Today, December 18, is International Migrants Day. Established in 2000 by the UN, International Migrants Day recognizes the ever-increasing number of migrants around the world, and encourages the sharing of evidence-based policy designs to ensure their protection.

In 2015, the influx of migrants fleeing war to Europe has dominated media coverage and has triggered widespread concern over whether European economies will be able to absorb the added strain. However, the perception that migrants are an extra burden on economies is largely shortsighted; Western economies could greatly benefit from an injection of people willing to work, if their asylum applications are processed and they are trained in the host country language quickly. Language skills, training, and improved asylum processes are all policies that research has proved to be effective for the integration and economic success of migrants. 

IZA World of Labor has many evidence-based articles and policy recommendations for issues related to migration. To mark International Migrants Day, we have curated a selection of these articles, Amelie Constant shares her three reasons immigrants are valuable for the host country, and Friedrich Schneider explains why corruption promotes emigration from developing nations and what policymakers can do to prevent it.

Visit the International Migrants Day page to find out more.

Join the #InternationalMigrantsDay discussions on Twitter.

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• What could Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to take paternity leave mean for ordinary workers? Read more...
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• In her article, The role of preschool in reducing inequality, Jane Waldfogel explains how children from disadvantaged families have lower levels of school readiness when they enter school than children from more advantaged families; evidence shows publicly provided preschool can reduce this inequality quite substantially. 
• David Audretsch writes, in his article Knowledge spillovers and future jobs, that entrepreneurs will play a vital role in creating the jobs of the future by transforming ideas and knowledge into new products and services.
• Early-life medical care and public health interventions may benefit not only child health but also long-term educational outcomes, writes N. Meltem Daysal in her article Early-life medical care and human capital accumulation.

Visit the IZA World of Labor site for more concise, informative, evidence-based articles across the spectrum of labor economics.

• Minimum wage increases redistribute GDP away from lower-skilled industries and toward higher-skilled industries and are largely ineffective in assisting the poor during both peaks and troughs in the business cycle.
• Should firms allow workers to choose their own wage? Delegating the choice of wage setting to workers can lead to better outcomes for all involved parties.
• The costs of skills mismatches can be large and long-lasting for workers, firms, and economies, with long periods of overeducation implying a loss of human capital for individuals and ineffective use of resources for the economy.
• Policymakers need to understand how this new and significant upward trend in female migration could affect the economic and social development of home countries.