Defining Sustainable Migration

The report proposes a definition of sustainable migration as movement that ensures a well-balanced distribution of costs and benefits for individuals, societies, and states, both now and in the future. It argues that migration is an integral part of social change and that its sustainability is inherently political, requiring a balance of empirical data and normative values. Through literature reviews and case studies of Somalia, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Norway, the authors examine how migration impacts development, social cohesion, and welfare state legitimacy, while cautioning that the term 'sustainable' can be co-opted for restrictionist political agendas.

• The authors propose a specific definition of sustainable migration to make the term analytically useful, framing it as migration that ensures a "well-balanced distribution of costs and benefits for the individuals, societies and states affected, today and in the future."
• The report identifies a political duality in the term 'sustainable migration'; while it has progressive connotations linked to sustainable development, it can also be used as a "dog-whistle" for restrictionist policies to signal that current immigration levels are "intolerable".
• In countries of origin, the impact of migration on development is contradictory and depends on variables such as flow size and human capital. While remittances provide vital capital—supporting 23% of Somalia's GDP in 2015—they can also create a "potential source of dependence".
• The report argues that the 'root causes' doctrine—the idea that alleviating poverty or conflict will reduce migration—is often contradicted by research, which suggests that migration is driven by a combination of structural factors and individual "migration aspirations".
• Regarding destination countries, the report finds no evidence that immigration has caused large declines in GDP or public service provision, though it notes that ethnic diversity can be perceived as a threat to social cohesion in the short run.
• The analysis of the Nordic welfare state, specifically Norway, indicates that while there are concerns about the economic sustainability of the welfare state due to immigrant labour market integration, these concerns are often driven by "perceptions, rather than by realities".
• In transit hubs, the report notes that 'transit' is often a misleading term because migrants may settle for years, and these locations often simultaneously function as places of origin and destination.
• The report highlights that the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) and Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) are constrained by the need for consensus, which often leads to a lack of "bargains" where conflicting interests are explicitly admitted and conceded.

APA

Erdal, M. B., Carling, J., Horst, C., & Talleraas, C. (2018). Defining Sustainable Migration. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a595778a-c376-4e55-9217-4092de0277b5/Erdal et al - Defining Sustainable Migration PRIO Paper 2018.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Erdal, Marta Bivand, Jørgen Carling, Cindy Horst, and Cathrine Talleraas. Defining Sustainable Migration. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2018. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a595778a-c376-4e55-9217-4092de0277b5/Erdal et al - Defining Sustainable Migration PRIO Paper 2018.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Erdal |first1=Marta Bivand |last2=Carling |first2=Jørgen |last3=Horst |first3=Cindy |last4=Talleraas |first4=Cathrine |title=Defining Sustainable Migration |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2018 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a595778a-c376-4e55-9217-4092de0277b5/Erdal et al - Defining Sustainable Migration PRIO Paper 2018.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{erdal2018defining, author = {Erdal, Marta Bivand and Carling, Jørgen and Horst, Cindy and Talleraas, Cathrine}, title = {{Defining Sustainable Migration}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2018}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a595778a-c376-4e55-9217-4092de0277b5/Erdal et al - Defining Sustainable Migration PRIO Paper 2018.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }