E.g., 06/10/2023
E.g., 06/10/2023
Migration & Development

Migration & Development

Brain Drain & Brain Gain
Circular Migration
Climate Change
Development Impacts
Diaspora Engagement
Remittances
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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

thailand flooding climate migration
Articles
December 3, 2020
Building Climate Resilience through Migration in Thailand
By Patrick Sakdapolrak and Harald Sterly
CCCM EpisodeTile 2v2
Multimedia
November 25, 2020
One Billion Climate Migrants? Not So Fast
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Reports
November 2020
Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America
By  Andrew Selee and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Desherbinin Speaker CHANGINGCLIMATE3
Multimedia
November 17, 2020
Does Climate Change Cause Migration? It’s Complicated
A farmer in Tanzania tends to crops.
Articles
November 13, 2020
In Relatively Peaceful Tanzania, Climate Change and Migration Can Spur Conflict
By Julia M. Blocher and Emmanuel O. Kileli
mexican american world cup
Articles
November 5, 2020
Mexican Immigrants in the United States
By Emma Israel and Jeanne Batalova
2020 IOM MuseMohammad Border area of Haquillas is home to several Venezuelans
Multimedia
October 27, 2020
Un Diálogo con Miembros de Coalición por Venezuela
climate change migration flood
Articles
October 23, 2020
Climate Impacts as Drivers of Migration
By Alex de Sherbinin

Pages

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Reports
June 2011
The Role of Civil Society in EU Migration Policy: Perspectives on the European Union's Engagement in its Neighborhood
By  Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
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Reports
April 2011
Obstacles and Opportunities for Regional Cooperation: The U.S.-Mexico Case
By  Marc R. Rosenblum
Cover_DiasporaAdvocacy
Reports
November 2010
Voice After Exit: Diaspora Advocacy
By  Kathleen Newland
MPI.USAID_DiasporasBook_frontCover_PRINT1
Books
November 2010
Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy
Cover_Entrepreneurship
Reports
October 2010
Mobilizing Diaspora Entrepreneurship for Development
By  Kathleen Newland
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Reports
September 2010
Diaspora Philanthropy: Private Giving and Public Policy
By  Kathleen Newland, Aaron Terrazas and Roberto Munster
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Reports
September 2010
Heritage Tourism and Nostalgia Trade: A Diaspora Niche in the Development Landscape
By  Kathleen Newland and Carylanna Taylor
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Reports
August 2010
Diaspora Investment in Developing and Emerging Country Capital Markets: Patterns and Prospects
By  Aaron Terrazas

Pages

AfghanRefugees ZsuzsannaGal UNHCR
Top Ten
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.

South Sudanese child
Feature
October 24, 2017
Spiraling Violence and Drought Drive Refugee Crisis in South Sudan

Nearly 4 million South Sudanese have been driven from their homes by violence or food insecurity since late 2013, roughly half seeking refuge in neighboring countries. Drought and conflict have converged in the young country to fuel one of the world's most severe humanitarian emergencies. This article examines refugee flows from South Sudan, underlying drivers, and regional and international responses to the crisis.

Cambodian worker in Thailand
Feature
October 11, 2017
Criminalizing Irregular Migrant Labor: Thailand’s Crackdown in Context

Thailand has become a key destination for migrant workers, primarily from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Many lack authorization, however, and as their numbers have grown, so has the government's intent in regulating their movement—sometimes provoking unintended results. This article explores recent patterns in labor migration to Thailand and examines the likely impacts of a 2017 decree criminalizing illegal employment.

Bangladeshi migrant workers
Feature
October 5, 2017
Chasing the Dubai Dream in Italy: Bangladeshi Migration to Europe

Bangladeshis in 2017 suddenly emerged as one of the top migrant groups entering Europe illegally. While Europe is a new destination, Bangladeshi labor migration has been an important part of the country's development since the 1970s, with growing numbers heading abroad, largely to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This article explores and contextualizes the new phenomenon of Bangladeshi migration to Europe.

Young people ride motorcycles in Batac, Philippines.
Profile
July 12, 2017
The Philippines: Beyond Labor Migration, Toward Development and (Possibly) Return

In the Philippines, a pervasive culture of migration has led millions to seek opportunities abroad, particularly since an economic downturn in the 1970s. The government has long embraced exporting labor as official economic policy, but over time, the focus has shifted: first to protecting workers overseas and much more recently to linking migration and development. This article explores the evolution of Filipino migration policy and trends.

