Governments worldwide have often sought to settle migrant populations. Policies have included population mobility control in China and strict laws banning rural-urban migration in Ethiopia during the Derg regime. Is migration a severe threat to established lifestyles as is widely believed? A Department for International Development (DFID) paper offers a radical reassessment of the issue. Focusing on economic migrants, as distinct from refugees, it argues that the outright condemnation of migration can severely damage established family structures, lifestyles, and health strategies. It stresses the need to view migration as a social process with positive outcomes, and not merely as an unwanted reaction to adversity.