The Growth, Equal Opportunities Migrations and Markets project (GEMM) is funded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union (Grant Agreement 649255). GEMM addresses the challenges and barriers that European countries face in managing the mobility of persons to realize competitiveness and growth. For markets to function optimally, we identify two migration-related drivers of growth: the efficient use of existing human capital and managing mobility of human capital both from within and from outside Europe. A key barrier for these drivers to contribute to growth is ethnic inequality. Inequality can be a result of the skill composition and resources of the migrant population, but also of markets not functioning optimally, for example due to ethnic discrimination, economic conditions or institutional arrangements that affect the flexibility of the labour market. Consequently, inequality can result in economic decline, the inability to face the demographic challenge in Europe, a scarcity of skilled labour, or an innovation deficit. The contribution of the GEMM project is to deliver an in-depth assessment of the two drivers of growth and their relation to ethnic inequality in the European labour market. We achieve this through a unified WP research agenda that focuses on different types of migrants defined by the qualifications they possess. Depth is added by considering different determinants of inequality at three levels: individual; contextual; and institutional. GEMM strives for scientific rigour and balance that better reflect the multi-faceted migration phenomenon.

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Led by Javier Polavieja (PI), the Spanish team of the GEMM project participates in 3 working packages with a total team budget of over 400,000 Euros.