Helen Dempster

The Next Generation of Global Skill Partnerships: How the Model’s Evolved to Meet Current Challenges Building on previous pilots—including the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC), Youth, Employment, and Skills in Kosovo(YES), and Pilot Project Addressing Labour Shortages Through Innovative La...

Excited to announce that we have now updated our @cgdev.org Global Skill Partnership website (cgdev.org/bettermigrat...) and summarised the changes in a new blog w/ Ahmed Iqbal.

www.cgdev.org/blog/next-ge...

Donors Must Shift How They Fund the UN UN80 has three workstreams: internal efficiency and effectiveness; mandate implementation; and structural changes. All have reform proposals which were discussed during UNGA; Member States will be fur...

The #UN80 reform process is taking a hard look at the mandates of different UN agencies. But the way donors fund them, reinforces those mandates. This has to change.

New @cgdev.org blog w/ Shona Warren & Rose Worden.

www.cgdev.org/blog/donors-...

Who Bears the Burden? Tracking the Global Impact of Recent US Foreign Policy Shifts Since January, the United States has adopted a range of foreign economic policies with negative impacts on the rest of the world, including higher tariffs on exports, taxes on remittances, and reducti...

The US has adopted a range of foreign economic policies with negative impacts on the rest of the world.

CGD experts assess the combined impact of these changes, disproportionately hurting poorer nations, straining US alliances, and more:
https://bit.ly/3IOT5sU

This is a great little blog. The third point, on 'Immigration as an Industrial Strategy' ('not just using immigration to fill labor gaps, but using it strategically to catalyze new industries') is very relevant to current discussions around workforce for the green transition.

Labour Migration and the UK’s Industrial Strategy: The Need for Coherence If the UK is to meet its green transition goals, it will need to use immigration policy.

🚨New policy note! 🚨- by myself and @helen-dempster.bsky.social.

In short: The UK's (green) industrial policy needs migration for it to succeed. The UK government's recent migration policy flip-flopping harms investment certainty, and is the result of incoherency between policy areas.

We @cgdev.org are excited to be part of the #GreenHorizons platform, connecting 10k refugees & host community members with jobs critical to the green transition. Read more in my new blog w/ Johann Harnoss & David Manicom.

www.cgdev.org/blog/green-h...

Remittances and the Climate Finance Crisis A conversation about remittances and where they fit in the climate finance crisis.

Tomorrow! Join CGD's @samhuckstep.bsky.social for a @carnegieendowment.org event on the increasing importance of remittances to global climate resilience.

Register:
carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...

The remittance tax in the "Big, Beautiful Bill" is down to 1%, but countries of origin still stand to lose billions of dollars every year, especially because the tax now also applies to US citizens.

New @cgdev.org blog w/ @samhuckstep.bsky.social & Charley Ward 👇

www.cgdev.org/blog/even-1-...

Glad to see that the remittance tax included in Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" has been reduced to 1%. Kudos to everyone working on this issue! 👏

Read @CGDev's analysis of the impact of the tax: www.cgdev.org/blog/which-c...

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ind...

« La taxe de Trump sur les transferts de fonds des migrants est encore pire que l’arrêt de l’aide américaine » Le 16 juin dernier, le Sénat américain a dévoilé sa version de la « belle et grande loi » budgétaire voulue par Donald Trump. Celle-ci inclut une taxe sur les transferts de fonds des migrants qui pour...

For many countries, the impact of Trump's 3.5% remittance tax will be even worse than US aid cuts. Really glad to have the opportunity to highlight this fact in a tribune for @la-croix.com, based on our @cgdev.org analysis (www.cgdev.org/blog/which-c...).

www.la-croix.com/a-vif/la-tax...

Accelerating Refugee Inclusion Amidst Devastating Aid Cuts The Trump Administration’s elimination of USAID, combined with announcements of further cuts, will have “immediate and devastating” impacts on refugees and the countries that host them. We need to fin...

Refugee funding is being slashed - how do we meet as much need as possible with less money?

New @cgdev.org blog by myself, @thomasginn.bsky.social & Cindy Huang proposes: (1) expand labor market access; (2) use aid to offset costs; and (3) avoid blocking progress.

www.cgdev.org/blog/acceler...

The UK, Germany and Canada have slashed foreign aid this year, deepening damage done by US cuts, analysis shows | CNN Western countries have slashed foreign aid budgets this year and reductions will steepen in 2026, with the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada cutting the most, according to a new analy...

And @cnn.com coverage by Lauren Kent.

edition.cnn.com/2025/06/12/e...

Using Labour Migration to Support Europe’s Green Transition During this event, experts from Fragomen, the Center for Global Development, government, and industry will address key questions aimed at resolving the constraints on Europe’s Green Transition and ide...

We've added some exciting speakers to the line-up for our @cgdev.org + Fragomen event on "Using Labour Migration to Support Europe's Green Transition". Come hear from RWE, @ec.europa.eu (DG EMPL) + @giz.de!

June 23 | 8.00-9.00am ET | 1.00-2.00pm BST

www.cgdev.org/event/using-...

Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics 2025: Development in the Age of Populism Bringing together some of the world’s leading economic thinkers, the conference will help identify the best way forward—with deep dives on key topics such as artificial intelligence, migration, nutrit...

