Welcome to the Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP) blog! LaMP is a new organization currently incubating at the Center for Global Development. LaMP aims to be the first organization which actively works to increase rights-respecting labor mobility, creating opportunities for needed workers to fill jobs abroad while unlocking billions in income gains.
The problem: OECD countries are rapidly aging, meaning that they will not be able to maintain their working age-elderly population ratios without finding alternative sources of workers. Meanwhile, growth in the labor forces of developing countries significantly outstrips job creation. This creates an opportunity: workers moving from developing countries to OECD countries can expect to increase their income by six to 15 times.
Despite this fact, the international community provides little support to partners struggling to connect potential migrants (who need jobs) to potential employers (who need workers). This leaves critical unanswered demand for support in an era when labor mobility is increasing and desperately needed.
The purpose of this blog is to explore these problems and potential solutions in greater depth. It will feature a series on fundamental questions of labor mobility (why mobility is needed, what constrains mobility, and how international support may address these constraints). Alongside this, the team will also publish blogs containing specific case studies either on good practice in mobility or opportunities for engagement.
This blog is intended to start a conversation – the questions explored here, and your responses to them, will inform the shape that LaMP takes. So please reach out – we look forward to hearing from you!