E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
Migrants, Migration, and Development

Migrants, Migration, and Development

Migration & Development
Refugee & Asylum Policy
Refugees & Resettlement
Asylum Seekers
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Reports
February 2024

Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances

A woman in Nigeria smiles while using her mobile phone
iStock.com/Wirestock

Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.

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Policy Briefs
December 2023

Consolidating Gains: Lessons and Priorities for Promoting Fair and Ethical Recruitment

A migrant worker cuts through a metal rod at a construction site in Qatar
Apex Image/ILO

With more people moving abroad for work and events such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar highlighting the risks migrant workers can face, questions about how international recruitment occurs have received increased scrutiny. This policy brief explores the notable progress that has been made in establishing fair and ethical recruitment standards, and identifies key areas for future attention by governments, employers, and recruiters.

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Reports
June 2023

Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

Colorful speech bubbles
iStock.com/incomible

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have long histories of emigration, but are seeing increasing transit and return migration as well. This report explores the stories told within these three countries about migration in all its forms, how these narratives intersect with (and at times, contradict) each other, and how they influence policy decisions and public opinion.

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Policy Briefs
November 2022

Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration

Migrant workers at a textile factory in Jordan
© ILO/Jared J. Kohler

Migrant workers can pay a range of costs when they are recruited and relocate for jobs abroad, accruing significant debt. While many countries, international organizations, and other stakeholders have sought to reduce or eliminate recruitment costs, the pandemic has exacerbated and added to these expenses. This policy brief explores how the costs migrant workers face have changed, and what these developments mean for efforts to promote fair and ethical recruitment.

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Reports
November 2022

Financing Responses to Climate Migration: The Unique Role of Multilateral Development Banks

Aerial view of a flooded residential area in Pakistan
© UNICEF/Asad Zaidi

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have emerged as major players in responding to climate change, investing in sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience. But while many MDBs have shown interest in projects with positive impacts for climate migrants and host communities, they sometimes struggle to maximize these effects. This report examines MDBs’ role in responding to climate-related migration and displacement to date and opportunities to scale up their work.

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Commentaries
June 2022

The Los Angeles Declaration Could Represent a Big Step for Real Migration Cooperation across the Americas

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders at the 2022 Summit of the Americas
Freddie Everett/State Department

The Los Angeles Agreement on Migration and Protection signed by leaders from 20 countries across the Western Hemisphere at the 2022 Summit of the Americas marks a significant step forward in creating a common language and a coherent set of ideas for more cooperatively managing migration movements across a region that has seen very significant mobility in recent years, as this commentary explains.

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Image of passport page with variety of stamps
Articles

Top Statistics on Global Migration and Migrants

Looking for some of the most often-sought information on global migration? This statistics-rich article draws on the most current data sources to offer a primer on international migration, highlighting its types, the size of the migrant population and growth over time, and major sending and receiving countries and regions. Beyond looking at labor and humanitarian migrants and international students, the article examines remittances and more.

Recent Activity

Tall UN building against blue sky
Multimedia
September 18, 2013
Preparing for the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development
MPI event two panelists speaking
Multimedia
September 17, 2013
Engaging Diaspora Talent: How Countries Can Integrate their Diaspora and Development Agendas
Cover HLD Ratha
Policy Briefs
September 2013
The Impact of Remittances on Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction
By  Dilip Ratha
Cover HLD Hugo
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility
By  Graeme Hugo
cover KerwinRights
Policy Briefs
September 2013
Does Respect for Migrant Rights Contribute to Economic Development?
By  Donald M. Kerwin
Download Policy Brief
Policy Briefs
September 2013
Environmental Change and Migration: What We Know
By  Susan Martin
Cover ClemensSkilled
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What Do We Know About Skilled Migration and Development?
By  Michael Clemens
cover HLD Munz
Policy Briefs
September 2013
Demography and Migration: An Outlook for the 21st Century
By  Rainer Münz

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Recent Activity

Audio
September 18, 2013

Preparing for the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development

The Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, along with the Special Advisor to the UN Special Representative for International Migration discuss what is expected from The UN High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in October 2013 and what impact it may have on the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Audio
September 17, 2013

Engaging Diaspora Talent: How Countries Can Integrate their Diaspora and Development Agendas

Diaspora engagement has become a key and accepted component in the arsenal of development strategies. The question of how to effectively and efficiently harness the force of a country’s diaspora through government intervention and policy remains one that many governments and international organizations must grapple with. Diaspora interventions tend to be organic and outside the confines of government and institutional structures.

Policy Briefs
September 2013

What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility

Circular migration has typically been viewed with skepticism by migrant-rights advocates and wary publics alike. But many experts and policymakers in the migration field — and some in development — have come to recognize that well-managed circulation that is respectful of migrants' human and labor rights can bring benefits to countries of origin and destination, as well as to migrants themselves. For countries of origin, circular migration can relieve labor surpluses; for destination countries, it can provide the flexibility to quickly overcome skills shortages while adapting to long-term labor market shifts. For migrants, circular migration offers the opportunity to earn higher wages and gain international experience.
Policy Briefs
September 2013

The Impact of Remittances on Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction

Remittances represent a major vehicle for reducing the scale and severity of poverty in the developing world. Besides pure monetary gains, remittances are associated with greater human development outcomes across a number of areas, including health, education, and gender equality. The author argues that policymakers can maximize the positive impact of remittances by making them less costly and more productive for both the individual and the country of origin.
Policy Briefs
September 2013

What We Know: Regulating the Recruitment of Migrant Workers

Private recruitment agencies orchestrate much of the migration process, from predeparture to return. They provide information, assistance, and even financial support to migrants; facilitate transit to and from the destination; and in some cases employ migrants directly. While recruitment agencies protect migrants, sometimes removing them from abusive workplaces or even organizing repatriation, migrants’ dependence on them for so many services also creates many opportunities for exploitation and abuse. This brief assesses the forms of regulation that are being proposed and enacted to oversee recruitment agencies and identifies several areas for further improvement.
Policy Briefs
September 2013

What We Know About Diasporas and Economic Development

Diasporas can play an important role in the economic development of their countries of origin or ancestry. Beyond their well-known role as senders of remittances, diasporas also can promote trade and foreign direct investment, create businesses, spur entrepreneurship, and transfer new knowledge and skills. Policymakers increasingly recognize that an engaged diaspora can be an asset — or even a counterweight to the emigration of skilled and talented migrants.

Policy Briefs
September 2013

Demography and Migration: An Outlook for the 21st Century

Economic and demographic disparities will shape the mobility of labor and skills during the 21st century. The populations of richer societies are aging rapidly, while working-age populations continue to grow in some emerging economies and most low-income countries. Despite these trends, many countries continue to assume that today’s demographic realities will persist. This policy brief describes how the current geography of migration is changing, and offers recommendations for policymakers.

Policy Briefs
September 2013

What Do We Know About Skilled Migration and Development?

Skilled migration is often thought to have overwhelmingly negative effects on countries of migrant origin. Yet recent research and policy experience challenge this assumption and offer a more nuanced picture, as this brief explains. Countries of origin and destination can in fact benefit from skilled migration when it is correctly structured, and efforts to restrict skilled nationals’ ability to leave their countries of origin may have unintended costs, in addition to being ethically problematic.

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