April 30, 2019
Sociologist wins best article award at World Congress of Sociology
Matthew R. Sanderson, Randall C. Hill distinguished professor of sociology, anthropology and social work and professor of sociology, was awarded Article of the Year from the International Sociological Association's Research Committee on International Migration, for his paper, "To the Richest Go the Spoils? Immigration, Development, and the North-South Divide, 1970-2005," published in Sociology of Development, 2016.
Sanderson was presented the award in Toronto, Canada, at the XIX World Congress of Sociology, hosted every four years. The association was founded in 1949 under UNESCO and is the main global forum for sociologists. Its membership includes more than 5,000 members from 171 countries.
Sanderson's paper empirically assesses how immigration affects economic development in receiving countries. Despite much hyperbole about immigration in the public sphere, scholarly research on the long-term, aggregate effects of immigration on development is relatively scarce. Sanderson found that higher levels of cumulative immigration are associated over the long-term with higher average incomes in receiving countries in both the Global North and Global South. Immigration is beneficial for economic development regardless of position in the world economy. Northern, more developed countries, however, benefit disproportionately from immigration, reaping larger percentage gains in average incomes than countries in the Global South.
In making the award, the article review committee commended the article for its theoretical sophistication, methodological rigor and wide-ranging implications for migration policies around the world.
For more information on Sanderson, and the sociology, anthropology, and social work department, visit k-state.edu/sasw/faculty/sanderson.html.