Introduction to the migration and development nexus (M&D)

Today’s migration is closely linked to the evolution of globalisation. Beyond market liberalization and political interconnection, revolutions in transport and communication have brought societies and economies closer to each other. In parallel, during the last decade, there has been rising awareness that more migration will occur- and be needed- in the future; and the international community has shown increasing interest in this issue, departing from strict unilateral or bilateral approaches and from exclusively security-based responses. Also, the need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals has shed a new light on migration as a tool for development.
In this context, the purpose of this note is to familiarize future development practionners with this timely issue and introduce some basic concepts and options to handle the migration and development nexus (M&D) with regard to labour migration, remittances and diasporas. To that end, it will mostly resort to examples drawn from Belgian, EU and African situations.

Paper produced as teaching material for the General Information Cycle organised by the Belgian Technical Cooperation (2008).
(Photo credit: Kevin M. Gill, Flickr)