Highly skilled migrants and diversity in the workplace positively affect work productivity in recipient countries. Diversity, not only of the highly skilled, but also of the low-skilled, makes countries more productive and richer in the long run.
Gains in productivity stemming from ethnic diversity in firms are demonstrated by various studies. There is also evidence that immigration increases labour productivity in US states, through specialization and adoption of technologies for which immigrants are needed.
Furthermore, migrants enhance rather than restrict the innovation capacity of host societies. Patent applications in Europe are higher in countries with policies to attract highly skilled migrants. The presence of high-skilled migrants and foreign students in higher education contributes to the creation of knowledge as well, and evidence shows that immigrants increase patenting activity of natives too.
Networks of diaspora members contribute to the diffusion of knowledge and the presence of a more diverse workforce makes innovation more likely. Another positive and often overlooked aspect of migration is that migrants are entrepreneurs and create jobs for migrants and natives alike. In 2 out of 4 of all engineering and technology companies established in the US between and , there was at least one immigrant key founder.
Such contributions have only increased in the past decade. Immigrant firm founders tend to have advanced education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and high rates of entrepreneurship and innovation. Migrants also complement local labour force rather than competing with it by providing skills at all levels and labour force that are needed in most developed countries.
Research from the Boston Consulting Group suggests that Germany could experience a labour shortage of up to 2. But this is not only true for developed countries. A recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that by , there will be a million potential shortage of workers with higher education globally, and a 45 million shortage of workers with secondary education in developing countries.
More high-skill workers will be needed in China, and more medium-skilled workers will be in demand in developing economies of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Migrants, and especially skilled migrants contribute to increased trade and investment flows between countries of origin and destination, in a way that is beneficial to both; research finds that discrimination might be a constraint to these effects entering into full action, and the fight against discrimination starts, again, with knowledge and understanding of how migrants contribute to societies in destination countries.
A critical element: the money sent by migrants back home — billion dollars in according to latest World Bank estimates — dwarfs development aid figures.
They mean higher health and education expenditure for households who stay behind; better access to information and communication technologies as well as formal financial services; and they provide a cushion in the event of adverse environmental shocks. An empirical study on developing countries shows that doubling high-skilled emigration prospects multiplies the proportion of highly skilled natives in those countries by 1.
Emigration of highly skilled individuals from countries in the Pacific region makes more people willing to acquire tertiary education in those countries. On the other hand, migrants can also decide to return and increasingly do so. People return with a rich baggage of skills and experience to contribute in their home countries, meaning emigration can ultimately be good for developing countries.
The researchers looked separately at the effects of migrants — who are legally allowed to settle in a country — and asylum seekers who reside temporarily in a nation while their applications for refugee status are processed. Many of the asylum seekers included in the study were those who fled the war in the former Yugoslavia in the s, and those who have come more recently from Syria. They also calculated a variable called fiscal balance, which subtracts the amount of money a country spent on public programmes, such as welfare, from the amount of money raised through taxes.
Those effects are likely down to migrants increasing market demand, providing services, adding jobs and paying taxes. Asylum seekers also benefit economies, but their effects take longer to transpire — from three to seven years — and the boon is less obvious.
Unlike migrants, people seeking refuge often face restrictions on working, and must move to another country if their applications for permanent residency are denied. Michael Clemens, an economist at the Center for Global Development, a think tank in Washington DC, says the analysis is a departure from some previous work because it focuses on big-picture impacts, rather than specific elements in an economy — such as the effect that immigrants have on local wages.
At a time when immigration policies are heated and in flux in the United States and Europe, studies such as this can help politicians to assess the consequences of their actions. Article Google Scholar. To address this, and in order to improve policy and programming, a renewed focus on enhancing our understanding of the linkages between both international and internal migration and health, as well as the outcomes and impacts arising from them, is urgently needed. The Sustainable Development Goals SDGs identify migration as both a catalyst and a driver for sustainable development.
In many countries, however, equitable access to health services is considered as a goal only in relation to citizens. Additionally, internal migration is left out of programming and policy interventions designed to support UHC for all. While many international declarations state that the right to health applies to all, including migrants and non-citizens, many national policies exclude these groups in whole or part [ 12 ].
In addition to international and internal migration, the health concerns associated with labour migration require attention; migrant workers are estimated to account for While labour migration leads to significant economic gains for countries of origin and destination, true developmental benefits are only realised with access to safe, orderly and humane migration practice [ 13 ].
Many undergo health assessments as a pre-condition for travel and migration, yet many such programs remain unlinked to national public health systems [ 14 ]. Our discussions highlighted the complex and heterogeneous nature of research on migration and health, with particular concerns raised around the emphasis on international rather than internal migration, in view of the greater volume of the latter.
The need for a multilevel research agenda to guide appropriate action on international and internal migration, health, and development was highlighted. In order to account for immediate, long-term and inter-generational impacts on health outcomes, migration and health research should: 1 incorporate the different phases of migration Fig. Factors influencing health and wellbeing of migrants and their families along the phases of migration.
Unease was expressed about the increasingly polarised political viewpoints on migration, often propagated by nationalist and populist movements, which present real challenges to researchers.
This may also be associated with a reluctance to finance research exploring discriminatory policies that limit the access of international migrants to health services and other positive determinants of health, including work and housing.
The increasing complexity of global, regional, and national migration trends, as well as disagreements about the correct way to define and label different types of migrants, create additional difficulties within an already tense and politically contested research domain. Whilst arguments for improving access to health care for marginalised migrants are based on principles of equity, public health, and human rights, the importance of research on the economic implications of limiting access to care for international migrants was highlighted [ 2 ].
