(In observance of the International Migrants Day on December 18)
Achieving policy coherence regarding migration and development requires more effective data, analysis, monitoring and evaluation of the interconnections between the two phenomena. Progress has been made by the World Bank, OECD, UN Population Division and others in improving the collection and publication of data on international migrants and remittances but more needs to be done in this area. There are still gaps in the production of good data for policy making. While aggregate data are improved, not all countries produce precisely the same information and some countries collect almost no data on migration or its linkages to development. The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) has repeatedly called upon governments to introduce modules on migration into censuses and household and labor surveys. Some of these modules are being tested to determine the best ways to collect needed information. Encouragement of even greater progress in this area is essential to promoting policy coherence. So too are improvements in the collection and use of administrative data on migration and development and their inter-linkages.