Research into economic impacts of migration to the UK economy

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) invites tenders from researchers with ideas for new or other research in relation to the economic impacts of migration to the UK economy.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent, non-statutory, non-time limited, non-departmental public body that advises the government on migration issues.

In July 2017, the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK's exit from the European Union and also on how the UK's immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. Subsequently in August 2017, the Government commissioned the MAC to assess the full economic and social impact of international students in the UK.

We are commissioning research to understand the effects of the economic costs and benefits of migration to the UK economy. We are keen to encourage researchers to investigate innovative areas of research; or extensions of previous work that fall within this broad remit.

Information on the Government commission and other MAC work are available on our website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/migration-advisory-committee

Aim and Objectives

The aim of this project is to gain a better understanding of the economic impacts of migration (EEA migration; non-EEA migration; and/or international students) to the UK economy through innovative approaches. We welcome research which aims to fill any gaps in the evidence and knowledge that exists; to address and examine areas that have not been considered in great depth in the literature; or to enable an extension of previous work.

Areas of work that we have identified as particularly interesting include the impacts of migrants on: the labour market (including: wages, unemployment, employment); prices (including consumer prices; producer prices, household prices and rents); productivity; investment (including corporate and private investment) and innovation.

Within these areas we are interested in whether the impacts differ by type of migrants (EEA, non-EEA, international students); at national/regional/local level; by industry; by sector; by occupation; by skill level; by education level.

We welcome bids that address any of these areas of research or any other gaps in the evidence base. We are strictly not looking for literature reviews of existing analysis. We are looking to commission studies on a wide range of areas.

Deliverables may vary according to individual projects but will include: • A methodology paper; • Regular updates on emerging findings and project progress; • A draft report; • A final report incorporating comments from the MAC; • Up to two presentations of the key aspects of the work to the MAC; • Key datasets and syntax files.

Additional information: Full details of how to obtain an application form are contained in the attached document.