Development Impacts

Migration is recognized as an important vehicle for boosting development in both countries of immigrant origin and destination, and policymakers increasingly are seeking to use immigration policy to foster economic and social development at national levels and on the global stage, for example through the United Nations' 2013 High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development and the European Union's Global Approach to Migration and Mobility. The research here examines migration's varied development impacts and role of migrants as agents of innovation.

Recent Activity

Multimedia July 10, 2020 Enhancing the Social and Economic Inclusion of Refugees through Local Development Strategies	Multimedia June 15, 2020 Migrants in Africa & COVID-19: From Emergency Measures to Inclusive Social Protection Systems
Articles April 2, 2020 Africa Deepens its Approach to Migration Governance, But Are Policies Translating to Action? By Camille Le Coz and Antonio Pietropolli	Articles August 22, 2019 A Tightening Grip Abroad: Authoritarian Regimes Target Their Emigrant and Diaspora Communities By Gerasimos Tsourapas
Policy Briefs June 2019 Migration, Development, and Global Governance: From Crisis toward Consolidation By Kathleen Newland	Multimedia March 6, 2019 A Conversation with António Vitorino, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration
Articles December 12, 2018 A Once-Smooth Path for the Global Compact on Migration Becomes Rocky By Alessandro Regio and Michelle Mittelstadt	Policy Briefs October 2018 Balancing Acts: Policy Frameworks for Migrant Return and Reintegration By Kathleen Newland and Brian Salant

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Reports August 2010 Diaspora Investment in Developing and Emerging Country Capital Markets: Patterns and Prospects By Aaron Terrazas	Policy Briefs June 2007 Leveraging Remittances for Development By Dilip Ratha
Reports September 2006 Remittances and Development: Trends, Impacts, and Policy Options, A Review of the Literature By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza	Reports September 2006 From A Zero-Sum to a Win-Win Scenario? Literature Review on Circular Migration By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Books October 2005 Emigration, Brain Drain and Development: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa By Arno Tanner

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Feature

October 9, 2013

The High-Level Dialogue: Sizing up Outcomes, Implications, and Future Forms of Engagement on Migration and Development

The recent special session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, labeled the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD), was the UN's second-ever discussion devoted solely to international migration. This article examines the implications and outcomes of the HLD, identifies some of the issues that garnered widespread support, and assesses whether the international community is inching toward greater multilateral engagement on migration.

Feature

June 28, 2013

Diasporas and Development in Post-Communist Eurasia

The region encompassing Central and Eastern Europe as well as the former Soviet Union is the source of a sizeable share of international migrants today, yet many of these countries' development efforts do not benefit from strong diaspora ties.

Feature

June 13, 2013

The Growing Linkages Between Migration and Microfinance

The expansion of access to credit through microfinance—now a multibillion-dollar sector—has resulted in profound shifts across the developing world. This article, using Cambodia as its example, discusses the ways in which households are using microcredit in coordination with migration, and addresses critical questions about who benefits from these linkages—and what vulnerabilities they might create for migrants.

Feature

March 5, 2013

Beyond Remittances: Reframing Diaspora-Driven Development in El Salvador

El Salvador's lengthy civil war crushed diasporas' opportunities for political or civic engagement in this small, densely-populated Central American nation. However, hometown associations—diaspora organizations that contribute to the development needs of their members' hometowns—represent a modern-day venue for civil society participation. This article explores how diasporas are contributing to development in more ways than just cash flows and projects by transforming the governance landscape.

Feature

October 2, 2012

Disentangling Immigration and International Development in the United States

Immigration and international development policy conversations have become entangled in the U.S. context, not necessarily to the benefit of either debate. This article explores how a contemporary understanding and decoupling of the issues can contribute to more effective policymaking.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

September 12, 2018

Making the Global Compact on Migration a Reality: Ideas for Enhancing Regular Migration Pathways at All Skill Levels

As the final phase of preparations for the historic adoption of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration approaches, this webinar explores two central objectives of the compact: enhancing the availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration, and investing in skills development.

Policy Briefs

September 2018

Reimagining Skilled Migration Partnerships to Support Development

While partnerships to facilitate skilled migration have had mixed success in the past, the Global Compact for Migration is advancing a new approach that may change this. This policy brief compares this new partnership model with the traditional one, highlighting the questions policymakers will need to answer if they are to encourage mobility, sustain employer engagement, and see development benefits in countries of origin.

Policy Briefs

July 2018

Mind the Gap: Bringing Migration into Development Partnerships and Vice Versa

As policymakers look for ways to address the drivers of illegal immigration, many have called for migration aims to be incorporated into development work and development tools into migration partnerships. This policy brief analyzes the benefits and risks of heightened cooperation between actors in these fields, and identifies areas where joint initiatives may prove fruitful.

Reports

November 2020

Immigration Data Matters

This useful online guide links users directly to the most credible, high-quality data on immigrants and immigration in the United States and internationally. The easy-to-use guide includes more than 250 data resources compiled by governmental and nongovernmental sources, covering topics ranging from population stock and flow numbers to statistics on enforcement, public opinion, religious affiliation, and much more.

Policy Briefs

January 2018

Welcome to Work? Legal Migration Pathways for Low-Skilled Workers

Although in many countries immigrants fill labor gaps in fields such as agriculture and construction, few legal migration pathways exist for low-skilled workers. As states meet to negotiate a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, this policy brief takes stock of the channels available for such workers to move legally and take up work abroad, highlighting promising practices and policy gaps.

Policy Briefs

January 2018

Moving Beyond “Root Causes”: The Complicated Relationship between Development and Migration

Development assistance may be a blunt tool for reshaping migration patterns—and indeed one that could increase flows over the short term. Shifting the focus away from increasing individuals’ skills and assets toward investments in the broader economic or governance structures that are a prerequisite for growth and stability may offer more alternatives to emigration in the long run.

Articles

December 12, 2017

Increased Focus on Forced Return of Migrants and Asylum Seekers Puts Many in Peril

Governments on the receiving end of migrants and refugees reinforced their commitment to returns in 2017, sending or coercing migrants to move back to impoverished or violent homelands. The Dominican Republic pushed out some 70,000 Haitians and native born of Haitian descent, while more than 500,000 Afghans left Iran and Pakistan. Though many of these migrants chose to return, in practice the line between forced and voluntary returns is blurry.

Policy Briefs

November 2017

The Global Compact for Migration: How Does Development Fit In?

Migration and development are intimately linked, but they have not always shared the international policy stage. As UN Member States kick off negotiations for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration—and with adoption planned for 2018—this brief examines the evolving relationship between these policy areas and considers what a global compact has to offer, if well designed.

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