In four Asian cities, treating “migrants” as a single box misses how people move and stay

A mixed-methods study in Hanoi, Karachi, Manila and Mumbai argues that rigid migrant labels can obscure links between mobility and upward social mobility.

Abstract editorial illustration accompanying the article: In four Asian cities, treating “migrants” as a single box misses how people move and stay

Editorial illustration — not from the study.

The article questions a common approach in migration research: dividing people into predefined groups labeled “migrant” and “non-migrant.” The authors say these labels often come more from government categories than from how people actually experience moving and settling, and that they can miss why mobility matters in everyday life.

To explore whether migration plays a role in upward social mobility into Asian middle classes, the researchers used a mixed-methods design with residents in Hanoi, Karachi, Manila and Mumbai. They gathered survey data (n = 2016) and family history interviews, and they use alternative approaches to measure both spatial movement and stasis—what they call “un-categorising ‘the migrant’.”

Rethinking migrant labels

The study does not present a simple test result on whether migration increases upward social mobility. Instead, it lays out conceptual and practical concerns with categorising “the migrant,” then uses its survey and family history interview experience to analyze the potential and pitfalls of “categorising” versus “un-categorising” the migrant when studying how spatial mobility relates to social mobility.

Seeing mobility more clearly

The work matters because it focuses on how research categories shape what researchers can see. By arguing for approaches that better reflect both movement and staying put, it targets a key limitation in studies of migration and social mobility, especially when the goal is to understand people’s real experiences.

Survey and interview evidence, plus gaps

This is a mixed-methods study using survey data (n = 2016) plus family history interviews among middle-class residents in four cities. The abstract describes the study’s aim and approach but does not give specific estimates of effects, comparisons between groups, or detailed results on mobility and social mobility. Because the findings are framed around conceptual and methodological evaluation, the conclusions about “roles” of migration are likely constrained by how the alternative measures operationalize movement and stasis and by the focus on middle-class residents in these four cities.

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