WEBVTT - Rich Nations Face a Post-Covid World Without Cheap Migrant Labor

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<v Speaker 1>I exam. I left Italy just when this crist's period started.

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<v Speaker 1>The woman I was taking care of god sick and

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<v Speaker 1>was taken to hospital. She eventually died from the coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>and I didn't have anything to do learn anymore. They

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<v Speaker 1>tested me and I was negative. I left. Hello and

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<v Speaker 1>welcome to Stephanomics, the podcast that brings the COVID global

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<v Speaker 1>economy to you. And that was Mihaela Daniela, one of

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds of thousands of Romanians working abroad who've gone home

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<v Speaker 1>in the past few months. It's a reminder that stay

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<v Speaker 1>at home orders means something different if you're one and

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<v Speaker 1>more than a hundred and fifty million my group workers

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<v Speaker 1>around the world whose home and family might be a

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<v Speaker 1>long way away. There are another group at the sharp

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<v Speaker 1>end of this COVID crisis. The sectors they work in, hospitality, construction,

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<v Speaker 1>domestic service have been taking the brunt of the collapse

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<v Speaker 1>in the economy, and many, like Mikhaela, have headed for home.

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<v Speaker 1>Others stay in their adoptive countries but find themselves second

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<v Speaker 1>class citizens without access to government support and healthcare. Either way,

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<v Speaker 1>the COVID crisis for migrants is going to have big

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<v Speaker 1>economic effects for both their adopted country and the communities

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<v Speaker 1>they left behind. We're getting into a few different pieces

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<v Speaker 1>of that massive global story today. In Dubai in the

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<v Speaker 1>United Arab Emirates, the population could fall ten percent this

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<v Speaker 1>year due to expat workers heading home. I'll be talking

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<v Speaker 1>to Bloomberg's Middle East economy reporter Abir abu Omar about

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<v Speaker 1>what that means for the Gulf economies economic model, where

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<v Speaker 1>foreign workers do nearly all the work. We'll also talk

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<v Speaker 1>about whether the many migrants still stuck in Dubai without

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<v Speaker 1>work are getting any help from the government. Then our

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<v Speaker 1>head to Singapore to talk through the economics of global

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<v Speaker 1>migrant flows with Bloomberg opinion columnist Dan Moss, also what

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<v Speaker 1>it means for countries like the Philippines to have the

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<v Speaker 1>flow of earnings from migrant workers suddenly dry up. But

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<v Speaker 1>first let's hear a bit more about that Romanian story

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<v Speaker 1>from one of the people who helps run our economics

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<v Speaker 1>and government coverage in Central and Eastern Europe, Andrew Dagny. Andrew,

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<v Speaker 1>tell me a bit more about this story. How many

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<v Speaker 1>migrants are we talking about that have been going home

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<v Speaker 1>to Central and Eastern European countries. The countries we looked

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<v Speaker 1>at specifically for this story were Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, and

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit at Bulgaria. Romania had the biggest inflows.

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<v Speaker 1>About one point three million people came back Ukraine that

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<v Speaker 1>the numbers there have always been a little bit difficult

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<v Speaker 1>to calculate, but there are several hundred thousand probably in

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<v Speaker 1>Serbia were also talking a significant portion of the population.

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<v Speaker 1>I think, um six percent of the population, the fifth

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<v Speaker 1>of the workforce, about four thousand workers. Romania the populations

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<v Speaker 1>about twenty million people, so one point one point three

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<v Speaker 1>is obviously a significant addition to that. The Serbs were

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<v Speaker 1>even more that was that was six percent of the population.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's it's a lot of people. Let's hear a

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<v Speaker 1>bit more from Mihaila now, who was in Italy and

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<v Speaker 1>then has come has come home my whole thing. I'll

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<v Speaker 1>ever return because living among strangers is hard. After nine years,

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<v Speaker 1>my boys stayed with my mom all this time, and

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<v Speaker 1>this was the hardest thing I ever did, to live

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<v Speaker 1>far away from him. But we'll see what happens. It

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<v Speaker 1>would be great if I managed to stay. I need

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<v Speaker 1>to see if I managed to get a job here.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope I'll make it here in Romania. First of all,

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<v Speaker 1>we managed totally differently with the money I made in Italy.

