Close to 3 million people who were born in Morocco lived in OECD countries in 2010/11. To assess the potential that this group represents for the Moroccan economy, this review looks at the distribution of Moroccan emigrants over OECD countries, as well as their age, sex, and educational attainment. It analyses the labour market outcomes of Moroccan emigrants and documents the characteristics of return migrants in Morocco. Moroccan emigrants primarily reside in France, followed by Spain and Italy, where their numbers grew strongly before flows were affected by the economic crisis.

In every immigrant, there is always also an emigrant. This truth, which lies at the core of Algerian-French Abdelmalek Sayad’s sociology, inspired INTERACT, a project conducted, 2011–2015, by the Migration Policy Centre of the European University Institute. INTERACT focussed on the integration of first-generation migrants from outside the European Union (EU) and looked, too, at their numerous links with their country of origin.

This paper analyses the individual and socio-demographic factors behind the low employment rate of refugees compared to individuals born in the EU but also compared to other migrants. It complements the 2016 Employment and Social Developments Review where a chapter was dedicated to the labour market and social integration of refugees in the EU.