E.g., 04/17/2024
E.g., 04/17/2024
Migration & Development

Migration & Development

_DevelopmentImpacts

Governments, development specialists, and others have rediscovered the connections between migration and development. Yet while increasing volumes of research have focused on the actual and potential contributions of migrant communities to sustainable development or poverty reduction in their countries of origin, the findings have not been systematically translated into policy guidance. One result is that little coherence is to be found between the development and migration policies of governments in countries of destination and origin—a reality that the research offered here seeks to address.

Recent Activity

Pages

coverthumb_global compacts migration refugees
Policy Briefs
December 2020
By  Lena Kainz, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Kathleen Newland
Coverthumb DataMatters2018
Reports
November 2020
By  Jeanne Batalova, Andriy Shymonyak and Michelle Mittelstadt
coverthumb_global governance pandemic
Policy Briefs
October 2020
By  Kathleen Newland
coverthumb_venezuelan profile sp
Fact Sheets
August 2020
By  Diego Chaves-González and Carlos Echeverría-Estrada

Pages

A man pulls a boat on the low-lying Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea

Researchers often seek to predict how many people will move due to climate change, but beyond the inherent forecasting difficulties, their work is complicated by the fact that terms such as "climate migrant" are nebulous and migration drivers are often multifaceted. Instead, this article explains why analysts might ask how climate change will reshape existing patterns of migration and immobility.

People carry a giant Colombian flag at a parade in Washington, DC.

Colombians comprise the largest group of South American immigrants in the United States. More than half live in Florida, New York, or New Jersey. Compared to the overall immigrant population, Colombians are disproportionately likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens and to have obtained a green card through family pathways.

Varias personas portan una bandera gigante de Colombia en un desfile en Washington, DC.

Cerca de 855,000 inmigrantes colombianos residían en los Estados Unidos, lo que representa alrededor del 2 por ciento de los 45.3 millones de inmigrantes estadounidenses en general y el grupo más numeroso procedente de Sudamérica. Casi uno de cada cuatro inmigrantes de Sudamérica en los Estados Unidos procedía de Colombia.

Haitians at a medical site in Jeremie, Haiti.

The Haitian diaspora has swelled since a massive earthquake in 2010 and in the wake of violent riots that culminated in a political crisis in 2018 and the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Poverty, natural disasters, political crisis, and insecurity have historically driven Haitian migration. Destination countries have often rejected these arrivals and sought to deport Haitian migrants in large numbers.

A mobile money agent in Uganda

Digital remittances services tend to be cheaper than traditional banks or money transfer operators, and may be more convenient for many users. The COVID-19 pandemic helped speed up the digitization of remittances, but key hurdles remain. This article outlines the promise and challenges of these new platforms.

Pages

Expert Q&A, Audio
December 15, 2022

As the planet’s temperature warms, award-winning environmental journalist Gaia Vince thinks humanity is facing a chaotic century of mass migration spurred by climate change? In this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration, she contemplates a future in which hundreds of millions of people move from one part of the globe to another.

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 17, 2022

Guyana is a small country in South America that will be greatly transformed by the recent discovery of massive offshore oil reserves. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses how the world’s fastest growing economy is confronting environmental change, particularly with economic growth and proximity to troubled Venezuela likely to drive significant immigration.

Evacuees prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2021
Video, Audio
August 10, 2022

Marking the one-year withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, this webinar reflects on the humanitarian and development challenges in Afghanistan and for neighbors, the difficult choices facing aid donors, and what needs to be done to ensure at-risk Afghans can reach safety.

Farmers working in a maize field framed with avocado plants in the village of San Lorenzo
Video
June 21, 2022

On this webinar, speakers discuss the main challenges faced by countries of origin and destination in ensuring mutual benefits through labor migration and strategies moving forward related to migration and development in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. 

Image of worker in corn field, checking corn
Video, Audio
June 14, 2022

Este seminario web, que presenta el lanzamiento de un informe, examina el potencial de Canadá, México y Costa Rica para expandir los programas de trabajadores temporales para los centroamericanos, ofreciendo un medio importante para convertir algunos flujos irregulares en flujos legales.

Pages

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
September 26, 2023

During this MPI webinar, climate experts and regional authorities outline the challenges related to climate change and human mobility that local communities, national governments, and the IGAD region are confronting. The speakers discuss priorities within the region to address climate-related displacement, the engagement of various stakeholders, efforts to facilitate safe and orderly migration, and potential solutions. 

Policy Briefs
September 2023

Reintegration after return is often a challenge, and doubly so for migrants returning to communities affected by climate change and environmental degradation. This brief explores the emergence of "green" approaches to providing reintegration assistance, including project types implemented to date, common challenges, and strategies for building a stronger case for climate-responsive reintegration programming.

Expert Q&A, Audio
September 19, 2023

Why do people stay in places where their homes, livelihoods, and their very lives are threatened by the impacts of climate change? Caroline Zickgraf, deputy director of the Hugo Observatory at the University of Liège in Belgium, discusses these so-called "trapped populations" in this episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast.

Articles

For two decades, asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia by boat were diverted to Nauru, a small Pacific Island nation that made a hefty profit off the extraterritorial asylum arrangement. But attitudes among local Nauruans have been mixed, with some fearing their economy revolved around Australia and the foreign workers who shuttled in and out of the processing center. As more countries seek to strike offshore asylum deals, this article examines the effects on local communities.

Expert Q&A, Audio
August 24, 2023

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses migration dynamics in West Africa and and how African leaders are responding to these trends with Leander Kandilige, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana.

Articles

Immigrants from the Philippines make up the fourth largest foreign-born group in the United States, numbering nearly 2 million people. Compared to other U.S. immigrants, Filipinos are more likely to have strong English skills, be naturalized U.S. citizens, and hold a college degree. This article provides statistics about these and other elements of the Filipino immigrant population.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 27, 2023

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses rising displacement in the Sahel, which is experiencing multiple crises, with development economist Alexandra Tapsoba.

Video, Audio, Webinars
July 25, 2023

This webinar explores the goals and target audiences for public-facing information campaigns on voluntary return and reintegration, how to evaluate dissemination gaps, and the risks associated with inadvertently issuing messages that are not trusted or are misunderstood.

Pages