Migrant Workers in Pacific Asia (review)

ASEAN Economic Bulletin Vol. 20, No. 1 (2003), pp. 86-101 BOOK REVIEWS Migrant Workers in Pacific Asia. Edited by Yaw A. Debrah. London: Frank Cass, 2002. Pp. ii + 166. International labour migration has been an important facet of growth and structural transformation in Pacific Asian countries over the past two decades. Japan and other highperforming East Asian economies in the region have begun to absorb an increasing number of foreign workers mostly from countries in the region which are at the earlier stages of demographic and economic transition. The growing presence of foreign workers has sparked a continuing debate in these countries on the social and economic consequences of labour inflows and the policy options for dealing with the "foreign worker problem". There is a recurrent demand by employers in these countries for a more liberal and transparent approach towards the entry of foreign workers. They argue that foreign labour generally contributes to economic dynamism and flexibility of structural adjustment. The trade unionists, on the other hand, are concerned that unskilled workers were likely to suffer as jobs are lost to migrant workers or wages fall. The general public is frequently worried about the adverse social consequences of the presence of foreign workers. Policy-makers are concerned that high dependence on cheap foreign labour tends to slow down economic restructuring and productivity growth in the domestic economy. This multifaceted debate on foreign workers is going to gain added impetus in years to come in the context of rapid demographic transition and structural transformation in these countries. The volume under review, which brings together a set of country case studies examining the labour migration process and the related policy issues from a recipient country perspective is a welcome addition to the fledgling literature on this important subject. The chapters on Taiwan (by Joseph Lee) and Korea (by Won-Woo Park) are by far the most important chapters in the volume. In these chapters, the emerging patterns of labour inflows and the national policy responses are systematically documented and assessed against the backdrop of rapid growth and structural transformation in these countries. The authors have done a commendable job in bringing together a wealth of information and statistical data from national sources (which are new to the English language literature) to bear on the issues at hand. There is convincing evidence from both countries in support of the proposition that increased reliance on foreign workers is a structural, rather than a passing, phenomenon that needs to be appropriately managed as an integral part of the overall national socio-economic policy. Furthermore, the Taiwan chapter comes up with the interesting inference that, contrary to the usual allegation by the trade unionists, foreign labour is by and large complementary to (rather than ASEAN Economic Bulletin 86 Vol. 20, No. 1, April 2003 competing with) domestic labour and hence labour immigration has the potential to speed up domestic economic expansion and employment creation for domestic workers. The other four chapters are of uneven quality. Much of the space in the chapter on Malaysia (by Christina Chin) is taken up by an opinionated discussion of the political economy of development policy in the country. The section dealing with trends and patterns of migrant worker inflows and related policy issues has failed to meet the standards of a reasonable synthesis of the existing literature, let alone providing new material. The chapter begins with the assertion that "the politics of national economic restructuring in a larger context of uneven regional development contribute to growing presence of migrant workers", (p. 20). However, the evidence presented in the chapter on sectoral composition of migrant workers are consistent with the alternative interpretation that Malaysia's dependence on foreign workers is an economywide phenomenon closely related to economic transformation through rapid industrialization. The chapter by Linda Low provides a well-written account of the Singaporean experience with heavy reliance on migrant labour. However, unfortunately, it stops short of providing an indepth analysis of the country's success in managing migration while minimizing adverse socio-economic implications. The chapter on Iapan begins by noting the emergence of Japan as a "New Immigration Country", but the ensuing discussion would disappoint a reader in...