Ian Goldin: Is migration a drag or a driver of progress?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the renowned economist Ian Goldin, who
wants to reframe the debate around migration. He’s been a senior
official at the World Bank, an economic adviser to Nelson Mandela
and he’s now professor of globalisation and development at Oxford
University. His latest book, The Shortest History of Migration,
illustrates the centrality of movement to the evolution of
humanity – from the earliest human travellers leaving East Africa
some 300,000 years ago to all of the people seeking sanctuary and
prosperity across today's national borders.


Migration is, right now, a hot and contentious topic. Powerful
political voices across the world link migration with insecurity,
crime and cultural breakdown. Others say migrants bring new ideas
and energy and are vital to economic growth. It seems no amount
of border security will stop people wanting to move; indeed,
global heating and political instability are likely to see the
numbers increase. Will migration, and how we deal with it, be the
defining issue of this century?