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<v Speaker 1>My son now has a computer close. We managed to

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<v Speaker 1>renovate the house everything we need. I don't think I

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<v Speaker 1>would have managed to do all these things with the

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<v Speaker 1>salaries here. But we'll see. People say things have changed

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<v Speaker 1>in Romania as well. Let's see what happens in the

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<v Speaker 1>next few months. We wait for now. So she sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like she might stay home now. The government's happy to

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<v Speaker 1>have all of these people coming back, has been their attitude.

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<v Speaker 1>The circumstances are obviously not ideal. They would have preferred

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<v Speaker 1>these people if they were going to go abroad, that

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<v Speaker 1>they worked over there, they studied over there, and they

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<v Speaker 1>brought back the skills and education that they garnered in

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<v Speaker 1>Western Europe. But at the same time, they've been struggling,

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<v Speaker 1>like most of use in Europe, with acute labor shortages

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<v Speaker 1>for several years now. So these workers are are welcome.

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<v Speaker 1>For the short term they will they will obviously be

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<v Speaker 1>boosting the unemployment numbers due to the lockdown and the

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<v Speaker 1>extended effects of that. But once the economy start to

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<v Speaker 1>start to open up again and start to grow. Eastern

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<v Speaker 1>Europe has generally been a much faster growing region than

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<v Speaker 1>Western Europe. Then the government's hoped to harness these people

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<v Speaker 1>who have come back, or at least a share of them,

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<v Speaker 1>and use them to build future growth. And I guess

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<v Speaker 1>one of the big differences with this crisis is it

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<v Speaker 1>is affecting everywhere. I mean what we've seen in the past,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly in Europe actually, where countries have faced a deep recession.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember this and that the global financial crisis that

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<v Speaker 1>some of the countries in the in the Baltics saw

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<v Speaker 1>a massive outflow of workers when their economy shrank, which

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<v Speaker 1>helped sort of ease some of the burden on their economies.

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<v Speaker 1>If everyone is being hit now at the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>you're not going to get immigration as that kind of

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<v Speaker 1>safety valve. But I guess it's true. It seems to

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<v Speaker 1>be the case that these Central and Eastern European countries

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<v Speaker 1>so far have been hit less hard by COVID. Is

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<v Speaker 1>that right, Yes, that's also true. They were very fast

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<v Speaker 1>to lockdown and the that's only in terms of their

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<v Speaker 1>healthcare hit then it's been far, far, far less than

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<v Speaker 1>we saw in Western European countries. The economic hit is

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<v Speaker 1>in many cases similar. I think that the best performance

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<v Speaker 1>probably in the in the EU this year is going

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<v Speaker 1>to be the Polish contraction, which is I think to

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<v Speaker 1>be about between three and four percent. But obviously they're

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<v Speaker 1>all they're all taking a hit, yes, economically, and there's

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<v Speaker 1>going to be we're going to talk about this later

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<v Speaker 1>in the program, but there's a there's a there will

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<v Speaker 1>be a hole where all those remittances used to be.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean Mihailo and all the millions of people who

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<v Speaker 1>were in different parts of Western Europe sending back their salaries.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that is an extra that is an extra

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<v Speaker 1>burden for these economies at a time when they are

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with a global recession, even if they're not facing

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<v Speaker 1>as much problem from COVID. Yes, that's also true. But

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<v Speaker 1>these governments are hoping that the flip side of the coin,

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<v Speaker 1>the the increased labor force and the increased ability to

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<v Speaker 1>generate economic output, is going to It's going to counter that.

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<v Speaker 1>Ukraine had a record remittances of twelve billion dollars in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand nineteen, but it's also seen huge, huge outflows

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<v Speaker 1>of people who are I think more than a million

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<v Speaker 1>people alone in Poland and they've been a huge source

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<v Speaker 1>of labor for some of the Eastern European countries in

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<v Speaker 1>the European Union. Ukraine's looking to certainly utilize these people.

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<v Speaker 1>They have about three d thousands who returned during the lockdown.

