Based on the legacy of the book Legal Transplants in East Asia and Oceania, the Global Citizenship: Free Trade and Free Movement of Human Capital in South East Asia and Oceania 2019 workshop intends to discuss the implications, in theory and in practice, of having common immigration policies (à la EU, if you wish) in the East Asia and Oceania regions. This might appear to be a bold initiative for many reasons (e.g. immigration appears to attract the interest of unsavoury political groups; there is a perception that human capital and financial capital are unrelated; etc.), but there are strong indications, based on the European experiment, that a free flow of capital and the ability to share scientific and technical knowledge are closely related to the management of the international transfer of highly skilled individuals. The correlation between the three is relatively obvious in Europe, but there is little research on this aspect in East Asia and Oceania.

However, Free Trade Agreements (e.g. Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) are perceived essential for the economic development of the region, yet there is little awareness of the role of  human capital in economic development. The current arrangements between New Zealand and Australia are, perhaps due to historical reasons, an example of the benefits of having coordinated immigration–emigration policies.

Participants include: Jaako Husa (University of Helsinki); Jo Shaw (University of Edinburgh); Anthony Gray (University of Southern Queensland); Tiziana Torresi (University of Adelaide); Elena Prat (University of Uppsala); and Yiannos Tolias (New York University and the European Commission).

For more information and to submit your paper, contact Ben Gussen: bgussen@swin.edu.au or Vito Breda: vito.breda@usq.edu.au