Migration policy

The Netherlands must save its own citizens first. Only then can you save the others. For instance, there is a huge shortage of housing. Fast procedures for asylum seekers are desirable.

Towards a more effective migration policy

Research by Oxford University, University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Clingendael Institute on the causes of migration shows that migration is an integral part of economic development and labour market dynamics in destination and origin countries. Formulating a more effective migration policy requires looking beyond the usual solutions and policy instruments. Labour demand in destination countries and levels of development and socio-economic conditions in origin countries (as well as repression and violence in the case of refugee migration) must be put into perspective.

Undesirable forms of migration, due to social and humanitarian reasons, result from a discrepancy between policies and the fundamental causes of migration. Poorly thought-out immigration restrictions can break the circularity of migration, encourage permanent settlement and chain or follower migration, and therefore be counterproductive. Stepping up border control alone, i.e. without addressing labour demand or conflicts in regions of origin, tends to increase irregular migration and encourages humanitarian emergencies at the border.

Policy failures are therefore rooted in insufficient recognition of the complex and sometimes unexpected ways in which socio-economic and cultural change processes influence migration. To more effectively influence migration patterns (in terms of size and selection), governments in destination and origin countries would therefore do well to explicitly focus on so-called non-migration policies in areas such as labour market, education, health, redistribution and more general inequality issues.

References:

www.migrationinstitute.org/publications-aggregator

www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/detail?id=2021Z18988&did=2021D40722

www.clingendael.org/pub/2021/gedeeld-belang-bij-circulaire-migratie

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