This chapter maps out the empirical works focussed on the relationship between poverty and international migration while situating them within the wider literature that qualitatively or quantitatively examines the socio-economic performances of international migrants and/or their descendants. It then presents the current research evidence on the incidence, persistence and determinants of migrant poverty. It concludes by explaining the ways in which this book will contribute to closing the gaps existing within the field.

Situating migrant poverty research

There has been a long-standing research interest in understanding the socio-economic outcomes of international migration for the migrants and/or their descendants. Much of the literature is destination-oriented and targeted at different migrant groups or generations living in Europe, North America and other economically advanced parts of the world, including those with origins in Turkey. The outcomes are examined quantitatively and/or qualitatively, based on a wide range of performance indicators, but most are couched in terms of income or social mobility. Typically used measures include the wages, incomes, earnings and, more specifically, welfare transfers on one side (for example, Chiswick 1978; Blau 1984; Tienda and Jensen 1986; Borjas 1987; Borjas and Hilton 1996; Hammarstedt 2001; Aguilera and Massey 2003; Büchel and Frick 2005; Brown 2007; Reitz et al 2011; Stillman et al 2015; Gibson et al 2018; Villarreal and Tamborini 2018; Lightman and Gingrich 2018; Lamb et al 2021), and education, (un)employment and occupational attainment on the other (for example, Boyd 1984; Crul and Vermeulen 2003; Van Tubergen et al 2004; Kogan 2006; Van Tubergen 2006; Kasinitz et al 2008; Levels and Dronkers 2008; Fleischmann and Dronkers 2010; Luthra and Waldinger 2010; Kalter 2011; Pichler 2011; Crul et al 2012; Dustmann et al 2012; Lessard- Phillips et al 2012; Louie 2012; Ichou 2014; Spörlein and Van Tubergen 2014; Zuccotti et al 2017; Eroğlu 2018; Bayrakdar and Güveli 2021).

The above-sketched literature largely reflects the international migration scholars’ general preoccupation with questions around assimilation, integration, incorporation or adaptation into the destination context, given the predominant use of the ‘natives’ as the comparator group to assess the socio-economic performances of migrants and/or their descendants.