Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PACES (Making migration and migration policy decisions amidst societal transformations)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2024-03-01 al 2025-04-30
In the last few decades migration policymakers have become preoccupied with controlling migration, leading to the proliferation of financial instruments and initiatives. This reactive approach fails to consider a set of emerging social changes, such as population aging, and the need for migration policies to be forward-looking rather than reactive. Moreover, these policy interventions often follow general assumptions that migration is essentially driven by poverty and inequality and that migrants, particularly from African countries, want to migrate and settle in the EU en masse. Such simplifications reduce the complexity of migration decision-making and reinforce the belief that only further surveillance measures can effectively regulate migration. In reality, decisions to migrate are driven by factors such as labour demand, origin country development and network dynamics. Research from across the social sciences has greatly advanced insights into the nature, causes and impacts of migration processes over the last decades. However, much of this knowledge remains fragmented and reveals important gaps, while it is unclear how policymaking understands and applies existing knowledge.
The PACES project has therefore set four main objectives:
● Identify the assumptions that guide migration policies
● Examine the variables that influence decisions to migrate or stay put
● Assess the impact of policies as facilitators or disablers of mobility dynamics
● Identify alternative and innovative approaches to promote the agency and protection of migrants
The PACES project has therefore set four main objectives:
● Identify the assumptions that guide migration policies
● Examine the variables that influence decisions to migrate or stay put
● Assess the impact of policies as facilitators or disablers of mobility dynamics
● Identify alternative and innovative approaches to promote the agency and protection of migrants
PACES is an interdisciplinary, multi-level research project exploring how societal change, personal experiences, and migration policy shape decisions to stay or migrate—and how this knowledge can inform future governance.
During March 2024–April 2025, the PACES consortium made major progress across all work packages, completing large-scale data collection and beginning in-depth analysis. This period also marked a key shift in stakeholder engagement as PACES partners engaged in policy dialogue and co-participatory activities.
- Policy Assumptions and Knowledge Use (WP3): A comparative analysis of 180+ policy documents from Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands focused on counter-smuggling, regional asylum protection, and essential worker policies. Findings revealed varied representations of migrants and symbolic use—or neglect—of evidence. Results were compiled in a major working paper and dataset for future research.
- Migration Decision-Making at Origin (WP4): Fieldwork in Algeria, Ethiopia, and Nigeria involved interviews with 17 experts, 214 residents, and 97 focus group participants. Research showed how development and personal expectations shape migration desires. "Labs-in-the-field" experiments with 1,800+ participants in Ethiopia and Nigeria examined social norms and household roles in decision-making.
- Migration on the Move (WP5): Over 100 interviews with Nigerian migrants in Italy, Spain, and Slovakia examined how migration paths, policy, and welfare access affect decisions to stay, move, or return. Quantitative work included a global panel (1990–2020) on welfare policy impacts, and a longitudinal survey of 1,500+ migrants in Italy, Tunisia, and Niger.
- Policy Innovation and Alternative Narratives (WP6): Co-participatory workshops in Dutch cities engaged students and wider audiences in developing alternative migration narratives, addressing policy complexity and stereotypes. A Policy Innovation Lab was launched and a public opinion survey was held across six European countries to gauge views on migration and policy.
- Dissemination and Knowledge Sharing (WP7): The PACES Working Paper Series published seven papers on theory, policy, and empirical findings. Results were presented at major academic events and integrated into ITCILO's Labour Migration Academy, expanding the project’s global reach.
More details and documents and other outputs can be found on the PACES website: www.iss.nl/PACES.
During March 2024–April 2025, the PACES consortium made major progress across all work packages, completing large-scale data collection and beginning in-depth analysis. This period also marked a key shift in stakeholder engagement as PACES partners engaged in policy dialogue and co-participatory activities.
