New research on the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme has found it benefits not only the host country, but also the sending country.
The New Zealand scheme, which began in 2007, draws up to 8,000 workers a year, mostly from Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Solomon Islands.
The study, which looked at Vanuatu and Tonga, was carried out by the World Bank and the University of Waikato.
The World Bank's, Dr David McKenzie, says the study found per capita incomes of households sending workers were approximately 40 percent higher than households who did not have workers recruited.
He also says another benefit was also discovered.
"One thing which is a really surprising and stunning finding, is how big the impact is on education in Tonga. So we found that secondary students are 20 percentage points more like to be attending school if they are in households which join the seasonal worker programmes than similar households which didn't."
Dr David McKenzie says the gains in household made from the scheme greatly exceed those of other popular development interventions.
