The ‘new’ Philippine future “beside” the exodus

• Published in: Asian education and development studies 2021-01, Vol.10 (1), p.53-68
• Main Author: Opiniano, Jeremaiah M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attrition (Research Studies); Brain drain; Bureaucracy; Demographics; Developed Nations; Domestic service; Economic crisis; Economic growth; Economic Progress; Emigration; Fertility; Foreign Workers; GDP; Global economy; Gross Domestic Product; Labor; Migrants; Migration; Mobility; Mortality; Overseas employment; Population growth; Purchasing power parity; Remittances; Society; Trends
• ISSN: 2046-3162; 2046-3170
• DOI: 10.1108/AEDS-02-2019-0027

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the international migration-and-development story of the Philippines, amongst the leading migrant-origin countries.Design/methodology/approachMigration and socio-economic development data are used to depict the migration-and-development conditions of the Philippines.FindingsThe Philippines has mastered the management of overseas migration based on its bureaucracy and policies for the migrant sector. Migration also rose for decades given structural economic constraints. However, the past 10 years of macro-economic growth may have seen migration and remittances helping lift the Philippines' medium-to-long term acceleration. The new Philippine future beside the overseas exodus hinges on two trends: accelerating the economic empowerment of overseas Filipinos and their families to make them better equipped to handle the social costs of migration; and strategizing how to capture a “diasporic dividend” by pushing for more investments from overseas migrants' savings.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper may not cover the entirety of the Philippines' migration-and-development phenomenon.Practical implicationsImproving the financial capabilities of overseas Filipinos and their families will lead to their economic empowerment and to hopefully a more resilient handling of the (negative) social consequences of migration.Social implicationsIf overseas Filipinos and their families handle their economic resources better, they may be able to conquer the social costs of migration.Originality/valueThis paper employed a population-and-development (PopDev) framework to analyse the migration-and-development conditions of the Philippines.