Temporary Worker Programs: US and other Countries

1. Temporary Worker Programs: US and other Countries Philip Martin: plmartin@ucdavis.edu http://migration.ucdavis.edu

2. Three Topics • TWPs: nothing more permanent than temporary workers • US: H-1B, H-2A, H-2B programs • Other countries: Are TWPs optimal compromise between no borders and no migrants extremes?

3. TWPs • Purpose: add workers temporarily, not settlers • Experience: Programs get larger and last longer than anticipated • Why: incentives of employers and migrants--distortion and dependence

4. Distortion and Dependence • Distortion: Employers rely on migrant network for recruitment and training--they lose links to local workers and labor markets • Dependence: Migrants’ lives improve with higher wages; reducing recruitment could increase unauthorized migration

5. Migration and Development • Sending workers abroad reduces poverty via remittances • Do 3 Rs of recruitment, remittances, and returns speed development? • Virtuous circles between migration and development: Indian IT • Vicious circles: African health care workers • Rural migrants generally do NOT lead to stay-at-home development; instead, more migration--internal or external?

6. Migration-development Lessons • No automatic link between migration and development • Receiving-country employers are the key decision makers; their preferences may clash with sending-country governments • Rural migrants not likely to return, but investments in their children may speed rural-urban migration

7. US TWP Programs • H-1B: Foreign professionals fill US jobs that require a college degree; 65,000/year • H-2A: Foreign farm workers; no cap • H-2B: Foreign low-skilled; 66,000/year • At least 12 more, from E-treaty traders to J-exchange visitors to TN-NAFTA professionals

8. H-1B Professionals • Purpose: Bridge labor market gaps at a time of mis-matches • Trade off: easy employer access but cap of 65,000 a year; reached in 1998 • IT boom, low unemployment, and increase in cap--eventually 195,000/yr • 2004: cap reverts to 65,000/yr

9. H-1B Issues • Is there effective DOL oversight of employers, especially body brokers? • Are H-1B visa holders the world’s best and brightest? • Why does the S & E labor market resemble a revolving door?

10. H-2A • Certification program with no cap; 98% of employer requests approved • H-2A = 3% of farm workers; unauthorized = 50% Why? • Recruitment: 5% US referrals, 2% US hires

11. H-2A and AgJOBS • About 60,000 H-2A workers and 1 million unauthorized • AgJOBS compromise: Legalize the unauthorized, require continued farm work, and make H-2A more employer-friendly • 3 changes: attestation, no housing, AEWR • Canada: different starting point--not 17 unauthorized workers for every H-2A worker

12. US TWP Issues • Migrants: Temporary visitors (H-2A/B) or probationary immigrants (H-1B)? • Attestation versus certification: trust the employer? • Other TWPs: Caps on H-1B and H-2B prompt employers to use non-DOL administered programs

13. Other Countries • Estimated 100 million migrant workers and 200 bilateral labor agreements • 3 major questions: how many, from where, in what status? • Hard to obtain agreement on these questions in receiving countries

14. Europe: 3 Major Trends • From one macro program to many micro programs (shotgun to rifle) • From employment service to employers answering the 3 questions • From getting workers to more goals, from cooperation on unauthorized to promoting development

15. 3 Lessons for Canada • Include economic mechanisms to deal with distortion and dependence • Include employers and advocates in program design, and give administrators discretion • Be cautious: TWPs tend to get larger and to last longer

16. Thank You • More information: • http://migration.ucdavis.edu