Madeleine Sumption is a British political scientist who is Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, which provides analysis of migration in the UK for public and policy audiences. Her research focuses on labour migration and the economic and social impacts of migration policies.

Early life and education

Sumption is the daughter of

Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, Lord Sumption, (born 9 December 1948), is a British author, medieval historian, barrister and former senior judge who sat on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2018, and a Non-Permane ...

. She studied Russian and French at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She earned a master's degree at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

School of Public Policy.

Research and career

Sumption worked as Director of the Research at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.. Her research considers labour migration and the economic impact of migration policies. She studied the migration impacts of

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

. She is Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. Sumption has investigated the experiences of the children of immigrants in the United Kingdom and United States. Both are high-immigration nations, with children of immigrants making up around one quarter of young children. There is evidence that the children of immigrants perform better than their parents, and earn more than their non-immigrant peers. However, there are indicators that by 2030 the second generation will earn less than their non-immigrant peers. To improve social mobility, Sumption proposed considering the capacity of immigrants to integrate in selection criteria, to focus on early education and language training and to provide permanent (not temporary) visas. Despite

reducing net EU migration to the UK, in late 2022 UK net migration was unexpectedly high. Sumption argued that this was because of the humanitarian crises in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and Hong Kong. Sumption is chair of the Migration Statistics User Forum, and a member of the

Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Migration Advisory Committee.

Selected publications

* *

Awards and honours

Sumption was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2018

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

for services to social science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumption, Madeleine Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English political scientists British women political scientists Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy alumni Members of the Order of the British Empire Academics of the University of Oxford People educated at the City of London School for Girls