- Policy Assumptions and Knowledge Use (WP3): A comparative analysis of 180+ policy documents from Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands focused on counter-smuggling, regional asylum protection, and essential worker policies. Findings revealed varied representations of migrants and symbolic use—or neglect—of evidence. Results were compiled in a major working paper and dataset for future research.
- Migration Decision-Making at Origin (WP4): Fieldwork in Algeria, Ethiopia, and Nigeria involved interviews with 17 experts, 214 residents, and 97 focus group participants. Research showed how development and personal expectations shape migration desires. "Labs-in-the-field" experiments with 1,800+ participants in Ethiopia and Nigeria examined social norms and household roles in decision-making.
- Migration on the Move (WP5): Over 100 interviews with Nigerian migrants in Italy, Spain, and Slovakia examined how migration paths, policy, and welfare access affect decisions to stay, move, or return. Quantitative work included a global panel (1990–2020) on welfare policy impacts, and a longitudinal survey of 1,500+ migrants in Italy, Tunisia, and Niger.
- Policy Innovation and Alternative Narratives (WP6): Co-participatory workshops in Dutch cities engaged students and wider audiences in developing alternative migration narratives, addressing policy complexity and stereotypes. A Policy Innovation Lab was launched and a public opinion survey was held across six European countries to gauge views on migration and policy.
- Dissemination and Knowledge Sharing (WP7): The PACES Working Paper Series published seven papers on theory, policy, and empirical findings. Results were presented at major academic events and integrated into ITCILO's Labour Migration Academy, expanding the project’s global reach.
More details and documents and other outputs can be found on the PACES website: www.iss.nl/PACES.
During this period, PACES made significant conceptual, methodological, and empirical contributions that advance migration research and policy analysis.
- Innovative Frameworks: The Temporal Multilevel Analysis (TMA) framework was applied across origin, transit, and destination contexts to show how migration decisions evolve through life events, social change, and policy over time—moving beyond static models.
- Policy Assumptions Analysis: A new method for examining knowledge use in migration policies was applied to documents from Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands. It revealed issue-specific assumptions and selective use of evidence, clarifying how knowledge is symbolically or instrumentally used.
- Extensive Empirical Data: PACES gathered large-scale qualitative and quantitative data in eight countries, involving residents, migrants, experts, and policymakers. Methods like the 4Mi survey and labs-in-the-field captured shifting preferences and social norms.
- Welfare-Migration Link: A pioneering study distinguished between welfare access and generosity as separate influences on migration. With a gender focus and emphasis on African migration, it offered comparative insights into how policy affects movement.
- Participatory Engagement: Co-design workshops and role-play sessions explored diverse views on migration and governance. These activities aim to shift migration narratives and involve broader audiences in the conversation.
Overall, PACES is laying the groundwork for rethinking migration policy and governance by foregrounding the lived experiences and agency of migrants, while also addressing the systemic and political structures shaping their decisions.
- Innovative Frameworks: The Temporal Multilevel Analysis (TMA) framework was applied across origin, transit, and destination contexts to show how migration decisions evolve through life events, social change, and policy over time—moving beyond static models.
- Policy Assumptions Analysis: A new method for examining knowledge use in migration policies was applied to documents from Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands. It revealed issue-specific assumptions and selective use of evidence, clarifying how knowledge is symbolically or instrumentally used.
- Extensive Empirical Data: PACES gathered large-scale qualitative and quantitative data in eight countries, involving residents, migrants, experts, and policymakers. Methods like the 4Mi survey and labs-in-the-field captured shifting preferences and social norms.
- Welfare-Migration Link: A pioneering study distinguished between welfare access and generosity as separate influences on migration. With a gender focus and emphasis on African migration, it offered comparative insights into how policy affects movement.
- Participatory Engagement: Co-design workshops and role-play sessions explored diverse views on migration and governance. These activities aim to shift migration narratives and involve broader audiences in the conversation.
Overall, PACES is laying the groundwork for rethinking migration policy and governance by foregrounding the lived experiences and agency of migrants, while also addressing the systemic and political structures shaping their decisions.