Migration and Development: Toward Sustainable Solutions

This paper reviews the two-way relationship between migration and development. The author emphasizes that migration can be a tool for development and that development can affect migration patterns. He stresses that, when a country takes off economically, migration is likely to first increase before it declines. The author also notes the key difference between trade and migration theory and its implication for the formation of a migration regime. Comparative advantage theory justifies free trade. However, there is no conceptual basis for open migration systems, and there are no unambiguous prescriptions for the optimal level of migration. In working towards migration management systems, bottom-up approaches therefore hold more promise for success than top-down ones and dialogue that honestly evaluates the trade offs inherent in migration while ensuring the migrants’ protection will be crucial.