This challenging terrain generated a myriad of research questions during the group discussions Table 1. The consultation took into account the extensive research experience of the group see Appendix , as well as engagement with key literature and context-specific evidence [see, for example 1—7].
Discussion led to the development of a framework that brings together what we identify as the key components for advancing a global, multi-level, migration and health research agenda Fig. Two areas of focus to advance the migration and health research agenda were identified: 1 exploring health issues across various migrant typologies , and 2 improving our understanding of the interactions between migration and health.
Advancing research in both areas is essential if we are to improve our understanding of how to respond to the complex linkages between both international and internal migration and health.
This, we argue, can be achieved by moving away from an approach that exceptionalises migration and migrants, to one that integrates migration into overall health systems research, design, and delivery, and conceptualises this as a way to support the achievement of good health for all. Building from these focus areas, our framework outlines the essential components for the development and application of multi-level research on migration and health.
First are key principles underlying research practice: promoting interdisciplinary, human rights oriented, ethically sound approaches for working with migrants. Second are multi-level stewardship functions needed to meaningfully link migration and health research to policy practice and priority setting, [ 17 ].
This includes establishing knowledge exchange mechanisms, financing, commissioning, and utilising research to guide evidence informed policies. To assist in understanding the associations between migration and health, our research must find ways to better capture and engage with complex, dynamic, and often intersecting migrant typologies. We must be careful not to cluster migrants and their associated lived experiences, to simple, reductionist categories such as internal versus cross-border or documented versus undocumented, or even refugee versus economic migrant [ 19 ].
However, we do need a way of categorising different migrant groups when, for example, exploring epidemiological profiles and associated burdens of disease. To do this, we need to develop a set of nuanced yet flexible typologies that are able to capture the contextually relevant factors affecting migrant experiences, at both the individual and population levels.
As outlined in Table 2 , this will require careful consideration of multiple factors to assist us in improving our understandings of the ways in which diverse migrant groups are associated, or not, with various health and wellbeing outcomes. For instance, a refugee entering a country with an offer of permanent resettlement or with a recognized temporary protected status, will have different opportunities and challenges than an asylum-seeker, or migrant worker, crossing a border possibly without documents or a clear pathway to needed healthcare and protections.
Each of these migrating populations carry different health burdens and resiliencies from their country of origin, their social position and access to resources, and their migration experiences; and each will face different barriers and uncertainties as they seek access to services, support and integrate in host communities.
The definitions of migrant groups adopted by states not only need clear elucidation but also need to reflect the context-specific conditions affecting health access and protection. In Europe, for example, the entitlements to health care for asylum seekers differ by country [ 20 ]. Such tools are important steps in assessing migrant integration and for implementing migrant-sensitive policies that are aligned with the person-centred UHC principles. An awareness of this complexity underlies the need to document multiple migrant voices and migration experiences along the diverse trajectories when exploring associations between migration and health.
Research into the issues, policies and programmes that influence health and health literacy among migrant populations and the role that communities, households, industries, schools, and transnational networks play in promoting health also needs exploration. Key challenges exist when attempting to use and compare migration data internationally, as a result of differences in the definition of who is an international migrant, non-national, or internal migrant; inconsistent data sources; and limited data coverage.
The use of standard indicators can result in unreliable data if migration dynamics are not considered. For example, measures of life expectancy are skewed if international migrants return to their home countries when they are seriously ill, but their departure is not accounted for in vital registration or other systems [ 21 ].
We recognise the bi-directionality of the relationship between migration and health. Our research should explore how different forms of migration influence health — at both individual and population levels - and how health status affects decisions to migrate and shapes post-migration experience. Migration trajectories can positively or negatively impact health outcomes, just as health status can affect migration outcomes; this two-way relationship should be better reflected in research.
To support this, we must be sure to differentiate carefully between different migrant typologies — for example within or across international borders and for what purpose: work, family reunification, escape from persecution, flight from conflict or natural disaster, or to seek asylum. Each of these operates within substantially different contexts whether one takes the migrant and their health into account, or their rights and entitlements, or how they are seen by the dominant society or community to which they migrate.
We recognise that being a migrant is not in itself a risk to health: it is the conditions associated with migration that may increase vulnerability to poor health [ 4 ].
The daily stressors that may be experienced in these spaces are increasingly acknowledged to affect emotional wellbeing and mental health [ 23 ]. As migration is an ever-changing dynamic process, generating and maintaining timely and comparable migration data and improving relevant information systems is important.
National disease control programs such as tuberculosis, HIV and malaria control programs should also be encouraged to collect data on internal and international migration, especially in cross-border areas. Communicable disease control remains a key health concern associated with human migration. Our discussions recognised the importance of embracing systems-theory approach for improving understanding of how migration influences not only disease transmission but also health promotion, and health-care seeking behaviours.
The importance of collecting such data with strict adherence to research ethics and human rights was emphasised. To effectively inform policies and programs on migration and health, it is essential to invest in evidence generation through research at local, national, regional, and global levels.
Identified approaches include the establishment of research reference groups at each level to support, guide, and connect the development and application of research to support evidence-informed policy making at multiple levels. So far, economic migration has been one of the biggest and most divisive political questions of 21st century , and it seems likely to be central part of our politics going forward. This site uses JavaScript. Please enable it to get the full experience.
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