Prof Lucinda Platt

This course is available on the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science, MSc in International Migration and Public Policy, MSc in International Migration and Public Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in International Social and Public Policy, MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Development), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Education), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (LSE and Fudan), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Migration), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Non-Governmental Organisations) and MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Research). This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

Where applications exceed the cap, priority will be given to students on listed programmes. Applicants will be asked to complete a short statement identifying their interest in the course. This will be used to discriminate between applicants within listed programmes or between those on other programmes applying where capacity remains. 

All Social Policy Courses are ‘Controlled Access’.

When applying for the course all students are required to provide a written statement explaining why they wish to take that course.

Statements are considered by the Course Convenor and, where merited by the statement, places are offered in the following priority order:

1. Students for whom the course appears as an ‘optional core course’ on their Programme Regulations (where students have to choose between a small number of core options).
2.  Students for whom the course appears as an optional course on their Programme Regulations.
3. Other  students.

Please note: The number of students that can be accommodated on most courses is limited. If a course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Convenor’s discretion, based on student statements. Therefore, you are advised to have an alternative course in mind in case you are unable to secure your first-choice course selection.

If offered a place on a Social Policy course, please accept the place as early as possible. NB: Offers will ‘time-out’ after 48 hours and the place will be offered to another student. If you wish to reject an offer, please do so as early as possible so that the place can be offered to one of your fellow students.

Please Note: No places will be offered on Social Policy courses UNTIL 1pm on 28th September 2026.

For queries contact: socialpolicy.msc@lse.ac.uk

International migration is linked to inequality at both origin and destination in multiple ways, with potentially countervailing impacts. This course examines the relationship between migration and inequality by considering a) the effects of migration on inequality in the destination country (e.g. through impacts on the concentrations at the top and bottom of the distribution) and for non-migrants and immigrants; b) the effects of emigration on inequality in the origin country; and c) the implications of migration for global inequalities. It examines the ways in which migrants are selected and the implications for their outcomes at destination as well as for the origin country, the relevance of (selective) return migration for development and for exacerbating or mitigating national and international inequalities, and the role of remittance income in reducing or enhancing inequalities. It also looks at elite migration, social mobility of migrants as mobility as a signifier of advantage as well as a consequence of disadvantage. It addresses inequality as a driver – and sometimes a consequence of migration, but also examines the ways in which certain policies or policy regimes can mitigate or enhance the relationship between migration and inequality. It draws on migration literature from sociology, social policy, political science and economics, though with a particular focus on the sociological and stratification literature. Week by week coverage is as follows:

1. Introduction: aims of the course, overview of themes – inequalities at origin, at destination and globally. Migration as a means to addressing global inequality?
2. Migrant selection (1): the drivers of and options for migration; implications of migrant selectivity for inequality in origin countries
3. Remittances and return – sources of development and/ or of inter- and intra-country inequality? empirical evidence and debates?
4. Migrant selection (2) implications of migrant selectivity for outcomes of migrants and for inequalities between migrants and integration at destination
5. Labour market implications of migration – impacts on (inequalities) of wages at destination – issues, measures and debates
6. READING WEEK
7. Labour migration programmes: creating opportunities or inequalities? 
8. Social mobility of migrants and the immigrant aspiration ‘paradox’ – theory and empirical evidence
9. Forms of ‘elite’ migration: sustaining inequalities across the globe: transnational employees, golden passports and the globally mobile elite
10. Student migration – a special case?
11. Forced migration and inequality

15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

There is no formal assessed formative assessment for the course. Exercises in seminars and pre-seminar activities will enable students to develop skills relevant to both summative assessments.

Abramitzky, R. and Boustan, L. 2022. Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success. Public Affairs.

Chae, S., and Glick, J. E. (2019). Educational Selectivity of Migrants and Current School Enrolment of Children Left behind: Analyses in Three African Countries. International Migration Review, 53(3): 736– 769.

Clemens, Michael. (2025). From Root Causes to Shared Gains: Migration Policy for Low-Income Countries in a Labor-Scarce World. IZA  Discussion Paper 18308. https//docs.iza.org/dp18308.pdf

Dustmann, C. Kastis, Y. and Preston, I. (2024). Inequality and immigration. Oxford Open Economics, 3, i453–i473. https://doi.org/10.1093/ooec/odad052.

Feliciano, Cynthia. 2020. Immigrant Selectivity Effects on Health, Labor Market, and Educational Outcomes. Annual Review of Sociology 46(1):315–34.

Milanovic, Branko. (2012). Global Inequality: From Class to Location, from Proletarians to Migrants. Global Policy, 3(2), 2012-05, 125 - 134

Nikolova, Milena. (2025). The Relationship between Inequality and Potential Emigration: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll. International Migration Review 59(3): 1293-1331.

Platt, Lucinda, Migration and Social Stratification (2025). In  L.Platt, J. Polavieja, H. Van de Werfhorst, and M. Gangl. The Oxford Handbook of Social Stratification. Oxford: OUP.

Safi, Mirna. (2020). Migration and Inequality. Polity. 

Takenaka, A. and Pren, K.A. (2010). Determinants of emigration: comparing migrants’ selectivity from Peru and Mexico. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 630(1):178-93.

World Bank. 2018. Moving for Prosperity: Global Migration and Labor Markets. Policy Research Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Exam (70%), duration: 150 Minutes in the Spring exam period.

Essay (30%, 1500 words) in Winter Term Week 7.

Summative assessment is in two parts - on short essay-based assignment (30%) and an exam requiring answers to two questions. Both assessments are designed to develop students' engagement with the relationships between migration and inequality, and involve engagement with 'real-world' examples. In addition, the summative assessments are cumulative. That is, it is expected that learning from and feedback provided on the first summative (30% essay) can fed into preparation for and completion of the second summative (70% Exam).