The Volume and Dynamics of International Migration provides a theoretical account of the causes, nature, and extent of the movement of international South-North migrants between affluent and poorer countries. The puzzle is: why are there so few international migrants out of most places? And why are there so many out of so few places? Only once migration out of a few places has started, do we see relatively more people moving. Mass mobility proceeds only when migrant networks turn local assets into transnational ones.

The book also examines the reasons why many immigrants continue to keep ties to their places of origin, and why these ties do not hinder the adaptation of newcomers to immigration countries. These ties span immigration and emigration countries and form transnational social spaces, ranging from border-crossing families to refuges diasporas. Transnational social formations carry far-reaching implications for immigration adaptation, dual citizenship, and transnationalizing civil societites. The author provides an empirical grounding for his arguments by analysing the Turkish-German example.