International labour migration from developing to developed countries is considered a widespread phenomenon. As such, attempts at developing coherent co-development policies can be lauded as progressive because they make the effort to utilize migration to the benefit of both sending and receiving states, theoretically placing them, and all parties involved, in a mutually and equally beneficial relationship. Although co-development has numerous definitions and is applied in varying contexts, its main thrust is a “win-win” philosophy where labour migrants, their families in their communities of origin, sending countries, and receiving countries are able to accrue concrete economic and human development benefits (Chou 2005). I, therefore, recognize the potential benefits of co-development policies as migration and development tools. Nevertheless, in order to ascertain the ways in which co-development has been historically deployed, I present a comprehensive critical overview of co-development research and practices.
Canada Research Chair in Canadian Migration vs Policy, Impacts and Activism | Associate Professor, Department of Politics, York University