Few issues are as contentious as immigration policies in the world's wealthiest nations. Economic research is increasingly coming down on the side of net gains of immigration for the countries of origin and destination of migrants, clearly pointing to the world being better off with flows of people across national borders.
But one huge qualification to this gets overlooked — migration is increasingly being driven by man-made calamities of environmental destruction, overpopulation and joblessness in many countries of origin. If government policies neglect these issues, it will be impossible to optimize the benefits of migration. So, while favoring migration on grounds of overall well-being, there is a pressing need to address these issues.
Some 250 million people, or 3 percent of the global population, are migrants, of which 20 million are refugees fleeing conflicts and persecution, escaping poverty and, increasingly, the ravages of natural disasters. The United States, Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and India are in the top 10 destinations. Migration helps to lower unemployment rates at home and raises remittances, which are vital economic pillars in many economies, including Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines. In 2015, remittances of overseas workers to developing countries was nearly $450 billion, three times official development assistance going to the developing world.