International migration within and from the East and Southeast Asian region: a review essay.

The author reviews the literature on the trends and characteristics of international migration within and from East and Southeast Asia, with a focus on the past 25 years. "Five migration systems are described: settler, student, contract labor, skilled labor, and refugee. Settler migration to the U.S., Canada and Australia has consisted primarily of family members.... Contract labor migration, particularly to the Middle East, has provided jobs, foreign currency through remittances and greater participation of women, but also led to illegal migration, skills drain, and labor abuses. The hierarchy of development has led to intra-regional flows: (1) skilled labor mainly from Japan to other countries in the region, and (2) contract labor and illegal migration from the LDCs to the NIEs [newly industrializing economies] and Japan."