MIGRATIONWhat Headlines Don’t Tell You About Global Migration, and What Researchers Can
More people than ever live outside the country of their birth—281,000,000 migrants. To put it in perspective, if migrants formed their own country, it would be the fourth most populous country in the world, after China, India, and the United States. But why did they leave their home? Where are they going? Do they plan to return? Can they? Where would they be most likely to thrive? Researchers are filling critical migration data gaps and studying how people are on the move in new and different ways.
More people than ever live outside the country of their birth—281,000,000 migrants.1 To put it in perspective, if migrants formed their own country, it would be the fourth most populous country in the world, after China, India, and the United States. But why did they leave their home? Where are they going? Do they plan to return? Can they? Where would they be most likely to thrive?
Stanford researchers affiliated with the King Center on Global Development—who represent departments and initiatives across the university—are at the forefront of research that seeks to answer those questions and many more. As Stanford’s multidisciplinary hub on global development, the King Center supports research on nine global themes, including migration. The center’s Migration and Development Initiative (MDI)—run by the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL) and led by Stanford Professor Jeremy Weinstein—collaborates with government and NGO partners to explore policy issues around migration in the Global South, including by filling in massive data gaps, studying existing efforts to match migrants to opportunities around the world, predicting where immigrants are most likely to thrive, and documenting migrant experiences.
The aim of all these efforts is to improve existing laws and policies governing migration, and to better understand how people are on the move in new and different ways.
“Robust research on global migration is paramount in shaping the future of migration governance,” says Jessica Leino, Executive Director of the King Center. “ It not only illuminates the realities faced by migrants but also equips policymakers and NGOs with insights needed to navigate the complex challenges of migration management. Research allows us to pave the way for informed decisions in host countries and countries of origin.”
Researchers Take Stock: Why People Migrate & How Governments React
Immigrants are often painted with a broad brush, but people’s reasons for moving—and the types of people moving—are more diverse than ever. A migrant is a person who has left their home by choice in search of better opportunities, while an asylum seeker is someone who is seeking protection from dangers in his or her home country (and a refugee has been granted protection in another country). People are leaving their countries because of economic pressures, changing demographics, conflict, and environmental stressors, all of which are likely to intensify in the coming years.
