Migration and integration are inherently multidimensional and complex phenomena. In addition to the theoretical difficulties about understanding and modeling, measurement of such phenomena is of such relevance that it requires significant effort and attention. Ranging from designing measurement to categorization, from selection of indicators to data collection and production, each process and procedure will potentially influence studies on migration and integration significantly. Because these results, in the end, may be used for policy-making purposes, they will also affect migration itself.

To discuss theoretical and analytical issues about modeling moving individuals with identities and the dynamics involved in their integration into new societies, we organized the 1st Migrating Identities Workshop on Models in June 2016 during which we had the opportunity to connect the ideas of four leading scholars from different perspectives and disciplines.

With the 2nd Migration Identities Workshop on Measurement, we aim to move forward to the issue of measurement. Combining diverse approaches and aiming to stretch borders between social disciplines, this workshop tackles important questions in times that people and societies keep continuously moving:

How can we map individuals and their not always regular interactions into numerical terms?

What are limitations of measurement and how can we cope with the complexity of the issues under uncertainty?

The full-day workshop will consist of an introductory presentation by the organizers and presentations by four invited lecturers from different disciplines.

Confirmed Presenters:

Hendrik van den Berg (University of Nebraska, visiting at University of Massachusetts), "Measuring the Macroeconomic Demand Effects of Immigration"

Mark van Ostaijen (Erasmus University Rotterdam), "The Politics of Numbers. Counting European mobile workers in the Netherlands"

Leydi Johana van den Braken (Utrecht University), “A Social Science Perspective on Measuring Non-Migration”

Marcel Boumans (Utrecht University), "Identification is Measurement"

Participation is free of charge and lunch will be served.

*Painting credit to Mark Chadwick.

Program

09:30-10:00 Welcome Coffee

10:00-10:15 Opening of the Workshop

10:15-11:15 Marcel Boumans (Utrecht)

11:30-12:30 Hendrik van den Berg (Nebraska)

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-14:30 Mark van Ostaijen (Erasmus)

14:45-15:45 Leydi Johana van den Braken (Utrecht)

15:45-16:00 Closing discussion

16:00-17:00 Borrel/Cocktail in the garden