WASHINGTON, D.C., September 24, 2008 – World economic and migration experts gathered at the Western Union Global Migration Forum, held here on September 15, 2008 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, to explore the factors that drive migration and the way labor supply impacts global economic vitality. The discussion centered on the release of the landmark Western Union Global Migration Barometer, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The study was released on September 15 and is available along with highlights of the forum at corporate.westernunion.com/global_migration.html.
"One in six people alive today is directly impacted by migration, making it one of the dominant policy challenges of our time," said Dilip Ratha, Lead Economist, World Bank, part of a global peer review panel that oversaw the study and a participant in today's forum. "Data is essential to harnessing migration's potential to serve as an economic engine for both developed and developing nations."
During opening remarks, T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Dean, Georgetown University Law Center, called for more consistent approaches to migration that promote the basic human dignity of the world's mobile workforce.
A discussion among world experts was moderated by Donald F. Terry, who recently retired from his role as Manager of the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund. "Migrants play a pivotal role in reducing poverty in countries of origin, and contribute to the prosperity of destination countries," Terry noted. Alongside Ratha, the panel included Thomas Debass, Senior Remittance and Diaspora Advisor, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Demetrios Papademetriou, President, Migration Policy Institute.
Today's forum was convened by Western Union to catalyze a data-driven discussion of global migration among thought leaders. Leila Butt, Senior Economist, Central and Eastern Europe and Deputy Manager, Country Risk Services, Economist Intelligence Unit, spoke about the key findings related to countries that are attractive, accessible or have a need for migrants.
"Globalization is often discussed in terms of the movement of goods and capital, and we wanted to shed light on the complex issues surrounding migration, the human dimension of globalization," explained Christina Gold, President and CEO, Western Union, who addressed the gathering. "We sponsored this study as a first step in promoting a more informed dialogue and fact-based decision-making about the movement of the global workforce."
Methodology
The Economist Intelligence Unit developed the index methodology and collected the required data on nations that are currently, or increasingly, migration destinations, with input from an independent panel of migration experts. The index uses a standard analytical framework. The model used to generate the index employs indicators that reflect the standard of living and economic development of a country, legislative policy, attitudes toward migration, demographics and social welfare commitments. Many of the 32 indicators used to generate the index are based on quantitative data and have been drawn from national and international statistical sources. The others are qualitative in nature and have been produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Each of the indicators has been adjusted and weighted to produce a score of 0 to 100, where 100 represents the highest level of attractiveness, accessibility or need for migrants. The 61 countries have been ranked according to the scores they receive.
About the Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world's foremost provider of country, industry and management analysis. Founded in 1946 when a director of intelligence was appointed to serve The Economist, the Economist Intelligence Unit is now a leading research and advisory firm with more than 40 offices worldwide. For more than 60 years, the Economist Intelligence Unit has delivered vital business intelligence to influential decision-makers around the world.
About Western Union
Western Union, together with its affiliates Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, is a leading provider of global money-transfer services, providing people with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send money around the world, pay bills and purchase money orders through a network of more than 355,000 Agent locations in 200 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
Contact
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