Research
Crossing borders
The increasing trends of cross-border movements, fuelled by factors such as the free movement of individuals within the EU, political instability, climate change, and global inequality, pose significant challenges for EU countries. These movements encompass a wide range of people, including refugees, regular migrants, and daily transnational commuters. The trends in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are even more striking than in other industrialised countries. They have far-reaching implications in all segments of society, affecting labour markets, public finances, social cohesion, and regional governance in border areas. To address these challenges and provide relevant guidance to policymakers, it is crucial to have tools for monitoring, analysing, and understanding the causes and consequences of these flows. The cross-departmental Research Programme on Crossing Borders has specific objectives:
- Assess the size and composition of historical and recent cross-border flows and understand the underlying drivers.
- Utilise innovative data sources to study the interplay between different forms of mobility.
- Analyse the economic and societal impacts of these flows on all stakeholders involved.
- Develop projection tools to anticipate future movements.
- Create tools to assist policymakers in maximizing the benefits and/or minimizing the costs of current and future movements for European countries in general, and for Luxembourg society in particular.
- Provide databases and expert analyses to stakeholders and civil society, enabling them to assess the driving forces and consequences of policy actions.
- Contribute to the training of PhD researchers in these subject areas.
A word from the programme leader, Frédéric Docquier
Cross-border mobility has been a key research focus at LISER for many years. The three departments have a strong tradition of studying people's movements within the Greater Region and other parts of Europe. In 2019, the Research Programme on Crossing Borders was established to bring together ongoing research activities and new projects under a unified platform.This programme aligns with LISER's objectives of academic excellence and societal impact. It creates a research environment that promotes publications in international journals, enhances research visibility, and encourages participation in scientific networks. Additionally, the programme aims to inform public authorities and socio-economic actors, involve stakeholders in co-creation activities, and raise public awareness of societal challenges.
Since 2020, LISER has achieved recognition as one of the world's top 10 institutions in the field of Economics of Human Migration due to its significant research contributions in this area.
— Frédéric Docquier
Flagship projects and activities
Alongside ongoing research projects conducted at the department level, several projects and activities are emblematic of the activities initiated by the Research Programme on Crossing Borders:
News
Past & Upcoming Events
Publications
Members and partners
The Research Programme on Crossing Borders provides support to numerous researchers engaged in cross-border mobility research projects. As part of the program, several researchers have been recruited to contribute to new research projects directly led by the programme:
- Rana Comertpay (CAIPD, affiliated with LM)
- Adam Levai (EUFIRST, affiliated with LC)
- Silvia Peracchi (CRHOUSINQ, affiliated with UDM)
- Hillel Rapoport (CB, affiliated with UDM)
- Martin Fernandez Sanchez (CB, affiliated with UDM)
- Aleksandra Szymanska (ACROSS, affiliated with UDM)
- Mariajose Silva-Vargas (CAIPD, affiliated with LM)
- Alexander Yarkin (CROUSHINQ, affiliated with UDM)
The Research Programme maintains close connections with academic scholars from outside Luxembourg and international institutions. Key partners include the French Development Agency, the World Bank Development Research Group, the OECD, CEPII, CERDI, Paris School of Economics, University of Luxembourg, Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, CEPII, Institut Convergence Migrations, Global Migration Center at UCDavis, Université catholique de Louvain, Bocconi University, Universitat Autonoma Barcelona, UQAM, University of Alicante, University of Salerno, and University of Verona.
Find below a series of policy briefs discussing various projects of the Research Programme on Crossing Borders as well as the contributions of world experts on migration. Crossing Borders regularly invites international scholars to visit LISER and share their expertise and insights from their latest research. They participate in some engaging interviews that you can find below.
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
