Intra-Regional Labor Migration : The Socio-Economic Implications for Tajik and Kyrgyz Migrant Workers in Kazakhstan and Russia

Abstract

This research paper discusses the migrant labor movements from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Russia and Kazakhstan by identifying the main causes, socio-economic effects, and policy aspects of this migration through a qualitative comparative analysis based on secondary sources. It determines that the main economic reason for continued migration from these border economies to the more developed ones is the regional economic disparity, especially differences in income levels, industrial capacity and labor market opportunities. Migration becomes both a household survival strategy and a major source of national income through remittances, which along with supporting poverty reduction and macroeconomic stability, also develop significant dependence and exposure to external shocks, especially those related to Russia. The analysis also reveals that the social welfare of the migrants is determined by the institutional settings with Kyrgyz workers getting the advantage of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) membership while Tajik migrants being subjected to more stringent rules and facing greater insecurity. Besides the material consequences, migration has also significant social impacts, both at the level of the individual through the separation of families and at the level of the community through changes, while the migrants in the host countries usually have to confront being exploited and working under precarious conditions with their rights being limited. The article further states that labor migration to and from Central Asia is a manifestation of a wider system of regional inequality and interdependence, and that for the realization of the full potential of migration, the less developed countries will be required to carry out economic diversification while at the same time, the region will have to cooperate more intensively and ensure better protection of the migrants.