Learning about Migration through Economics: A Development Education Approach

Abstract

Most economics handbooks describe multiple applied market-related issues and situations from a purely economic perspective. The social or environmental aspects of these issues are, however, rarely discussed and, in any case, considered of residual importance. This gap can be filled by introducing development education (DE) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into economics teaching, as these encompass the three dimensions of sustainability: economic sustainability, social inclusion and environmental protection. The DE approach analyses social and environmental problems that need to be taken into account in economics subjects. It also involves increasing analytical and critical capacity, as well as offering a multidimensional perspective to economics or related fields. This article aims to highlight different economic concepts in which DE can be embedded. We will make use of standard economic concepts that can be found in a standard syllabus or in textbooks used in most universities around the world, such as the popular handbooks written by Mankiw and Taylor (2017), Blanchard (2017), Samuelson and Nordhaus (2010) and Acemoglu, Laibson and List (2022).