Deciding Where to go: Policies,People and Perceptions Shaping Destination Preferences

There is considerable interest among European politicians and policymakers in the factors influencing the destination preferences of refugees and other migrants. Drawing on in‐depth qualitative interviews with more than 250 Syrians, Eritreans and Nigerians, this article examines the destination preferences of those crossing the Mediterranean in 2015 and the extent to which they were aware of, and/or influenced by, policies intended to control and manage their arrival. Our findings question the extent to which deterrence policies have their intended or assumed effects. Preferred destinations are rarely identified solely, or even primarily, on the basis of migration policies devised by different governments with the explicit aim of reducing the number of arrivals. Rather they reflect the “coming together” of a wide range of factors, including access to protection and family reunification, the availability/accuracy of information, the overall economic environment and social networks. Moreover perceptions of migration policies may be more significant than their content as the implications are often not known or misunderstood.     

Nepal's Child Grant: A mixed‐methods assessment of implementation bottlenecks

This article evaluates the implementation of the Child Grant, one of the major social protection interventions in Nepal, and identifies bottlenecks that limit its ultimate effectiveness. On the whole, while delivery works for many beneficiaries, we found inconsistencies between the way the policy is laid out on paper, and the way it is actually implemented. Targeting efficiency is high, despite the wealth targeting criterion not being applied in practice. Owing to informal awareness‐raising campaigns, beneficiaries’ knowledge on registration, eligibility and entitlement is patchy. Payment levels vary and tend to be infrequent. These implementation bottlenecks limit the Grant's effectiveness and temper some of its impact potential.     

The Affordability of Social Protection in the Light of International Spending Commitments

In recent years a number of international sector‐specific agreements have been developed by the international community and ratified by developing countries – some with specific spending targets. This article offers an empirical analysis of the individual and aggregate affordability of six sectoral targets and, based on the actual or estimated cost of each of the targets, compares target spending levels with actual government expenditure in five African countries. Most targets are not met and, while individually ‘affordable’, the estimated cost of meeting the six targets simultaneously indicates that they are not jointly affordable, with an estimated cost of more than 100% of total government expenditure in four of the five countries. Meeting any of the sectoral targets in full would require either sectoral trade‐offs, or significant increases in donor or government expenditure.     

The Political Influence of Return: From Diaspora to Libyan Transit Returnees

In December 2016, Gambian dictator Jammeh was surprisingly ousted through the ballot box by a democratically motivated opposition. With this remarkable change, tables also turned for Gambian migrants. Gambians abroad were called upon to return and help rebuild the nation, while political interests in host states increased to return “irregular” migrants. In what ways can migrant return be politically influential, especially after a critical juncture as in the Gambia? Current studies fail to consider different types of returnees, including those perceived as highly skilled compared to those seen as low‐skilled. We found that in post‐dictatorial Gambia, both types of returnees have political influence on the new regime. Highly skilled diaspora returnees were explicitly invited as contributors to political developments in the country and thus have a direct political influence. In contrast, low‐skilled returned migrants from Libya are considered as receivers of public goods; yet through claims to political representation they managed to carve out political influence, albeit indirectly.