Pages

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MPI event woman speaking
Audio
May 14, 2012

Labour Migration from Colombo Process Countries

The launch in Bangkok of an issue brief series on labor migration in Asia undertaken by MPI and IOM with speakers H.E. Phadermchai Sasomsub, H.E. Kazi Imtiaz Hossain, H.E. Linglingay Lacanlale, Andrew Bruce, and Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias.

10 year anniversary
Video, Audio
April 19, 2012

MPI's 10th Anniversary Celebration

The Migration Policy Institute celebrated its first decade as the authoritative, unimpeachable resource on immigration and immigrant integration analysis and policy design in the United States and internationally.

MI_Diasporas_NewPartners
Video
November 30, 2010

Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy

Over the past year, MPI has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to examine how diasporas contribute to – or detract from - development efforts in their countries of origin. MPI and USAID have published an edited volume of the research. Please join us for the release of the book where speakers will discuss new thinking on the role of diaspora engagement in U.S. foreign and development policy.
MI_Middelman
Video, Audio
June 3, 2010

Migration's Middlemen: Regulating Recruitment Agencies in the Philippines-UAE Corridor

This discussion examines the overseas labor deployment system created by the Philippines, one of the largest and most sophisticated of its type, providing a framework for regulating recruitment.

Pages

Recent Activity

Articles
December 3, 2020

Building Climate Resilience through Migration in Thailand

Migration can help build resilience against the encroaching effects of climate change. Instead of being passive victims of environmental degradation, individuals sometimes move to gain money, knowledge, and skills that can fortify their household of origin. Migrant workers from Thailand demonstrate how and under what conditions this process works.

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 25, 2020

One Billion Climate Migrants? Not So Fast

There are a lot of predictions about how many people will migrate in response to climate change. Depending on where you look, the next few decades could see hundreds of millions—or even more than 1 billion—people pick up and move. On this episode of our Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast, we asked Julia Blocher, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, to explain why the predictions vary so much. We also discussed how this movement can lead to conflict.

Reports
November 2020

Building a New Regional Migration System: Redefining U.S. Cooperation with Mexico and Central America

Addressing regional cooperation around migration will be among the immigration challenges and opportunities facing the incoming Biden administration. This report examines how movement between the United States, Mexico, and Central America has evolved in recent decades, and lays out a four-part strategy to expand opportunities for legal migration, address humanitarian protection needs, improve enforcement, and mitigate some of the forces driving people to emigrate.

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 17, 2020

Does Climate Change Cause Migration? It’s Complicated

The relationship between climate change and migration is long and complex. Human civilizations have been affected by environmental conditions for centuries, but we should be wary of arguments that huge numbers of people are inevitably destined to migrate in response to specific climate threats. In this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration, we chat with Alex de Sherbinin of Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network about what the research shows—and does not show.

Articles
November 13, 2020

In Relatively Peaceful Tanzania, Climate Change and Migration Can Spur Conflict

Climate-induced migration can lead to tensions and violence between host communities and new arrivals. This conflict can flare up at various levels, including among rural farmers and herders in relatively peaceful countries such as Tanzania.

Articles
November 5, 2020

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

The nearly 11 million Mexican immigrants in the United States represent almost one-quarter of the country’s entire immigrant population, and as such are the largest foreign-born group. But their numbers have been declining, shrinking by 7 percent between 2010 and 2019. Among recently arrived immigrants, those from China and India now outpace Mexicans for the first time.

Audio, Webinars
October 27, 2020

Un Diálogo con Miembros de Coalición por Venezuela

En dicho diálogo, algunos de los representantes de las organizaciones que conforman la red en Norteamérica, Centroamérica, Sudamérica y el Caribe, comparten la manera como se coordinan, las acciones que se llevan a cabo y las dificultades, retos y desafíos que atraviesan.

Articles
October 23, 2020

Climate Impacts as Drivers of Migration

Climate change is affecting human movement now, causing internal displacement and international migration, and will do so in the future. But the impact is often indirect, and rarely is the process as straightforward as one might think. This article provides an overview of research on how climatic hazards drive and affect migration, reviewing which types of people might migrate and under what conditions.

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