Youth, Migration and Development: A New Lens for Critical Times

Overview & Synopsis

Young migrants undoubtedly represent an opportunity to rethink the goals and modalities of what is considered "development." Development itself is an important driver of migration. Migration is “an integral—and therefore inevitable—part of broader processes of economic development and social transformation that characterize societies going through ‘modernization’ processes.”2 Development, in turn, is necessary for the positive effects of migration to materialize. In contexts where socioeconomic conditions are dire, young migrants can be viewed as a strain on a country’s resources. However, youth migration can positively contribute to a country’s development when the right processes and frameworks are put in place to absorb newcomers and harness their potential.3 The goal behind this scoping paper is to set an agenda on how youth migration can contribute to development and how it can be meaningfully integrated into development strategies. It goes beyond general references to youth migration and development, by drawing attention to regional and subregional specificities. While most of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators have focused on the relationship between youth, employment, and development (SDG 4.4, 8.5, 8b),4 this paper turns the focus to a more holistic understanding of the contribution of youth, through the prism of migration.