Submission Deadline: September 1st 2017
United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) jointly with the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) will organize a two-day conference on migration and mobility, in Accra, Ghana on 5-6 October 2017.
Migration and mobility are key facets of our increasingly globalized world. Challenges associated with migration have been brought into sharp relief over the past several years as Europe faces a refugee crisis of significant dimensions. Migration also offers opportunities.
For migrants, this may include economic and social mobility, as well as improved physical security and an escape from conflict, violence and persecution. While the impact of migration on both host and sending countries is a topic of considerable contemporary political debate, there is also ample research showing the benefits in terms of labour market outcomes, economic growth, as well as diversity and innovation.
This conference explores the relationships between migration, mobility and development. Within the context of UNU-WIDER’s current research programme on Transformation, Inclusion, and Sustainability and ARUA’s priority focus on migration and mobility, it aims to bring together new and innovative research from economics and other disciplines that can inform broader policy-relevant debate and action.
The conference will consist of plenary sessions with keynote speakers, parallel sessions with contributed papers, and a poster session.
We welcome submissions of individual papers, as well as of panels. Panels will include 3-4 papers (plus potential discussants). We are particularly interested in submissions in the following areas:
- Rural-to-urban migration and mobility and underlying drivers
- Impact of migration on families left behind
- Macroeconomic implications of migration for sending and receiving countries, including the contributions of migrants and diasporas to all dimensions of sustainable development, the impact of remittances, brain drain, etc.
- Social cohesion, assimilation, integration, and diversity; consideration of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance
- Gender, migration, and mobility
- Health, migration, and mobility
- Environment, natural resources and population movements; consideration of climate change and natural disasters as drivers of conflict and efforts to mitigate harms
- Conflict, migration and mobility; consideration of conflict as a driver of migration, as well as of the impact of migration on conflict
- Historical patterns and the future of migration; consideration of international co-operation and governance of migration in all its dimensions
- Getting the numbers and statistics right: what do we know and what don’t we know about migration flows, the characteristics and skills of migrants, remittances, etc. (based on available macro- and micro-data)
Benefits:
- For accepted participants, travel support can be provided for one author per selected paper using the most economical travel route subject to UN guidelines; preference will be given to authors from developing countries. If required, UNU-WIDER can also provide visa support.
- UNU-WIDER will provide hotel accommodation and most meals during the conference.
- There is no conference fee
Submission procedure
Interested applicants wishing to present original research should complete the
online application form. We particularly encourage submissions from early-career, female, and developing country researchers.
Each paper submission will require:
1 An up-to-date CV
2 An abstract not exceeding 300 words which should summarize the research question, the main methods and data, and key findings of the paper and the larger implications of the research
3 A full-length paper OR an extended abstract
• the first page of the paper or extended abstract should include all author names
and affiliations and the above-mentioned 300-word abstract
• in PDF format
• written in English
• full-length papers should be 6,000-10,000 words long whereas the extended
abstracts should be 1,500-1,800 words long
It is also possible to submit a panel proposal as part of the application. In this case, one
member of the proposed panel needs to submit an abstract of approximately 300 words
which should summarize the theme of the panel, including listing of proposed papers, and
potential discussants. Please note that all papers of the proposed panel must be submitted
individually following the above guidelines.
Any queries on the call for papers should be sent to [email protected]
Previously unpublished papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in the WIDER Working Paper series.
Important dates
- 1 May 2017 : paper/extended abstract submission deadline
- 12 June 2017 : target date for acceptance/rejection notification
- 1 September 2017 : final papers due
- 5-6 October 2017 : conference
For More Information: