What we study
Migration is one of the major societal themes in contemporary diverse societies. The Migration & Migrants team examines this complex topic from an interdisciplinary perspective. Our research is clustered into three broader areas:
1. Migration
We explore the questions of who migrates and why, studying diverse types of migrant groups, including internally displaced people, refugees, labor migrants, and family migrants. Our research aims to understand the scope, underlying causes, and potential future scenarios of migration.
2. Incorporation
We investigate the integration of migrant groups into their new environments and the challenges they face regarding social cohesion and inequality. This encompasses a broad spectrum of topics on intergroup dynamics, such as discrimination, intergroup ties, language acquisition, segregation, and inequalities in health, education, and the labor market.
3. Sending Regions
We study the impact of migration on the regions and societies from which migrants originate. This includes research on brain drain and development, remittances, and transnational relations.
Who we are
The Migration & Migrants team consists of approximately 15 senior and junior scientists, including PhDs and Postdocs. Our team frequently holds meetings to discuss papers and welcomes both domestic and international guest speakers. It also serves as a hospitable venue for visiting scholars and students pursuing internships. The working environment is highly international, and we collaborate with renowned migration scholars nationally and internationally. We are an enthusiastic team with a supportive atmosphere, collaborative and inclusive culture.
The core aims of our team are:
- To produce cutting-edge scientific research
- To develop and share high-quality data
- To train the next generation of PhDs and Postdocs
- To share scientific knowledge with a wider audience
What are we working on?
The Migration & Migrants team is currently engaged in various projects, often in collaboration with scholars both nationally and internationally. In the ERC-funded MYMOVE project, we study how moving as a child influences the health, well-being, and family formation of migrants and natives later in life. With colleagues from Germany, we collected data from over 24,000 Ukrainian refugee women residing in nine European countries to examine their patterns of migration and integration. In a GAK-KNAW funded project, we examine in detail the labor market position of Syrian refugee women in the Netherlands. Several projects focus on the position of older migration, examining both their retirement situation, social care needs, and loneliness. In a project funded by the Dutch Science Foundation, we study the dynamics of retirement migration, specifically looking at people who migrated from the Netherlands to a foreign country after their retirement. The Future Migration Scenarios for Europe project, funded by Horizon 2020, aims to understand the patterns of migration at multiple levels, from the international to local. In the Premium EU project, funded by Horizon Europe, we explore how European migration, both between countries and within regions, can contribute to the development of vulnerable regions in Europe. In another project, a new migrant panel dataset is being developed by uniquely integrating data from surveys and registers.
