Defining migration policies from origin country perspective

Abstract

The role state plays in international migration gathers more and more attention in migration studies, across different disciplines. Policies implemented in order to manage migration are a point of high interest in the space of destination countries. Yet, even though our knowledge from destination perspective has constantly increased, origin state is still under the shadow of a biased research agenda. We have little insights on the way migration policies at origin are built, enforced or on their effects on international movements. This paper addresses the gap, proposing a definition and a subsequent operationalization of migration policies at origin. Building on the few papers approaching the issue (de Haas & Vezzoli, 2011; Weinar, 2014), it advocates for a general definition, encompassing three fields of intervention: emigration, diaspora and return. The endeavour is part of a larger effort directed to evaluate migration policies in the case of origin liberal democratic states, origin of international migration, using policy on paper approach.