Policy Options to Address Challenges throughout the Migration Life Cycle
Republic survey). Kazakhstan, one of the other migration corridors, has a high synchronization of the economic business cycle with the Russian Federation (Jenish 2013), given their economic integration and dependence on raw materials. The high concentration of Kyrgyz migrants in few and synchronized markets exposes the country to high volatility and vulnerability to economic shocks in the Russian Federation or Kazakhstan. COVID-19 and now the economic crisis in the Russian Federation have shown that, as a result of this lack of diversification, migration and remittance flows are severely affected, resulting in significant welfare losses for Kyrgyz households and for the broader economy. For example, exchange rates fluctuated considerably in February and March 2022 after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, with the ruble at one point falling by 32 percent against the Kyrgyz som. Recent data from the Listening to the Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic survey show that many migrants delayed transfers due to the unfavorable change in exchange rates: the share of Kyrgyz households receiving any remittance transfer fell from 17.5 to 14.8 (–16 percent) during that period, and the value of a typical remittance transfer fell by 15 percent. In addition, migration intentions significantly declined during this period. In the Kyrgyz Republic, the share of households with a member considering migration fell from 13 to 8 percent. To reduce the volatility of migration demand and flows, the government of the Kyrgyz Republic can explore new institutional frameworks such as bilateral labor agreements (BLAs), government-to-government (G2G) arrangements, and memoranda of understanding with other countries with a potential demand given their demographic trends or labor needs (for example, in Europe, the Gulf, Korea, or Malaysia).1 For example, the Philippines, a country with a long tradition of emigration and with a well-developed migration system, has diversified the number of destination countries over the years by being very active in negotiating new bilateral labor agreements and by building a qualified workforce with credible credentials (Testaverde et al. 2017). Diversification of migration can also be enhanced in terms of occupations and not just countries of destination. About half of Kyrgyz male migrants work in construction and half of female migrants in the hospitality sector. This concentration increases the vulnerabilities of migrants’ labor market status to shocks in host economies that affect particular sectors. While the EaEU allows Kyrgyz migrants in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan to work in all sectors, further cooperation might be needed with these countries to fully recognize foreign credentials. This, combined with the provision of information to migrants on the types of job opportunities available in destination countries and the provision of training to prospective migrants when skill mismatches emerge with what firms demand at destination—as previously mentioned—can expand the employment opportunities available across sectors and professions.
DURING MIGRATION During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in receiving countries have launched temporary measures to protect the legal vulnerability of migrants. On April 18, 2020, the government of the Russian Federation issued a decree “On temporary measures to resolve the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation in connection with the threat of further spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19),” by which all foreigners in the
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