Migration & Development, mid-term summary
Migration and Development
Mid-term summary
All lectures & required readings, 31 August – 24 September 2026 · with Dutch
explanations of difficult terms
GEMIGRDEV · University of Groningen · Mid-term exam Tuesday 29 September 2026,
14:00–16:00
Study summary prepared for Marijn de Vroedt, for personal exam preparation
1
, Migration & Development, mid-term summary
How to use this summary
This summary covers all mid-term material: the lectures coloured blue in the Course Schedule
(31 Aug – 24 Sep). Ballas' lecture of 28 Sep (happiness, equilibrium theories) is not included:
that is final-exam material.
Item Details
Exam Tuesday 29 September 2026, 14:00–16:00 · Aletta Jacobs Hall · digital
Weight 50% of final grade (pass mark 5.5 on average of mid-term + final)
Format Multiple choice + short answer + open questions · 2 hours · dictionary allowed
Lecturers Adaawen (development studies) · Remund (population history) · Ballas (economic
geography, identity) · Venhorst (graduate migration)
Tip from course team "Pay attention to the demands of the question before you answer."
Legend
• Bold = key concept you should be able to define.
• Term (NL: Nederlandse uitleg) = difficult term with a Dutch explanation right behind it.
• Blue boxes = context; orange boxes = extra Dutch explanation of a hard idea; green boxes
= what the exam can ask.
• Each lecture ends with Required readings: the core argument of every article on the
reading list.
Important: about the sources
Lectures 1–6 are summarised from the actual slides in your project.
Venhorst (21 & 24 Sep): no slides were available yet. Chapter 7 is built on the three
required readings only. Add the slide content after the lectures.
Article summaries give the core argument and findings as generally known from these
publications, not a replacement for reading them. Book chapters and web pages I could not
access (Stalker, Human Atlas chapters, IOM Africa Migration Report, OECD page, Lesvos
letter) are described briefly with what to look for.
Contents
1. Introduction to the course (Adaawen, 31 Aug)
2. Crossing the Border: undocumented migration (Adaawen, 31 Aug)
3. African Migration Realities (Adaawen, 3 Sep)
4. The Mobility Transition: Myth or Reality? (Remund, 7 & 10 Sep)
5. Migration, Diversity and Place Identity (Ballas, 14 Sep)
6. Migration, Identity & Belonging: the Erasmus effect (Ballas, 17 Sep)
7. Forced Migration, Regional and Local Economic Development: Lesvos (Ballas, lecture 06b)
8. Brain Drain and Graduate Migration (Venhorst, 21 & 24 Sep)
9. Theory overview: all migration theories compared
10. Begrippenlijst EN–NL (glossary)
2
, Migration & Development, mid-term summary
1. Introduction to the course
Stephen Adaawen · Monday 31 August · Reading: Stalker (2008) Ch. 2; optional: de Haas
(2023) intro
Context
The course studies the two-way relationship between migration and development: migration
shapes the development of people and places, and development shapes who migrates,
where and why. The first lecture sets out the basic concepts and the three disciplinary lenses
used throughout the course.
1.1 Migration: personal stories with regional implications
Adaawen opens with the example of Vito Corleone (The Godfather): migration is always a
personal story (searching for a better place, being forced to move, integrating, self-realisation),
but it also has regional implications, economic, social and political, for both the place of origin
and the destination.
Key empirical point: internal migration (within a country) is far larger in volume than
international migration, even though international migration dominates public debate. Sources on
global flows: Abel & Cohen (2022) bilateral flow estimates; IOM World Migration Report
(McAuliffe & Ceriani Cernadas, 2026).
1.2 Defining migration
The course distinguishes a hierarchy of concepts:
• Move / relocation: any change of residence.
• Residential mobility (NL: verhuizing binnen dezelfde omgeving/woningmarktregio, zonder
dat je dagelijks leven verandert), short-distance moves.
• Migration: a move that changes your daily life substantially; can be internal or
international.
Theoretical definition: migration is a move involving a major change in the Daily Activity
Space (DAS) (NL: dagelijkse activiteitenruimte: het gebied waarin je je dagelijkse activiteiten
(vooral werk/studie) uitvoert). If you move house but keep the same job, school and friends, your
DAS stays the same → residential mobility, not migration.
IOM (empirical) definition: "movement of persons away from their place of usual residence,
either across an international border or within a State." Empirical definitions depend on what data
can measure (e.g. crossing a municipal or national border).
In het Nederlands
Het verschil tussen een theoretische en een empirische definitie is examenstof.
Theoretisch = wat migratie conceptueel betekent (verandering van DAS). Empirisch = hoe we
het in de praktijk meten (bijv. verhuizing over een gemeentegrens in het bevolkingsregister).
