Background
Why we need to undertake MEMO?
Migration is a powerful lever of social and economic development and, simultaneously, an important concern. It comes with many benefits, but also significant challenges and inequalities. Governments are eager to find ways to anticipate future migration flows and deal with international migration efficiently. In order to achieve rights-based, efficient and effective migration governance, understanding the complex factors that result in migration and the dynamic nature of migrant decision-making is of utmost importance to policy makers around the world. This is especially timely in the aftermath of a global pandemic which caused migrants to be stuck in their country of origin, destination or in transit, or led to return movements. Migration is a crucial factor in the socio-demographic and economic growth and well-being of the society. Understanding better its dynamics will support efficient and effective policy design and implementation.
The problem MEMO seeks to address
Previous approaches to migration governance research have been more segmented, focusing on specific migration drivers (e.g. economic, political, environmental) or types of migration (e.g. humanitarian versus labour; international versus internal). This compartmentalization prevents us from seeing the complete picture and connecting migration to wider socio-economic and political transformations taking place today.
What makes MEMO unique?
The MEMO Partnership focuses on mixed migration flows and seeks to develop a socio-ecological systems approach. Uniquely, MEMO integrates macro, meso and micro data to develop a single framework for understanding the behaviour of migration systems, meaning it considers:
- features unique to individuals that affect their decision-making and agency, such as their desires, hopes and means to seek opportunity away from their home;
- drivers, or specific factors or actors, that have an impact on individuals, such as institutions, cultural practices, or policies, which may have an uneven effect on members of communities;
- drivers that impact an entire population group, such as conflict, climate change, or a country’s policies affecting economic opportunity.
MEMO also takes a geographic approach, providing a systematic comparison of internal, intra-regional and intercontinental migration flows across the three regional systems (Americas, West Africa, South Asia).
