Two unconnected but important recent academic and policy debates have focussed on the idea of the knowledge-based economy and the economic consequences of increasing international migration. This book challenges pre-conceived views on the debates and argues the need to understand that all migrants are potentially knowledge carriers and learners, and that they play an essential role in the globalization of knowledge transactions. Deconstructing the concept of knowledge, and demonstrating how tacit knowledge is in fact an amalgam of encultured and embrained/embodied forms of knowledge this book considers how international migration has profound consequences, analysed, first, in terms of the economic and immigration strategies of national and regional bodies. And, secondly, the authors explore how the ‘diversity dividend’ of migration is captured by firms through their management strategies, and by individuals through increasingly boundaryless careers, continuous learning and transnational working lives. This research is a highly original contribution which provides the first overview of one of the most dynamic forces for change in the globalising economy. It will challenge migration researchers and students to engage with the management and learning literatures, and it will challenge management and economic policy analysts to think through the role of international migration. As such it will contribute to teaching and research in a range of social science disciplines, as well as to those involved in policy arenas ensuring that firms and all migrants engage in mutual learning and knowledge sharing.

Introduction to International Migration introduces students to state-of-the-art knowledge on international migration, a contemporary issue of central importance to virtually all countries around the globe. Original chapters by prominent women migration scholars cover a complex and multifaceted issue area including various types of migration, the mechanisms of migration governance, the impact of migration on both host and home societies, the migrants themselves in a transnational space, and the nexus between migration and other aspects of globalization. Key topics include labor, gender, citizenship, public opinion, development, security, climate, and ethics. Refugee flows are tracked from beginning to end. Photos, figures, text boxes with real-world examples, discussion questions, and recommended readings provide pedagogical structure for each chapter. Intended as a core text for courses on migration and immigration and a supplement to more general courses in global studies, this book is appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate students in the variety of disciplines that deal with the challenges of international migration. Special Features Consistently structured original chapters by notable scholars include an Introduction, Empirical Overview, Theoretical Evolution, Continuing Issues, and Summary for every chapter. Chapter pedagogy includes Discussion Questions, Suggested Readings, and References as well as a Data Appendix for the book. Photos with thematic captions and Text Boxes on hot topics round out the visual and substantive appeal of the text.

The SAGE Handbook of International Migration provides an authoritative and informed analysis of key issues in international migration, including its crucial significance far beyond the more traditional questions of immigrant settlement and incorporation in particular countries. Bringing together chapters contributed by an international cast of leading voices in the field, the Handbook is arranged around four key thematic parts: Part 1: Disciplinary Perspectives on Migration Part 2: Historical and Contemporary Flows of Migrants Part 3: Theory, Policy and the Factors Affecting Incorporation Part 4: National and Global Policy Challenges in Migration The last three decades have seen the rapid increase and diversification in the types of international migration, and this Handbook has been created to meet the need among academics and researchers across the social sciences, policy makers and commentators for a definitive publication which provides a range of perspectives and insights into key themes and debates in the field.

Uniquely informed by a sociological perspective, this major new textbook introduces the underlying origins and consequences of international migration, placing individuals within a broader social, cultural and historical context. This comprehensive introduction analyses international migration and its effects on those who migrate, their families, and their places of origin and destination. Drawing on illustrative examples from around the world, the book covers the major theories concerning the origins of international migration and the manner, degree and consequences of migrants’ incorporation into the societies to which they move. It also includes in-depth discussion of how international migration is relevant to key issues – gender, the family, and religion; the so-called refugee ‘crisis’ in much of the developed world; and offers insights throughout into cutting-edge research from emotions and lifestyle migration to the proliferation of digital communication technologies. This text expertly offers students the necessary skills to unpack common myths that are used to inform policy and media discourse, including abstract distinctions between ‘refugee’ and ‘economic migrant’, the complex and ambiguous nature of migrant national identity, and that while many richer countries of the world are characterized by a perceived refugee ‘crisis’, it is in fact poorer and developing countries that see the vast majority of the world’s refugees and displaced persons.

Existing research on the economic contribution of individual international labour migrants has been couched largely in terms of skills, and has focused on mobility within transnational corporations. This article explores some of the broader links between the literatures on international migration and management, and addresses four main questions: is migrant knowledge selective, is it distinctive, what are the barriers to migrant knowledge transfer and what are the implications for individual migrants and firms. This largely conceptual review is informed by three main premises: the value of adopting a knowledge as opposed to a skills perspective on migration; the importance of examining the cycle of migration rather than static snapshots at particular stages, and the need to consider inter-firm and extra-firm migration, as well as intra-firm mobility.

In today’s global knowledge economy, competition for the best and brightest workers has intensified. Highly skilled workers are an asset to companies, knowledge institutions, cities, and regions as they contribute to knowledge creation, innovation, and economic growth and development. Skilled migrants cross, and many times straddle, international borders to pursue professional opportunities. These spatial relocations provide opportunities and challenges for migrants and the cities and regions they inhabit. How have international skilled migratory flows been formed, sustained, and transformed over multiple spaces and scales? How have these processes affected cities and regions? And how have multiple stakeholders responded to these processes? The contributors to this book bring together perspectives from economic, social, urban, and population geography in order to address these questions from a myriad of angles. Empirical case studies from different regions illuminate the multiscaled processes of international skilled migration. In particular, the contributions rethink skilled migration theories and provide insights into: the experiences of highly skilled labor migrants and international students; issues related to transnational activities and return migration; and policy implications for both immigrant source and destination countries. It also charts a future research agenda for international skilled migration research. Rethinking International Skilled Migration provides a comparative perspective on the experiences of skilled migrants across the local, regional, national, and/or global scale, paying particular attention to spatial and place-based dimensions of international skilled migration. It will be of interest to scholars and professionals in international migration, regional and national development policymakers, international businesses, and NGOs.