Social and broader impacts of migration on the UK economy

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) invites tenders from researchers with ideas for new or other research in relation to the social and broader 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 social and broader 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 social and broader 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:

Social impacts: What are the social impacts (e.g. social cohesion, integration, crime, congestion, use of public services) of migrants? We are particularly interested in an assessment of the impact by type of migrant (EEA; non-EEA; international students); by migrants characteristics (e.g. skills, occupation, age, nationality, household composition, employment status); at national/regional/local level; and how these impact changed over time.

Recruitment practices: what are the methods of recruitment to employ migrants (EEA, non-EEA, international student)? Do these differ from the ones to recruit native workers and/or students? What impact do these have on UK workers? Have these methods change over time? Do these change by skill-level? Industry? Occupation? Type of work (seasonal, temporary etc.)? National/Regional/Local level?

Skills and training: to what extent has EEA and non-EEA migration affected the skills and training of the UK workers? What is the role of universities or training providers on the UK economy skills and how these match with the UK economy needs?

Drivers of migration: what are the main drivers (push and pull factors) for migrants to come to the UK?

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