NOVAFRICA Blog: Integrating Migrants — Why Supporting Immigrants Abroad Can Drive Development at Home

International migration plays a major role in shaping economic development not only for receiving countries but also for origin countries. The way immigrants integrate abroad is often overlooked in discussions about migration’s broader impact. Can better integration at the destination translate into development benefits back home? That is the central question behind

“Integrating Migrants: Experimental Evidence on Cross-Border Spillovers”

by Catia Batista, Lara Bohnet, Jules Gazeaud, and Julia Seither (2025). The study focuses on Cape Verdean immigrants in Portugal, second largest African immigrant group in Portugal, facing high unemployment and persistent barriers to accessing stable jobs, documentation, and information on their rights.

Methodology & Approach

The authors argue that immigrants’ ability to access accurate information about employment, legal status, and public services is a key factor determining how migration affects outcomes in both destination and origin countries. To test this, they conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) among recently arrived Cape Verdean migrants in Lisbon.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two groups:

• The treatment group received access to Morabeza, a free mobile app (and printed guide) providing practical information on job opportunities, legal rights, residency procedures, healthcare access, and local support services.
• The control group received a placebo version with only tourist information about Lisbon.
The idea was simple but powerful: by lowering information barriers, migrants might find better jobs, regularize their status, and participate more fully in Portuguese society. The researchers then tracked both the migrants in Portugal and one close family member in Cape Verde over 18 months to see whether integration improvements “spilled over” across borders.

Results

The findings were striking. Migrants with access to the Morabeza app experienced significant improvements in their labor market integration and job quality without necessarily earning more. They also became more proactive: they searched for more jobs, took steps toward regularization, and were more likely to obtain residence permits. But the effects did not stop there. Migrants’ families in Cape Verde showed higher political participation, with a notable increase in voter turnout, and more egalitarian gender norms within households. These “social remittances”, the transfer of ideas and behaviors rather than money, were strongest among younger and male respondents, when it came to gender norms, whose beliefs were more likely to evolve. Interestingly, these positive changes were not due to increased income or communication frequency, but rather to the content of interactions: migrants who were better integrated transmitted new norms and values.

Why it matters

This research demonstrates that integration plays a key role in migration and development policy. Better integration outcomes don’t just benefit migrants themselves, but can also empower families and communities back home. The study offers experimental evidence that low-cost, scalable tools can promote labor market success, legal inclusion, and even democratic engagement across borders. In a world where migration continues to shape societies on both ends, policies that support immigrant integration could become an effective instrument for shared development.

Download the Working Paper here.

Authored by: Anaïs Biladi