The World Bank, @cgdev.org, and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy #ABCDE Conference is coming up!

The migration panel (feat. Dany Bahar, Çağlar Özden, Wendy Cunningham, and Caroline Theoharides) is on July 15 from 11.15-12.45 ET — mark your diaries...

www.cgdev.org/event/annual...

👏 @catiabatista.bsky.social; @danielhan.bsky.social; @dmckenzie.bsky.social; @johanneshaushofer.com; @econgaurav.bsky.social; @mushfiq-econ.bsky.social; @deanyang.bsky.social; & Caroline Theoharides for injecting some positivity & nuance into this debate.

Brain drain or brain gain? Effects of high-skilled international emigration on origin countries How does emigration of highly educated citizens of low-income countries to high-income countries affect the economies of the origin countries? The direct effect is “brain drain”—a decrease in the coun...

Great new @science.org article by the rockstars of development economics looks at the evidence on the impact of skilled emigration on origin countries. TL;DR, it can be positive, but we need a *lot* more work in this area!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

How does high-skilled emigration affect countries of origin? A new review highlights what we’ve learned and what we still don’t know

How does high-skilled emigration affect countries of origin? I summarize our recent Science paper, &draw out lessons from where we need nuance (not all high-skilled is the same, & most studies lump together), what we don't know (especially how to do better policy) blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

Trump Targets Key Lifeline for Africa: Money Sent Home by Immigrants

Excited to see our @cgdev.org research featured in this excellent @nytimes.com article about the devastating effect of the US' remittance tax on Africa, especially coming after extensive aid cuts.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/w...

Using Labour Migration to Support Europe’s Green Transition During this event, experts from Fragomen, the Center for Global Development, government, and industry will address key questions, including: Where is the greatest demand for workers and what types of ...

Without an increase in skilled workers, the green transition in Europe won't happen. Can a creative combination of training & migration help plug the gap? Join experts from @cgdev.org, Fragomen, & RWE for this exciting webinar: 23 June, 2.00-3.00pm CET.

www.cgdev.org/event/using-...

The Window for Host Communities and Refugees Survives, but What Does the Future Hold Under GROW? Recently, the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) released their plans for IDA21, including for the Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR), now placed under a new umbrella...

The World Bank has released their IDA21 plans, with the $2.4bn Window for Host Communities and Refugees now part of a broader regional window. In this new @cgdev.org blog, @thomasginn.bsky.social and I spell out the good, the bad, and where to go from here.

www.cgdev.org/blog/window-...

I know you're not saying this, but I've always been frustrated by the "won't they all want to move?" sentiment. Many people want skills and a good job close to home, and we often see a rough 50/50 split on the "home" and "away" tracks.

Yep, they can choose. Apparently more pursued the "home" track as burgeoning healthcare and medical transcription businesses in the Philippines can pay more than what a foreign nurse would earn in Saudi.

Naw ☺️ But it's all your vision! Policymakers respond to the model because it is tangible and speaks to the desire for control over migration (from both sides); that's all you.

Hundreds of Nurses Trained Through Philippines-Germany Global Skill Partnership In 2019, Germany and the Philippines established the world’s first nursing Global Skill Partnership (GSP). In a GSP, the destination country pays for the training of much-needed workers within the cou...

In 2019, Germany and the Philippines established the world’s first nursing Global Skill Partnership. This blog, with colleagues The World Bank and @giz.de, explores the implementation of this partnership, lessons learned, and next steps.

www.cgdev.org/blog/hundred...

After Aid Cuts, Here’s How to Make the Most Out of Remittances Explore how remittances could help reduce the impacts of aid cuts and support broader economic development goals.

Remittances have long been a lifeline to low-income countries, often exceeding aid and foreign direct investment combined.

After aid cuts, their importance has increased- sometimes markedly.

In a new @cgdev.org blog, @helen-dempster.bsky.social and I explore how their benefits can be maximised.

Summer Internship 2025 - CGD Europe - Center for Global Development - Career Page Apply to Summer Internship 2025 - CGD Europe at Center for Global Development in London, London, United Kingdom.

@cgdev.org's Migration & Displacement Team are hiring a summer intern this year, to focus on legal labour migration. 8 weeks, paid, London based. Please apply!

(Plus there are other cool internships in global health & climate finance!)

centerforglobaldevelopment.applytojob.com/apply/Obth6A...

After Aid Cuts, Here’s How to Make the Most Out of Remittances Explore how remittances could help reduce the impacts of aid cuts and support broader economic development goals.

For decades, remittances have outstripped aid. Amidst aid cuts, we need to maximize their impact on development by reducing sending costs; leveraging the diaspora; and channelling migration opportunities.

New @cgdev.org blog by myself & @samhuckstep.bsky.social.

www.cgdev.org/blog/after-a...

Woohoo! 🙌 So glad to have you back Dave, at such an important time.

New report from the World Bank explores how Global Skill Partnerships could be used to meet workforce needs in countries of origin & destination. Gratifying to see this agenda take off, and the role of MDBs highlighted!

openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/pub...

On Apr. 24, join @cgdev.org & Mikaela Gavas for a #SpringMeetings conversation w/ European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, to discuss his vision for EU’s international presence & the need for partnerships at this critical time.

RSVP! ⬇️
bit.ly/42kKgg3