Exceptional people : how migration shaped our world and will define our future / Ian Goldin, Geoffrey Cameron, and Meera Balarajan.

pt. I. Past : Migration from prehistory to Columbus: Early migration, Connecting humanity, Migration and humanity ; Global migrations: toward a world economy: The age of exploration, Imperialism and coercion, Unfree migrations: slavery and indentured labor, Global "free" migrations (ca. 1840-1914), Builders of the modern world ; "Managed" migration in the twentieth century (1914-1973): The end of the liberal period, The interwar period: economic decline and regulated migration, Post-WWII migrations, Finding reasons to regulate -- part II. Present : Leaving home: migration decisions and processes: Micro-level: individuals and families, meso-level: networks and systems, Macro-level: demographic, political, and economic conditions, Individual, society, and national influences ; Immigration and border control: Channels and flows of migration, Economic migration, Social migration, Refugee migration, Border control, Beyond border controls ; The impacts of migration: Impacts on receiving countries, Impacts on sending countries, Impacts on migrants, Impacts on societies and migrants -- part III. Future : The future of migration: The backdrop of globalization, Supply of migrants, Demands for migrants ; A global migration agenda: Thought experiment, ; A long-term vision of freer movement, Principles for global migration, The need for global leadership.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-357) and index.

"Throughout history, migrants have fueled the engine of human progress. Their movement has sparked innovation, spread ideas, relieved poverty, and laid the foundations for a global economy. In a world more interconnected than ever before, the number of people with the means and motivation to migrate will only increase. Exceptional People looks at the profound advantages that such dynamics will have for countries and migrants the world over. Challenging the received wisdom that a dramatic growth in migration is undesirable, the book proposes new approaches for governance that will embrace this international mobility. The authors explore the critical role of human migration since humans first departed Africa some fifty thousand years ago -- how the circulation of ideas and technologies has benefited communities and how the movement of people across oceans and continents has fueled economies. They show that migrants in today's world connect markets, fill labor gaps, and enrich social diversity. Migration also allows individuals to escape destitution, human rights abuses, and repressive regimes. However, the authors indicate that most current migration policies are based on misconceptions and fears about migration's long-term contributions and social dynamics. Future policies, for good or ill, will dramatically determine whether societies can effectively reap migration's opportunities while managing the risks of the twenty-first century. A guide to vigorous debate."--Jacket.