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<v Speaker 1>They're looking at a pretty large scale road construction projects

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<v Speaker 1>and they're offering discounted loans also so they can start

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<v Speaker 1>their own businesses. Well, it is. It's a fascinating side

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<v Speaker 1>of this when we have all these discussions about deglobalization,

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<v Speaker 1>will people after this crisis be less inclined to send

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<v Speaker 1>production overseas while they start bringing jobs home? And actually

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<v Speaker 1>it's the people who are moving first. We have these

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<v Speaker 1>millions of people all coming home before we have a

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<v Speaker 1>change in the global economy necessarily, Andrew, thanks very much,

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<v Speaker 1>no problem than So that's one perspective on the global

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<v Speaker 1>migrant story. But now let's get a completely different angle

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<v Speaker 1>on this. Talking to our Middle East economy reporter into

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<v Speaker 1>I Abia abu Omar. Anyone who's been to Dubai or

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<v Speaker 1>other parts of the United Alberta Emirates knows these economies

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<v Speaker 1>are utterly dependent on migrant labor to build every apartment

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<v Speaker 1>block service every hotel room, but they don't. Those migrants,

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<v Speaker 1>they don't get really any rights in return, and if

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<v Speaker 1>they lose their jobs, they're supposed to go immediately home.

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<v Speaker 1>So what has been happening to them since the onset

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<v Speaker 1>of the COVID crisis? Hi, Stephanie, So yes, you're right.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean in Dubai, the foreign population, made up predominantly

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<v Speaker 1>from blue collar workers, makes up more than nine of

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<v Speaker 1>the city's population. Of that's a huge number. And then

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<v Speaker 1>the UAE in general more than eighty percent of the

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<v Speaker 1>population is made up of expats um. So since the

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<v Speaker 1>start of since the start of this outbreak, these people

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<v Speaker 1>have been suffering. These people have been asking to go

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<v Speaker 1>back home because in part because companies are laying off

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<v Speaker 1>people with absolutely no safety net in place. So when

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<v Speaker 1>we talk about what is different for these people, it's

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that in this part of the world, there

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<v Speaker 1>is no safety net. Uh, they don't get any kind

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<v Speaker 1>of residents, they don't get any kind of remittance after

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<v Speaker 1>they're laid off, and so the only expectation for them

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<v Speaker 1>is to go back home. Now, with with the flights

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<v Speaker 1>being suspended and with no option to go back home,

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<v Speaker 1>some of these people are living on as little as

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred dollars a month UM and waiting for you know,

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<v Speaker 1>charity charities to get to get back to them with

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<v Speaker 1>with food, especially now that we're in Ramadan, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a month where UH Muslims in the region fast UM.

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<v Speaker 1>So these people are just literally living by what they

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<v Speaker 1>can get day by day. And we've heard reports about

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<v Speaker 1>countries in Southeast Asia who are not even accepting UH

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<v Speaker 1>they're people back UM. Hundreds of thousands of India and

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<v Speaker 1>Pakistanian workers, which make up the majority of the expat

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<v Speaker 1>population here, have asked to go back home. UM and

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<v Speaker 1>India and Pakistan India mainly was saying that you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we we can't accept we can't accept our people at

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<v Speaker 1>this moment. Are we going to see just this big

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<v Speaker 1>change in the structure of the Gulf economy is coming

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<v Speaker 1>out of this if they if we don't know what

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<v Speaker 1>happens to these workers when this kind of crisis hit. Absolutely, absolutely,

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<v Speaker 1>I think so. And that trend has been on the

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<v Speaker 1>rise since the outbreak. UM gained momentum in the region.

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<v Speaker 1>You have a lot of big officials who weren't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>as vocal before coming out and saying a population shrinkage

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<v Speaker 1>could have a devastating economic implication for Gulf countries that

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<v Speaker 1>are very much dependent on these expat workers. But when

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<v Speaker 1>you have an expat worker that you expect to work

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<v Speaker 1>and you don't and you don't necessarily provide um any

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<v Speaker 1>kind of stability, those people are going to leave. And

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<v Speaker 1>it's and it's not just blue collar workers. It's it's teachers,

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<v Speaker 1>it's engineers, it's it's businessmen who are thinking they can't

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<v Speaker 1>sustain this kind of living um if they're laid off.

