What We Need To Know About Immigration

A recent World Bank Group Report started with this legend:

“The priestly leaders of the Parsis were brought before the local ruler, Jadhav Rana, who presented them with a vessel full of milk to signify that the surrounding lands could not possibly accommodate any more people. The Parsi head priest responded by slipping some sugar into the milk to signify how the strangers would enrich the local community without displacing them. They would dissolve into life like sugar dissolves in the milk, sweetening the society but not unsettling it. The ruler responded to the eloquent image and granted the exiles land and permission to practice their religion unhindered if they would respect local customs, and learn the local language, Gujarati.”

Continuing to skim through “Migrants, Refugees, and Societies,” I’ve focused on “Why” and “Where.”

Understanding Immigration

WHY

The following “Match and Motive Matrix” takes us to economic migrants in its top left quadrant and the people that feared harm at the top right. Somewhat similar, both quadrants represent a good match between the migrants’ skills, needs, and aspirations and their new home. By contrast, the bottom two quadrants reflect a less optimal result.

Recognizing the four types of movement, we can make immigration work when the destination country’s policies match the migrant’s skills and aspirations.

1. A Good Match

My green arrows point to the two quadrants where benefits exceed costs. Including the highest number of people, the left quadrant reflects all a country can gain from its new occupants:

2. A Poor Match

Showing when the opposite happens, my green arrows point to the two quadrants where costs are higher than benefits:

WHERE

1. Immigrants

Globally, close to 184 million people moved from their country of nationality. Their new homes are in high, low, and middle income countries. However, in the GCC nations, migrants’ status is typically temporary, based on multi-year work visas:

2. Countries of Origin and Destinations

Looking through a historical lens, we can compare emigrants to immigrants–origin countries and destinations. Low income countries’ share of emigrants has almost doubled. At the same time, as a destination, high income nations have seen their share of migrants triple:

Our Bottom Line: The Missing Pieces

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle, our immigration puzzle still has two missing pieces. Tomorrow, we will look at demography and climate change.

But for now, returning to where we began, let’s remember the sugar making the milk sweeter.

My sources and more: All of today’s facts and graphics come from the World Bank Group, “Migrants, Refugees, and Societies.”