Professor Carlos Vargas-Silva
Professor in Migration Studies
About
Carlos Vargas-Silva is Professor of Migration Studies at the University of Oxford. His research examines the interactions between migration, labour markets, public services, host community attitudes and health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the role of public policy in shaping these dynamics.
A central contribution of his work lies in applying economic concepts to understand migration decision-making and the impacts of migration on host communities, especially in the context of forced migration. Drawing on insights from across the social sciences, he has developed innovative conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches to strengthen the evidence base in this field.
Expertise
- Expertise
- Immigration
- Labour migration
- Irregular migration
- Refugees
- Refugee return
- Remittances
Selected publications
- The Legacies of Armed Conflict: Insights From Stayees and Returning Forced Migrants (2024)
- Policy preferences in response to large forced migration inflows (2024)
- Dreaming of a Remittance House: Understanding Transnational Housing Aspirations (2023)
- “I returned to being an immigrant”: onward Latin American migrants and Brexit (2022)
- Refugee return and social cohesion (2022)
- Feeling at home across time and place: A study of Ecuadorians in three European cities (2021)
Media experience
Professor Carlos Vargas-Silva has experience being interviewed for TV and radio including with the BBC, ITV and SKY. Professor Vargas-Silva's quotes have appeared in The Economist, The Guardian, Financial Times, The Independent, The Times, USA Today, Washington Post, The Economic Times, Daily Mail and The Telegraph, among other outlets, and his research has regularly been covered on the front pages.
Recent media work
- Job opportunities for refugees: how can host countries help? (The Economics Observatory, 2025)
- Europe has done the right thing by allowing Ukrainian refugees to work (Financial Times, 2022)
- Refugees are more likely to be self-employed in the UK. This scheme gives them business training (Sky News, 2021)