State migrant-exporting schemes and their implications for the rise of Illicit migration: A comparison of Spain and the philippines

The purpose of this article is to explore the connection between state-sponsored exporting of labour and the rise in human smuggling and trafficking. The cases of Spain and the Phillippines are analysed. We delineate how and why each state engaged in labour export and what the corresponding ramifications have been. In the case of Spain, we examine the creation and operation of the Instituto Español de Emigración (Spanish Institute of Emigration) from 1956–1973. In the Philippine case we investigate the country’s “overseas employment program” instituted in 1974 under the Labour Code. This policy later evolved into the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). In this study we use a historical comparative framework to demonstrate how state migrant exporting schemes can lead to the same outcome: illicit migration. Although we can make no definitive conclusions on the size and scope of state influence on illicit migration, we nonetheless find the conceptualization of states as possible agents for human smuggling or trafficking relevant in terms of theory generation and policy implications.