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<v Speaker 1>And what's different about the model in the UAE or

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<v Speaker 1>in the Gulf in general, is that most of these

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<v Speaker 1>countries have taken a more monetary policy change, so there

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<v Speaker 1>has not been any kind of uh, direct fiscal um

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<v Speaker 1>spending for for these workers. So we don't see any

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<v Speaker 1>kind of wage guaranteeing, we don't see any kind of

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<v Speaker 1>fund that is dedicated for those people. Uh. The only

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<v Speaker 1>thing we're seeing is the central banks are are giving

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<v Speaker 1>lenders some kind of space to to ease their feast

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<v Speaker 1>is their interest rates, to to give better better interest

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<v Speaker 1>on loans. But that's not what the people are asking for,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's definitely not what the people who are going

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<v Speaker 1>to leave, are asking for people want direct measures that

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<v Speaker 1>help them during this time, and we're not seeing that

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<v Speaker 1>happening yet. And I've noticed that that the economies that

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<v Speaker 1>were always they're so dependent on the oil revenues and

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<v Speaker 1>we've seen obviously the collapse in the oil prices, and

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<v Speaker 1>so countries like Saudi Arabia this week actually announcing big

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<v Speaker 1>cuts and spending, which is the opposite of what everyone

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<v Speaker 1>else is doing, because they didn't save in the good

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<v Speaker 1>times when the oil price was was higher. And I

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<v Speaker 1>guess the short term question is just what is going

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<v Speaker 1>to happen to all these people. I mean, there's such

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<v Speaker 1>a large number of people who sound like they are

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<v Speaker 1>trapped in the region. And the support that government is offering.

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<v Speaker 1>I noticed when they are giving any help to workers

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<v Speaker 1>or companies, it's all for citizens, much more than for

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<v Speaker 1>for others. Are you starting to see these migrants on

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<v Speaker 1>the street, what's going to happen to them? What those

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<v Speaker 1>people want is some kind of direct measure that would

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<v Speaker 1>help them at least get by, get by on a

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<v Speaker 1>daily basis. I mean, a lot of people on social

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<v Speaker 1>media pages are becoming more vocal about their struggle. A

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people on um. I heard that a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people on on Reddit, a very popular website in

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<v Speaker 1>the UAE, are asking for food and are asking for

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<v Speaker 1>a place to stay. And in this kind of environment,

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<v Speaker 1>you never saw, you never saw something like that happening before,

0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:33.520
<v Speaker 1>but it is happening now. And so no government wants

0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:37.160
<v Speaker 1>to see people coming out going out of their of

0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.680
<v Speaker 1>their countries. But it looks like the model that the

0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:44.640
<v Speaker 1>government here is taking is more is more like, yes,

0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:49.520
<v Speaker 1>we let those people leave. We won't compromise or sacrifice

0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:54.000
<v Speaker 1>the system that we've been going by since but for decades.

0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.360
<v Speaker 1>And if they leave after this ends, we'll just get

0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.600
<v Speaker 1>more people, which is which is a more costly process

0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:04.240
<v Speaker 1>and in more time consuming process. But it doesn't look

0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.440
<v Speaker 1>like they're going to change the way they're they're thinking now.

0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:12.080
<v Speaker 1>From what we're seeing now, I think that's that's fascinating.

0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:15.600
<v Speaker 1>And I see that our Middle East economists, the ad

0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:19.680
<v Speaker 1>OLD was talking about the population of Dubai falling by

0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:23.480
<v Speaker 1>at least ten percent this year just with those UM

0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.320
<v Speaker 1>migrants leaving. But you don't think it's going to change

0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:30.720
<v Speaker 1>anytime soon. Aber Abu emma Ama, thank you so much

0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:40.080
<v Speaker 1>for joining us. Thank you so I'd like to bring

0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:43.920
<v Speaker 1>all of this together now with Dan Boss, Bloomberg opinion

0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:48.680
<v Speaker 1>columnist covering Asian economies out of Singapore and Dan there

0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:51.760
<v Speaker 1>are obviously two sides to this migrant story. There's the

0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.760
<v Speaker 1>countries that depend on large amounts of migrant labor to

0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:58.840
<v Speaker 1>keep their economies functioning, and then there's the communities back

0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:03.120
<v Speaker 1>home that rely on the money those migrant workers send back.

0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.760
<v Speaker 1>You think the COVID crisis has kind of blown a

0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:12.200
<v Speaker 1>hole through both economic models. The export and import of

0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:17.760
<v Speaker 1>labor STEPH is one of the biggest casualties of the

0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:22.960
<v Speaker 1>COVID induced downturn. There's a lot of attention has been

0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:26.920
<v Speaker 1>given to what's happening to semiconductor sales, what's happening on

0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:33.120
<v Speaker 1>container ships. The export of people that allows many wealthy

0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:39.360
<v Speaker 1>countries to basically function is at risk. Let's take two

0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:44.520
<v Speaker 1>economies in Asia that are equally dependent on this transaction.

