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Measuring emigration: various options for a difficult challenge

Measuring emigration: various options for a difficult challenge. Enrico Bisogno Expert Group Meeting on measuring international migration New York, 4-7 December 2006. The main points. Shifting focus: looking at international migration from both sides (in and out)

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Measuring emigration: various options for a difficult challenge

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  1. Measuring emigration: various options for a difficult challenge Enrico Bisogno Expert Group Meeting on measuring international migration New York, 4-7 December 2006

  2. The main points • Shifting focus: looking at international migration from both sides (in and out) • Two possible approaches to measure emigration: • through immigration data of receiving countries • through sources of sending countries

  3. Rising interest on emigration • To explore the link between migration and development (eg: remittances) • To have information on nationals living abroad (eg: transnational communities) • To collect information on specific population groups (eg: highly skilled, brain drain)

  4. Rising interest on emigration (cont.) • Need to complement immigration data with good quality emigration data to: • To have good estimates of net migration (for demographic estimates) • To assess retention policies of receiving countries

  5. Difficulties when measuring emigration • Problems in measuring ‘absents’, especially in population-based data collections (surveys and censuses) • In administrative data (registers), persons often have incentives not to deregister.

  6. Measuring emigration through immigration data • Migration event or migrant person should be recorded twice: • country of origin • country of destination • At 2005 ECE/Eurostat Work Session it was decided to explore this option

  7. Pilot Project • 19 countries grouped into 4 clusters: 1) Albania, Italy, Switzerland, TFYR of Macedonia 2) France, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom 3) Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Norway, Poland, TFYR of Macedonia, United Kingdom, United States 4) Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Norway, Russia

  8. Objectives • To assess the feasibility of using other countries’ data to address the needs of sending countries • To develop guidelines on how to measure emigrants through data on stocks and flows in host countries

  9. Data Exchange Templates • 1. Flow Data – 8 tables • 1.1 Immigration – 5 tables • data based on • ▪ residence one year ago • ▪ year of immigration • 1.2 Emigration – 3 tables • 2. Stock Data – 2 tables

  10. Distribution of Countries by Type of Migration Data and Type of Data Source

  11. Example: stocks of Italians in Switzerland

  12. Some General Findings (1) • Data on inflows in the receiving country are not always more complete than the corresponding data on outflows from the sending country. • There was no evidence that any specific source was producing more accurate and more comparable data

  13. Some General Findings (2) • No country is able to produce statistics on a regular basis which cover basic information needs on emigration stocks • Data on stocks of immigrants can be very useful to give information on stocks of ‘emigrants’, provided that data on ‘immigration background’ exist

  14. Conclusions from the Pilot • No general lessons on specific sources or questions could be drawn: national framework plays a crucial role

  15. Conclusions from the Pilot (cont.) However, a strong message: use immigration data to derive information on emigration: • Only available option for those countries with no source on emigration • Provide benchmark data to countries with some emigration data

  16. Guidelines • Identify typology and uses of emigration data • Guidance on how to use immigration data of receiving countries to get information on emigration • Propose activities, which would lead to increased availability of emigration data

  17. The most important uses of emigration data • Population estimates/national demographic accounts • Development and evaluation of immigrant policy • Information on expatriates (nationals residing abroad) • Information on selected population groups (eg: highly skilled) • Temporary emigration

  18. Matching information needs on emigration with statistical sources on immigration

  19. Improving availability of emigration data – a short-term perspective • Expand existing data collections by international organizations by incorporating information needs on emigration example: the Joint Migration Questionnaire • Disseminate national standardized tables produced on annual basis example of good practice: OECD database on highly-skilled expatriates

  20. Improving availability of emigration data – a longer-term perspective For example: • Extensive use of national household surveys as a vehicle for a collection of data on migrants and their characteristics Development of a “standard migration module

  21. Future work: measuring emigration through national sources • Administrative data (registers) • Use of household surveys (Lithuania, Poland) • Use of population census (Tunisia, Poland, Georgia)

  22. Thank you ! Group reports and draft guidelines available on: http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/2006.11.migration.htm.

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