Maria Reinaruth D. CARLOS is a professor specializing in the economics of international labor migration, particularly on the topics of skilled migrant workers, international migration in the economic development of the sending country, and the integration of Filipino residents in Japan. A native of the Philippines, she first arrived in Japan as a recipient of a MEXT (Monbusho) scholarship grant and gained her undergraduate, masteral and doctoral degrees in Kobe University in Central Japan.
As a scholar, she has written extensively on the topic of the international migration of health care workers and its impacts on the Philippine economy and society. One of her notable works is on the theoretical underpinnings of stepwise migration of skilled workers (nurses). She was conferred the 6th Yasuhiro Nakasone Incentive Award in 2010 in recognition of her works on the international migration of nurses and care workers particularly from the Philippines to Japan.