0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:49.040
<v Speaker 1>The seller of the labor, the Philippines, and the buyer

0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:54.520
<v Speaker 1>of the labor Singapore. About a third of Singapore's workforce

0:15:55.240 --> 0:16:00.480
<v Speaker 1>is comprised of foreigners. The bulk of those foreigners live

0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:07.360
<v Speaker 1>in purpose built dormitories where conditions are cramped and where

0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:11.800
<v Speaker 1>living conditions have been getting some scrutiny. These are the

0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:16.760
<v Speaker 1>folks that enable Singapore, famous for its efficiency and its

0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:22.400
<v Speaker 1>Swiss watch like economic life, to function. They drive the subways,

0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:28.400
<v Speaker 1>they deliver the mail, they build the buildings. So imported

0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:35.480
<v Speaker 1>labor makes Singapore Singapore. For the Philippines, it provides a

0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:41.120
<v Speaker 1>huge source of foreign revenue. It supplements the very very

0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:47.200
<v Speaker 1>basic and inadequate safety there that the government there has developed.

0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:52.600
<v Speaker 1>That broader model is at risk. You know, we obviously

0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:56.200
<v Speaker 1>have been talking in the developed economies about are we

0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:59.320
<v Speaker 1>now going to be more concerned about the rights for

0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.240
<v Speaker 1>gig worker as who have all been lost their jobs

0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:05.120
<v Speaker 1>and have lost their rights in in response to the crisis.

0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:07.800
<v Speaker 1>Do you think we'll see that kind of change in

0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:11.200
<v Speaker 1>the attitude towards migrant workers coming out of this. Well,

0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:16.720
<v Speaker 1>the model as it's currently been constructed is in jeopardy.

0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:21.239
<v Speaker 1>Some form of this model will survive, probably with some

0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:25.080
<v Speaker 1>shading around the edges. And that is because both the

0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:30.000
<v Speaker 1>vent or country and the purchase a company in many ways,

0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.879
<v Speaker 1>are equally dependent. You know, when I was in the

0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:37.720
<v Speaker 1>Philippines meeting families of foreign workers in January, you know, stuff.

0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:41.200
<v Speaker 1>They were all acutely aware of what the Saudi government

0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:45.360
<v Speaker 1>was up to in its efforts to reconfigure its economy.

0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:47.520
<v Speaker 1>They knew more about what was going on with the

0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:52.439
<v Speaker 1>oil price that week than I did. That's how big

0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:57.000
<v Speaker 1>the remittance thing is in their lives. The degree of

0:17:57.080 --> 0:18:00.280
<v Speaker 1>this may change, some of the contours may a time.

0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:03.200
<v Speaker 1>I feel like too many people are winning on either

0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:12.000
<v Speaker 1>side of this labor transaction for it to vantage. But

0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.439
<v Speaker 1>in order to keep those those migrant workers coming to

0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:19.000
<v Speaker 1>their economies, do you think the likes of Saudi Arabia

0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.520
<v Speaker 1>or indeed Singapore are going to have to rethink the

0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:25.440
<v Speaker 1>idea that the moment you lose your job, you're out.

0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:29.560
<v Speaker 1>Among the things that are going to have to be rethought,

0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:35.399
<v Speaker 1>how do these folks live and interact with the local

0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:41.360
<v Speaker 1>economies in their host nation. The majority of the surge

0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:47.160
<v Speaker 1>in infections that Singapore has seen have come from purpose

0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:52.840
<v Speaker 1>built dormitories where migrant workers who are employed in everything

0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:56.880
<v Speaker 1>from construction to food and beverage and other things live.

0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:03.160
<v Speaker 1>It's highly conceivable that these kind of cramped accommodations will

0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:07.320
<v Speaker 1>just go and it would be a condition of employment

0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:13.560
<v Speaker 1>that the quality of the housing be raised. You know,

0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:18.080
<v Speaker 1>if you're stuck in a place because you're quarantined, you've

0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:21.040
<v Speaker 1>kind of got the worst of all world. Staff. You

0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:23.399
<v Speaker 1>can't go home and get a job at home because

0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:27.080
<v Speaker 1>you can't leave. This is not specific to Singapore. Few

0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:31.560
<v Speaker 1>our lines are flying from anywhere right now. But because

0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:36.440
<v Speaker 1>of lockdown or circuit breaker conditions in the host country,

0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:41.160
<v Speaker 1>you're not on the job either. You're you're stuck. Sand

0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:46.199
<v Speaker 1>is in the gearbox of this critical component of the

0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.720
<v Speaker 1>global labor market. When you talk about countries like the

0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:53.080
<v Speaker 1>Philippines where ten percent of the population any given time

0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:58.359
<v Speaker 1>might be working abroad, do you think that's fundamentally distorted

0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:02.440
<v Speaker 1>the economy or started the way even the families work

0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:05.959
<v Speaker 1>in that country, having I know you've spent time there, Uh,

0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:12.600
<v Speaker 1>no question. In January, I went down to a community

0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.600
<v Speaker 1>in an area called lagoon Er. It's about two hours

0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:23.360
<v Speaker 1>drive south of Manila. One municipality had the nickname Little Italy.

0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:27.320
<v Speaker 1>Why because so many people had gone to Italy there

0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:31.479
<v Speaker 1>to find jobs. So, you know, I visited with an

0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:35.520
<v Speaker 1>NGO worker. You know a number of families and these

0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:40.600
<v Speaker 1>houses were quite nice. There were multiple generations living there

0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:45.040
<v Speaker 1>under the one roof people were quite candid this standard

0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:49.679
<v Speaker 1>of living would be inconceivable without the remittances coming in.

0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:53.199
<v Speaker 1>I spent some time with one person who was the

0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:58.240
<v Speaker 1>child of what the Filipinos called o FW's overseas Filipino workers,

0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:02.920
<v Speaker 1>absolutely ement that she and her husband, come hell or

0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:07.360
<v Speaker 1>high water, would not work in separate countries from each other.

0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:11.720
<v Speaker 1>Too much of the social fabric just gets afraid. And

0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.600
<v Speaker 1>you know, in times of downturn, someone who's working as

0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:20.440
<v Speaker 1>a made in Dubai or Hong Kong or Singapore might

0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:24.520
<v Speaker 1>be supporting an entire village, not just an extended family.

0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:30.800
<v Speaker 1>You know the problems which be set domestic arrangements in

0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:36.480
<v Speaker 1>the West. Families divorce, people become estranged from each other.

0:21:36.920 --> 0:21:42.560
<v Speaker 1>I mean, this is rife in the overseas worker community. Ironically,

0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:45.240
<v Speaker 1>an NGO who took me to some of these families,

0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:50.119
<v Speaker 1>her husband spent eighteen years doing construction in Saudi Arabia,

0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:55.280
<v Speaker 1>quite lucrative, supported the family. Just one problem, she found

0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:57.280
<v Speaker 1>out he had been unfaithful and that was the end

0:21:57.280 --> 0:22:02.240
<v Speaker 1>of that. Now, can all these things happen anywhere, any place,

0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:09.680
<v Speaker 1>any time? Sure? What's not true is that any place, anywhere,

0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:14.120
<v Speaker 1>any time an entire social fabric depends upon That's what's

0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:20.080
<v Speaker 1>at stake in domestic social and economic relationships in the

0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.520
<v Speaker 1>labor vend or country. Dan Bos, thank you very much.

0:22:24.040 --> 0:22:30.760
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, Steve, good to be here, Thanks for listening

0:22:30.800 --> 0:22:33.520
<v Speaker 1>to Stephanomics. We'll be back next week with more on

0:22:33.640 --> 0:22:37.120
<v Speaker 1>how COVID nineteen is turning the global economy upside down.

0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:41.879
<v Speaker 1>Remember you could always find us on the Bloomberg terminal, website, app,

0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:44.679
<v Speaker 1>or wherever you get your podcasts. For more news and

0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:49.479
<v Speaker 1>analysis from Bloomberg Economics, follow as Economics on Twitter. This

0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:53.280
<v Speaker 1>episode was produced by Magnus Hendrickson, with special thanks to

0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:59.760
<v Speaker 1>Mihaela Danela, Andrew Timu, Andrea Dodik, Andrew Langley, Abir Abu Omar,

0:23:00.280 --> 0:23:03.800
<v Speaker 1>and Dan Moss. Scott Lamm is the executive producer of

0:23:03.840 --> 0:23:07.879
<v Speaker 1>Stephanomics and the head of Bloomberg podcast is Francesco Levy

0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:10.440
<v Speaker 1>m H