Die twee vallen niet altijd samen: een verhuizing van Haren naar Groningen stad is empirisch
"migratie" (andere gemeente) maar theoretisch misschien niet (zelfde werk en studie).
1.3 Defining development
Development is studied at three levels: individual (income, wellbeing, life chances), local and
regional economic development, and national/global development, e.g. measured by the UN
Human Development Index (HDI) (NL: samengestelde index van inkomen, onderwijs en
levensverwachting).
3
, Migration & Development, mid-term summary
1.4 Three perspectives on migration
Perspective Central questions Lecturers
Economic Human capital and labour-market factors in individual migration Ballas, Venhorst
decisions; utility and happiness; individual, regional/local and
national/macro economic impacts
Population studies Migration as an event in the life course. Macro: how flows change Mulder, Remund,
population size & composition. Micro: who migrates, under which Ziogas
circumstances, with what consequences. Meso: migration in the
context of households/families
Development Global development, migration and development in the Global Adaawen
studies South
In het Nederlands
Macro / meso / micro komt in bijna elk college terug. Macro = het niveau van landen, regio's
en bevolkingen (structuren). Meso = het tussenniveau: huishoudens, families, netwerken,
organisaties. Micro = het individu en zijn/haar beslissingen. Leer dit onderscheid goed; het
wordt ook gebruikt in het framework van irreguliere migratie (hoofdstuk 2).
1.5 Required reading
Stalker (2008), No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration, Ch. 2. Accessible introductory
book (e-book via library). Read the chapter for the broad picture of international migration:
historical waves, why people move and the scale of flows. Use it as background for definitions
and trends; it is not summarised here because the text was not available.
Optional: de Haas (2023), How Migration Really Works (intro). De Haas argues that public
debate is dominated by myths (e.g. "migration is at an all-time high", "border controls stop
migration", "development stops migration"). Migration levels are relatively stable as a share of
world population; migration is driven mainly by labour demand in destination countries, and
development tends to increase emigration at first. This connects directly to lectures 3 and 4.
Exam focus: be able to…
• define migration theoretically (DAS) and empirically (IOM) and explain the difference
• distinguish migration from residential mobility
• explain the macro, meso and micro levels of analysis
• name the three disciplinary perspectives and their typical questions
4
Migration and Development
Mid-term summary
All lectures & required readings, 31 August – 24 September 2026 · with Dutch
explanations of difficult terms
GEMIGRDEV · University of Groningen · Mid-term exam Tuesday 29 September 2026,
14:00–16:00
Study summary prepared for Marijn de Vroedt, for personal exam preparation
1
, Migration & Development, mid-term summary
How to use this summary
This summary covers all mid-term material: the lectures coloured blue in the Course Schedule
(31 Aug – 24 Sep). Ballas' lecture of 28 Sep (happiness, equilibrium theories) is not included:
that is final-exam material.
Item Details
Exam Tuesday 29 September 2026, 14:00–16:00 · Aletta Jacobs Hall · digital
Weight 50% of final grade (pass mark 5.5 on average of mid-term + final)
Format Multiple choice + short answer + open questions · 2 hours · dictionary allowed
Lecturers Adaawen (development studies) · Remund (population history) · Ballas (economic
geography, identity) · Venhorst (graduate migration)
Tip from course team "Pay attention to the demands of the question before you answer."
Legend
• Bold = key concept you should be able to define.
• Term (NL: Nederlandse uitleg) = difficult term with a Dutch explanation right behind it.
• Blue boxes = context; orange boxes = extra Dutch explanation of a hard idea; green boxes
= what the exam can ask.
• Each lecture ends with Required readings: the core argument of every article on the
reading list.
Important: about the sources
Lectures 1–6 are summarised from the actual slides in your project.
Venhorst (21 & 24 Sep): no slides were available yet. Chapter 7 is built on the three
required readings only. Add the slide content after the lectures.
Article summaries give the core argument and findings as generally known from these
publications, not a replacement for reading them. Book chapters and web pages I could not
access (Stalker, Human Atlas chapters, IOM Africa Migration Report, OECD page, Lesvos
letter) are described briefly with what to look for.
