The emigration of Filipino nurses : policies, bilateral cooperation, and migration-development

• Main Author: Cabanda, Exequiel Camarig
• Other Authors: Chou Meng-Hsuan
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/89896; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/47742
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The migration-development nexus portrays migration as an integral part of development, but the debate centers on whether migration causes development based on three important themes: remittances, brain drain, and diaspora. From these themes are studies that reveal conflicting and ambiguous findings: for some countries, labor migration contributes to development at various levels; others experience minimal effects, while some countries even incur negative outcomes. The question is: how does a sending state intervene in managing migration for development? Utilizing the case of the Philippines, this thesis consists of four self-contained articles (organized as chapters) that examine the role of the sending state in Filipino nurse migration in the areas of higher education, labor cooperation, and remittances. Through legislative and other policy documents, elite interviews, and key informant survey, this thesis reveals the different processes, strategies, and instruments that the sending state employs in a proactive manner to boost development. In this thesis, I argue that these forms of state interventions (or its absence) could either promote or downplay the positive contribution of labor migration for improving economic, political and social conditions of source countries. Thus, the effect of labor migration on the development of sending countries is not directly a result of market outcomes but is moderated by the state based on the types of policy interventions that governments adopt and implement in the migration process. This thesis concludes by presenting distinct contributions it makes to the migration-development debate, using the public policy perspective and negotiation analysis.