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The Belt and Road Initiative. Demographic trends, labour markets and welfare systems of member countries

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  • Bruni, Michele

Abstract

A brief analysis of the different demographic tendencies that will affect the 65 countries of the Belt and Road Initiative allows to point out that they are largely spread along the path of the demographic transition so that in some working age population will dramatically decline, in others will dramatically increase. The implication is that the first group of countries (epitomized by China, Russia, Thailand, but also by Singapore) will be affected by a structural shortage of labour, the second (well represented by India, but also by Pakistan, Egypt and Philippines) by a structural excess of labour. Therefore, for the countries of the first group immigration will not be an option but a necessity, while for the countries of the second group emigration will not be an option but a necessity. The situation suggests that it would be in the interest of all BRI countries to design, develop and implement a policy framework that would allow them to jointly manage migration flows in the amount and with the educational stricture coherent with their needs. However, such a process is extremely difficult and complex and to succeed needs to be properly directed and orchestrated. The paper argues that given its size, the dimension of its need of foreign labour, and its role in the Belt and Road Initiative it is China that should take the lead of a rational approach that falls well inside the strategies of the Initiative.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruni, Michele, 2019. "The Belt and Road Initiative. Demographic trends, labour markets and welfare systems of member countries," GLO Discussion Paper Series 300, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:300
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    Cited by:

    1. Nugent, Jeffrey B. & Lu, Jiaxuan, 2021. "China's outward foreign direct investment in the Belt and Road Initiative: What are the motives for Chinese firms to invest?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Jeffrey B. Nugent & Jiaxuan Lu, 2020. "Does the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce Align Private Firms with the Goals of the People's Republic of China's Belt and Road Initiative?," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 37(2), pages 45-76, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Belt and Road Initiative; China; migration; labour market; demographic transition; demographic polarization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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