The Macroeconomics of Out‐migration: The Ethiopian Case
Abstract
In the last few years, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have been observed leaving their country of origin (both illegally and otherwise) to seek work and, to a lesser extent, avoid political Persecution. A majority of these out‐migrants go to the Middle East where they face widespread exploitation and violations of their economic and social rights. Both anecdotal evidence and practices of the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) strongly indicate that exporting people is viewed as the country’s most important export with the concomitant remittances being used as major sources of foreign exchange earnings and as development strategies. It is for this main reason why three ministries, that is, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Service and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (formerly the Ministry of Capacity Building) have been deeply involved in Diaspora affairs, the latter specifically focusing on exporting of people to the Middle East. In addition, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is known to be primarily tasked with exporting of Ethiopian citizens to the Middle East. In addition to these ministries, government institutions such as the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are known to be deeply involved in attracting members of the Ethiopian Diaspora abroad. The policy is known to allow some Diaspora members hold foreign currency accounts at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. The state‐led strategies designed to enhance and capitalize upon these human and financial flows have been articulated…
The Macroeconomics of Out‐migration: The Ethiopian Case
In the last few years, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have been observed leaving their country of origin (both illegally and otherwise) to seek work and, to a lesser extent, avoid political Persecution. A majority of these out‐migrants go to the Middle East where they face widespread exploitation and violations of their economic and social rights. Both anecdotal evidence and practices of the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) strongly indicate that exporting people is viewed as the country’s most important export with the concomitant remittances being used as major sources of foreign exchange earnings and as development strategies. It is for this main reason why three ministries, that is, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Service and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (formerly the Ministry of Capacity Building) have been deeply involved in Diaspora affairs, the latter specifically focusing on exporting of people to the Middle East. In addition, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is known to be primarily tasked with exporting of Ethiopian citizens to the Middle East. In addition to these ministries, government institutions such as the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are known to be deeply involved in attracting members of the Ethiopian Diaspora abroad. The policy is known to allow some Diaspora members hold foreign currency accounts at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. The state‐led strategies designed to enhance and capitalize upon these human and financial flows have been articulated…