Contents
1. Introduction to the course (Adaawen, 31 Aug)
2. Crossing the Border: undocumented migration (Adaawen, 31 Aug)
3. African Migration Realities (Adaawen, 3 Sep)
4. The Mobility Transition: Myth or Reality? (Remund, 7 & 10 Sep)
5. Migration, Diversity and Place Identity (Ballas, 14 Sep)
6. Migration, Identity & Belonging: the Erasmus effect (Ballas, 17 Sep)
7. Forced Migration, Regional and Local Economic Development: Lesvos (Ballas, lecture 06b)
8. Brain Drain and Graduate Migration (Venhorst, 21 & 24 Sep)
9. Theory overview: all migration theories compared
10. Begrippenlijst EN–NL (glossary)
2
, Migration & Development, mid-term summary
1. Introduction to the course
Stephen Adaawen · Monday 31 August · Reading: Stalker (2008) Ch. 2; optional: de Haas
(2023) intro
Context
The course studies the two-way relationship between migration and development: migration
shapes the development of people and places, and development shapes who migrates,
where and why. The first lecture sets out the basic concepts and the three disciplinary lenses
used throughout the course.
1.1 Migration: personal stories with regional implications
Adaawen opens with the example of Vito Corleone (The Godfather): migration is always a
personal story (searching for a better place, being forced to move, integrating, self-realisation),
but it also has regional implications, economic, social and political, for both the place of origin
and the destination.
Key empirical point: internal migration (within a country) is far larger in volume than
international migration, even though international migration dominates public debate. Sources on
global flows: Abel & Cohen (2022) bilateral flow estimates; IOM World Migration Report
(McAuliffe & Ceriani Cernadas, 2026).
1.2 Defining migration
The course distinguishes a hierarchy of concepts:
• Move / relocation: any change of residence.
• Residential mobility (NL: verhuizing binnen dezelfde omgeving/woningmarktregio, zonder
dat je dagelijks leven verandert), short-distance moves.
• Migration: a move that changes your daily life substantially; can be internal or
international.
Theoretical definition: migration is a move involving a major change in the Daily Activity
Space (DAS) (NL: dagelijkse activiteitenruimte: het gebied waarin je je dagelijkse activiteiten
(vooral werk/studie) uitvoert). If you move house but keep the same job, school and friends, your
DAS stays the same → residential mobility, not migration.
IOM (empirical) definition: "movement of persons away from their place of usual residence,
either across an international border or within a State." Empirical definitions depend on what data
can measure (e.g. crossing a municipal or national border).
In het Nederlands
Het verschil tussen een theoretische en een empirische definitie is examenstof.
Theoretisch = wat migratie conceptueel betekent (verandering van DAS). Empirisch = hoe we
het in de praktijk meten (bijv. verhuizing over een gemeentegrens in het bevolkingsregister).
Die twee vallen niet altijd samen: een verhuizing van Haren naar Groningen stad is empirisch
"migratie" (andere gemeente) maar theoretisch misschien niet (zelfde werk en studie).
1.3 Defining development
Development is studied at three levels: individual (income, wellbeing, life chances), local and
regional economic development, and national/global development, e.g. measured by the UN
Human Development Index (HDI) (NL: samengestelde index van inkomen, onderwijs en
levensverwachting).
3
, Migration & Development, mid-term summary
1.4 Three perspectives on migration
Perspective Central questions Lecturers
Economic Human capital and labour-market factors in individual migration Ballas, Venhorst
decisions; utility and happiness; individual, regional/local and
national/macro economic impacts
Population studies Migration as an event in the life course. Macro: how flows change Mulder, Remund,
population size & composition. Micro: who migrates, under which Ziogas
circumstances, with what consequences. Meso: migration in the
context of households/families
Development Global development, migration and development in the Global Adaawen
studies South
In het Nederlands
Macro / meso / micro komt in bijna elk college terug. Macro = het niveau van landen, regio's
en bevolkingen (structuren). Meso = het tussenniveau: huishoudens, families, netwerken,
organisaties. Micro = het individu en zijn/haar beslissingen. Leer dit onderscheid goed; het
wordt ook gebruikt in het framework van irreguliere migratie (hoofdstuk 2).
1.5 Required reading
Stalker (2008), No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration, Ch. 2. Accessible introductory
book (e-book via library). Read the chapter for the broad picture of international migration:
historical waves, why people move and the scale of flows. Use it as background for definitions
and trends; it is not summarised here because the text was not available.
Optional: de Haas (2023), How Migration Really Works (intro). De Haas argues that public
debate is dominated by myths (e.g. "migration is at an all-time high", "border controls stop
migration", "development stops migration"). Migration levels are relatively stable as a share of
world population; migration is driven mainly by labour demand in destination countries, and
development tends to increase emigration at first. This connects directly to lectures 3 and 4.
Exam focus: be able to…
• define migration theoretically (DAS) and empirically (IOM) and explain the difference
• distinguish migration from residential mobility
• explain the macro, meso and micro levels of analysis
• name the three disciplinary perspectives and their typical questions
4
