2002).

²¹ Even so, "skilled migration" does not show any sign of abatement, thus posing challenges for the countries of origin. Vis-à-vis the traditional initiatives which were aimed at retaining potential participants of the brain drain - and which had little impact in the region because they compromised the rights of the individuals involved- it seems more realistic to accept the convenience of encouraging the circulation and exchange of workers of this kind (brain circulation y brain exchange) with the purpose of having migrants serve as links between the local and global scientific and technological development networks and as agents of for the transfer of know-how and technology (ECLAC, 2002; Pellegrino, 2000; Pellegrino and Martínez, 2001).

²² Open regionalism is viewed as a "a regional process of growing economic interdependency, boosted both by preferential integration agreements and by other policies within the context of openness and deregulation, with the aim of bolstering up the competitiveness of the countries of the region" (ECLAC, 1994, p. 8).

²³ The challenges that migration poses for the countries involved include, above all, assessing their economic decisions (motivating factors) and socio-cultural decisions (perpetuating factors); identifying external factors (the transfer of skilled human resources, illegal immigration, reunions with families and remittance flows); examining the various forms of migration (traditional and innovative); analyzing different forms of intervention (promoting permanent settlement, channeling flows, temporary segmentation of movements); and generally speaking, aligning social policies that will directly influence the conditions of migrants.

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