International Migration Papers No. 93

Integrating migration issues into development planning

International labour migration and its linkages with development have been prominent on the global policy agenda in the recent years. The Resolution on a Fair Deal for Migrant Workers in a Global Economy adopted by the 92nd Session of the ILO’s International labour Conference in June 2004 called for the: “Promotion of policies that maximize the contribution of migration to development is another essential component of a comprehensive policy to address the global context of migration.” Several global initiatives including the Global Commission on International Migration, the United Nations High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development have called for integrating migration concerns into national development planning. The ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration advocates ‘integrating and mainstreaming labour migration in national employment, labour market and development policy’ in its Guideline 15.1. While there has been considerable work on migration and development linkages, particularly on remittances, there has been less research on how migration issues can be integrated into development planning. The paper by Professor Robert Lucas addresses this important aspect of the migration-development nexus.