Call for Papers – Migration as a Multi-Sited Phenomenon: Migrant Selection and the Outcomes of Migration

On 27th December 2023 by Mark Walters

Deadline for submission Saturday 20 January 2024

 

Conference to be held 25-26 April 2024 in Madrid, Spain.

As migration and ethnic diversity become a fundamental part of our societies, there is a need to expand the perspectives and methodologies used to study the drivers and the outcomes of migration. Migration is a multi-sited phenomenon, in which origin and destination(s) play a fundamental role. First, migrants often differ from non-migrants in both objective and subjective traits: the choice and the possibility to migrate is selective. Second, a particular migrant group in one location may also differ from their co-nationals in another location: the choice of destination is also selective. Third, while comparing migrants and their children with majoritarian natives in destination countries is fundamental, this only provides a partial view of the outcomes of migration: comparison with non-migrants at origin and/or with the same migrant group in other destinations can help understand the impact of migration. Finally, selection may also affect the outcomes of migration, especially in terms of integration patterns: not only migrants may vary in their relative (socioeconomic, status) position at origin, but also selection leads to varied compositions of migrant networks at the various destinations (e.g., networks may be more qualified if migration involves larger distances).

The aim of the conference is to bring together migration scholars working on both the drivers and outcomes of migration, who use a multisite perspective (broadly defined) in their research. We welcome researchers in sociology, economics, anthropology, and demography, as well as diverse theoretical and methodological approaches, both qualitative and quantitative. We aim at a broad range of contributions dealing with the causes and consequences of migration and how multiple comparisons can shed light on these processes. Particularly, we propose the following topics for submissions:

• Selection: Who migrates and where? How do migrants and their children compare to non-migrants at origin? Are migrants selected on objective and/or subjective characteristics? What determines the choice of a destination country and what individual and context characteristics are related to these choices? Are longer-distance migration flows more selected than shorter distance ones?
• The outcomes of migration in comparative perspective: Are migrants and their children in destination doing better/worse than their counterparts in other locations? Are migrants and their children in destination doing better/worse than non-migrants at origin and natives at destination?
• The role of selection on the outcomes of migration: Does migrant selection play a role in integration outcomes? What is the role of the relative position of individuals at origin on integration outcomes? What is the role of migrant networks at destination on integration outcomes?

Find more information and submit your abstract here: https://sites.google.com/view/multisitemig/home?authuser=0