The diverging paths of skilled immigration in Singapore, Japan and Korea: policy priorities and external labor market for skilled foreign workers

Abstract

This article compares the nature of skilled immigration in Singapore, Japan and Korea. Facing skill‐shortage problems due to economic and demographic transitions, these countries responded to the challenges by adopting different modes of skilled immigration. A comparison of the three countries reveals that they displayed substantial variation in the liberalization of skilled immigration and the incorporation of skilled foreign workers into local labor market. Singapore developed formal and qualification‐centered schemes for employing skilled immigrants with active government involvement. Japan maintained temporary and separate employment tracks for foreign skilled workers under strict national guidance. Korea extended the use of foreign skills as substituting labor to meet immediate labor demands in niche labor markets with less systematic government supervision. This study argues that within largely weak interest politics, the distinctive roles of governments and the varying degrees of formalization of foreign labor market led to the different modes of skilled immigration across the three countries. The comparison in this study implies that compared to the state‐led programs, systematic and formalized schemes in the foreign labor market may lessen the informal penalties imposed for foreignness and thus lead to better economic incorporation.