IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/asiaps/v5y2018i3p462-480.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pacific seasonal workers: Learning from the contrasting temporary migration outcomes in Australian and New Zealand horticulture

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Curtain
  • Matthew Dornan
  • Stephen Howes
  • Henry Sherrell

Abstract

“Crowding out” is a widely accepted claim in migration analysis, which posits that the preference of profit‐maximising employers for irregular and minimally regulated migrants overregulated alternatives will undermine, if not condemn to failure, well‐regulated temporary migration schemes. In this paper, we test the crowding out hypothesis by examining the experience with well‐regulated seasonal migrant worker programs in the horticultural sectors of Australia and New Zealand. This experience, which in both countries has involved recruitment of workers from the Pacific Islands, has been divergent, despite the two programs being similar in design. Our findings suggest that the relative attractiveness of regulated and unregulated migrant labour sources depends on a range of factors, including the export orientation of the sector, the costs of collective action and regulation, differences in policy design and implementation, and external factors. Depending on industry and economy‐wide characteristics, quality and reputational benefits for employers can offset the cost of regulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Curtain & Matthew Dornan & Stephen Howes & Henry Sherrell, 2018. "Pacific seasonal workers: Learning from the contrasting temporary migration outcomes in Australian and New Zealand horticulture," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 462-480, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:asiaps:v:5:y:2018:i:3:p:462-480
    DOI: 10.1002/app5.261
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.261
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/app5.261?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David McKenzie & Pilar Garcia Martinez & L. Alan Winters, 2008. "Who is coming from Vanuatu to New Zealand under the new Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Program?," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0806, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    2. McKenzie, David & Garcia Martinez, Pilar & Winters, L. Alan, 2008. "Who is coming from Vanuatu to New Zealand under the new recognized Seasonal employer program ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4699, The World Bank.
    3. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2014. "The Development Impact of a Best Practice Seasonal Worker Policy," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(2), pages 229-243, May.
    4. Selvaraj Velayutham, 2013. "Precarious experiences of Indians in Australia on 457 temporary work visas," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 24(3), pages 340-361, September.
    5. Andrew Leigh & Adam Triggs, 2016. "Markets, Monopolies and Moguls: The Relationship between Inequality and Competition," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 49(4), pages 389-412, December.
    6. Danielle Hay & Stephen Howes, 2012. "Australia’s Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme: why has take-up been so low?," Development Policy Centre Discussion Papers 1217, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    7. Martin RUHS, 2006. "The potential of temporary migration programmes in future international migration policy," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 145(1-2), pages 7-36, March.
    8. Martin Ruhs, 2013. "The Price of Rights: Regulating International Labor Migration," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10140.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. John Gibson & David McKenzie & Halahingano Rohorua, 2014. "Development Impacts of Seasonal and Temporary Migration: A Review of Evidence from the Pacific and Southeast Asia," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 18-32, January.
    2. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2014. "Development through seasonal worker programs: the case of New Zealand’s RSE program," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 7, pages 186-210, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Satish Chand & Michael Clemens & Helen Dempster, 2022. "Wage arbitrage through skilled emigration: Evidence from the Pacific Islands," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 430-446, September.
    4. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2014. "The Development Impact of a Best Practice Seasonal Worker Policy," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(2), pages 229-243, May.
    5. Alessandra Faggian & Jonathan Corcoran & Francisco Rowe, 2016. "Evaluating the effects of Australian policy changes on human capital: the role of a graduate visa scheme," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(1), pages 151-170, February.
    6. Ellero, Jeremy & Lagadec, Gael, 2014. "Le Pacifique insulaire dans le cadre d'échange multilatéral : quel accord de libre-échange pour les territoires français du Pacifique ?," MPRA Paper 60016, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. David McKenzie & Dean Yang, 2015. "Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 155-192.
    8. John Gibson & David Mckenzie, 2010. "The Development Impact of a Best Practice Seasonal Worker Policy: New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme," Working Papers in Economics 10/08, University of Waikato.
    9. Ellero, Jeremy & Lagadec, Gael, 2014. "Le Pacifique insulaire dans le cadre d'échange multilatéral : quel accord de libre-échange pour les territoires français du Pacifique ?," MPRA Paper 60043, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. World Bank, 2014. "Well-being from Work in the Pacific Island Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 18642.
    11. Philip Martin & Martin Ruhs, 2019. "Labour Market Realism and the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees," RSCAS Working Papers 2019/23, European University Institute.
    12. Chris F Wright & Stephen Clibborn, 2020. "A guest-worker state? The declining power and agency of migrant labour in Australia," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(1), pages 34-58, March.
    13. John Gibson & David Mckenzie, 2011. "Australia's Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme (PSWPS): Development Impacts in the First Two Years," Working Papers in Economics 11/09, University of Waikato.
    14. Phanwin Yokying & Sumeet Saksena & Jefferson Fox, 2023. "Impacts of migration on time allocation of those who remain at home in rural Nepal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 2067-2106, October.
    15. Manjula Luthria, 2011. "Labor Mobility for the Poor : Is it Really Possible?," World Bank Publications - Reports 10112, The World Bank Group.
    16. Jansson, Olle, 2017. "Organized interests and foreign-educated professionals: The case of the associations for physicians and nurses in Sweden," Working Paper Series 2017:18, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    17. Melissa SIEGEL & Jennifer WAIDLER, 2012. "Migration and multi-dimensional poverty in Moldovan communities," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 3, pages 105-119, December.
    18. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    19. Jackline Wahba, 2021. "Who benefits from return migration to developing countries?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 123-123, December.
    20. Helbling, Marc & Bjerre, Liv & Römer, Friederike & Zobel, Malisa, 2017. "Measuring immigration policies: the IMPIC database," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 16(1), pages 79-98.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:asiaps:v:5:y:2018:i:3:p:462-480. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=2050-2680 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.