Migration is an increasingly central dimension of globalisation. The result is a new mobility system characterised by diverse forms of migration patterns. Policy makers and citizens look with growing interest — and sometimes with alarm — upon the links between this emerging mobility system and the economic and social outcomes within migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries. Can international migration contribute to economic progress? With appropriate policies and programmes addressing all sectors of societies affected by migration, it can. At present, however, the prospects for economic and other gains from migration are beset by a variety of institutional obstacles.