External Labor Migration: Evaluations and Thoughts
Labour migration currently is the most important migratory flow of the world. According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2013 the total number of international migrants reached 232 million, of which 74% are labor migrants, while in 2010, out of 214 million migrant workers 90 % had left their homes in order to find a job. During the past decade, in socalled transition countries continuously implemented political, economic and social deep, often fundamental reforms, and after the financial crisis and the socio-economic processes in the developed countries, have led to radical changes in social life. This was the motivation for the formation of a new wave of migration, particularly for its working-age part. The qualitative changes in the migration process have been enhancing with some new features. If at first the developed countries were the main centers of attraction for "brains", then now, the developing countries also attract “minds”. It is the growing social significance of labor migration, which necessitates system research and identify of common patterns and characteristics of theoretical and methodological understanding, quantitative growth of territorial movements and the accompanying qualitative changes of migration processes. The relevance of the study is due to an increased rate of spontaneous migration of population, illegal labor migration in the Republic of Armenia, especially in recent years, which creates many threats. These feats include the loss of skilled human resources, the deterioration of the demographic situation and undermine of the national security of the state, due to the unprecedented emigration of the population from the border villages. Migration policy is not clear and distinct either, especially in terms of illegal migration, social protection of migrant workers, sufficient awareness of employers and employees. On the qualitative and quantitative parameters of RA population as a whole, and for labor resources in particular, to assess the impact of migration unambiguously is not possible. If considering the emigration as a factor relaxing the tense in internal labor market, then at the present stage of social and economic development, the loss of potential of highly skilled professionals and workers, in the near future may cause a serious problem of unsatisfied demand for human capital. In a country of mass emigration, "the equivalent” of the loss of human capital, become migrant remittances.
Of course, especially in countries forming new markets in the process of socio-economic development, remittances play an important and active enough role. As a factor of socio-economic development, remittances of population in the order of importance, come second after direct investments, as a source of external financing. They have a huge impact on the domestic labor market, private consumption, imports, the state budget and other sectors of socio-economic relations. Ultimately, this contributes so that incomes received from abroad were spent at home on more progressive and civilized forms of consumption, and in the future increased investment activity. Thus, the aim of this research is to study the demographic and socio-economic consequences, causes and purposes of labor migration, the directions of use of remittances. We also aim to obtain objective, impartial and possibly reliable estimates, in parallel with data published by official statistics on external migration movements for the period 2008−2013.