TY - JOUR
T1 - Overcoming the problems of inconsistent international migration data: a new method applied to flows in Europe
AU - de Beer, J.A.A.
AU - Raymer, J.
AU - van der Erf, R.F.
AU - van Wissen, L.J.G.
N1 - Reporting year: 2010
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Due to differences in definitions and measurement methods, crosscountry
comparisons of international migration patterns are difficult and confusing.
Emigration numbers reported by sending countries tend to differ from the corresponding
immigration numbers reported by receiving countries. In this paper, a methodology is presented to achieve harmonised estimates of migration flows benchmarked to a specific definition of duration. This methodology accounts for both differences in definitions and the effects of measurement error due to, for example, under reporting and sampling fluctuations. More specifically, the differences between the two sets of reported data are overcome by estimating a set of adjustment factors for each country’s immigration and emigration data. The adjusted data take into account any special cases where the origin–destination patterns do not match the overall patterns. The new method for harmonising
migration flows that we present is based on earlier efforts by Poulain (European
Journal of Population, 9(4): 353–381 1993, Working Paper 12, joint ECE-Eurostat
Work Session on Migration Statistics, Geneva, Switzerland 1999) and is illustrated
for movements between 19 European countries from 2002 to 2007. The results represent a reliable and consistent set of international migration flows that can be used for understanding recent changes in migration patterns, as inputs into population projections and for developing evidence-based migration policies.
keywords: immigration; emigration; international migration statistics; harmonisation; Europe
AB - Due to differences in definitions and measurement methods, crosscountry
comparisons of international migration patterns are difficult and confusing.
Emigration numbers reported by sending countries tend to differ from the corresponding
immigration numbers reported by receiving countries. In this paper, a methodology is presented to achieve harmonised estimates of migration flows benchmarked to a specific definition of duration. This methodology accounts for both differences in definitions and the effects of measurement error due to, for example, under reporting and sampling fluctuations. More specifically, the differences between the two sets of reported data are overcome by estimating a set of adjustment factors for each country’s immigration and emigration data. The adjusted data take into account any special cases where the origin–destination patterns do not match the overall patterns. The new method for harmonising
migration flows that we present is based on earlier efforts by Poulain (European
Journal of Population, 9(4): 353–381 1993, Working Paper 12, joint ECE-Eurostat
Work Session on Migration Statistics, Geneva, Switzerland 1999) and is illustrated
for movements between 19 European countries from 2002 to 2007. The results represent a reliable and consistent set of international migration flows that can be used for understanding recent changes in migration patterns, as inputs into population projections and for developing evidence-based migration policies.
keywords: immigration; emigration; international migration statistics; harmonisation; Europe
U2 - 10.1007/s10680-010-9220-z
DO - 10.1007/s10680-010-9220-z
M3 - Article
SN - 0168-6577
VL - 26
SP - 459
EP - 481
JO - European Journal of Population - Revue Européenne de Population
JF - European Journal of Population - Revue Européenne de Population
IS - 4
ER -