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The MIG research group focuses on applying advanced data collection and estimation methods to quantify and better understand the trends, patterns, drivers, and consequences of different types of migration considering its interactions with the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
Migration is a key demographic component underlying population change. As a multifaceted process, it is influenced by various factors such as economic opportunities, social and political drivers, environmental changes, and conflicts. Due to its high volatility and complexity, migration is difficult to assess and forecast, thus requiring a combination of data sources and methods. The MIG research group employs innovative approaches to provide comprehensive estimates of internal and international migration and its underlying factors at global, national, and sub-national levels. A particular focus of the research group is exploring how climatic changes and environmental factors directly and indirectly influence migration, and how these effects differ across geographical locations and population subgroups. In addition, the research group offers valuable insights into the interconnections between sustainability, human development, and well-being, highlighting their relevance for migration processes worldwide.
Projects
Future Migration Scenarios for Europe (FUME)
BALancing humAn and Natural resource use for Circular bioEconomy (BALANCE)
Just Transitions to Net-Zero Carbon Emissions for All (JustTrans4ALL)
Staff
Gregor Zens
Research Scholar (MIG)
Wendy Vanesa Ramírez González
Guest Research Assistant (MIG)
Patrick Sakdapolrak
Research Scholar (MIG)
Roman Hoffmann
Research Group Leader and Research Scholar (MIG); Acting Research Group Leader and Research Scholar (SHAW)
News
07 September 2023
A finer picture of global migration reveals complex patterns
New research by an international team challenges the common narrative linking climate change to migration. The findings emphasize the importance of human development factors over climate considerations and reveal the complexity of migration patterns often obscured by national averages.
05 July 2023
New IIASA online tool to visualize global migration patterns
IIASA researchers have developed a new tool – the Global Migration Data Explorer – to help address the lack of data on global migration flows and provide a visual method for exploring migration patterns worldwide.
24 January 2023
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected immigration?
New research finds a high variation between how pandemic mitigation measures affected immigration to different destination countries, from a slight increase to huge reductions.
Events
10 July 2023 Vienna, Austria and online
Environmental and Climate Mobilities Network Conference
09 June 2023 Paris, France
Avoiding a tragedy of the commons: Public goods provision through place-based policies
05 June 2023 Ispra, Italy-webstreamed event
IIASA at a panel discussion with EC Vice-President Dubravka Šuica
Focus
28 November 2022
Standardizing migration data in Europe
Options Magazine, Winter 2022: Researchers illustrated the discrepancies in migration flow statistics across Europe to help standardize data and better understand migration patterns.
07 September 2022
The migration maze
To navigate the intricate intersection of climate change, migration, and urbanization, we need a holistic approach.
11 July 2022
Fertile feedback
IIASA research shows that increasing access to clean energy can rein in population growth, and so reduce future energy needs. Another study finds that falling fertility does not have to be bad news for economies.
Publications
Lutz, W. & Pachauri, S. (2023). Systems Analysis for Sustainable Wellbeing. 50 years of IIASA research, 40 years after the Brundtland Commission, contributing to the post-2030 Global Agenda. IIASA Report. Laxenburg, Austria: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 10.5281/zenodo.8214208. Niva, V., Horton, A., Virkki, V., Heino, M., Kosonen, M., Kallio, M., Kinnunen, P., Abel, G. , Muttarak, R., Taka, M., Varis, O., & Kummu, M...................... (2023). World’s human migration patterns in 2000–2019 unveiled by high-resolution data. Nature Human Behaviour 10.1038/s41562-023-01689-4. Andrijevic, M. , Schleussner, C.-F., Crespo Cuaresma, J., Lissner, T., Muttarak, R. , Riahi, K. , Theokritoff, E., Thomas, A., van Maanen, N., & Byers, E. (2023). Towards scenario representation of adaptive capacity for global climate change assessments. Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-023-01725-1. (In Press) Durowaa-Boateng, A., Yildiz, D. , & Goujon, A. (2023). A Bayesian model for the reconstruction of education- and age-specific fertility rates: An application to African and Latin American countries. IIASA Working Paper. Laxenburg, Austria: WP-23-007 Heo, N., Chang, H.-C., & Abel, G. (2023). Investigating the distribution of university alumni populations within South Korea and Taiwan based on data from the LinkedIn advertising platform. Cities 137 e104315. 10.1016/j.cities.2023.104315.