The Value of Labor Market Information Systems on International Labor Mobility

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This Policy Note analyzes the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Labor Market Portal and its role in advancing labor mobility among APEC economies through a freer exchange of information. It highlights two main labor market information issues, namely, the information asymmetry and transaction costs. In terms of information asymmetry, the study finds that workers can be misallocated to tasks and sectors in case their employers do not have access to their measures of productivity. Meanwhile, it asserts that the presence of transaction costs such as high remittance fees may negatively affect the resources of poor migrants and their families in the countries of origin. Given these problems, the study recommends the adoption of national and regional qualifications frameworks as compilations of reliable data on the stocks and flows of qualifications. It also encourages the expansion of the policy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on visa-free entries to all APEC economies as one of the ways to address transaction cost issues.