Apurav Bhatiya

Call for Papers: 8th POLECONUK Annual Conference @unibirmingham.bsky.social, June 8 to 9, 2026.
This year we have a special session for graduate students and a Best Graduate Paper Award.
Submission deadline is February 28, 2026.
Details below:

‪
With @jeromevalette.bsky.social & Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, we are happy to announce the CfPapers for the

4th edition of the Junior Workshop on the Economics of Migration

on May 26-27, 2026 @uc3meconomics.bsky.social, Spain.

Submit until February 1, 2026 on economig2026.sciencesconf.org

Very happy to see my research featured on VoxDev.

¿Por qué nadie consigue detener las pateras? Por Apurav Bhatiya. La migración irregular es uno de los temas más politizados de Europa. Aunque la mayoría de las personas migrantes llega por vías legales, los cruces maritimos, ya sea por el Medite...

Hoy, en @nadaesgratis.bsky.social publicamos un texto de @apuravbhatiya.bsky.social sobre la imposibilidad de que las politicas de disuasion migratoria sean efectivas.
nadaesgratis.es/admin/por-qu...

¿Por qué nadie consigue detener las pateras? Por Apurav Bhatiya. La migración irregular es uno de los temas más politizados de Europa. Aunque la mayoría de las personas migrantes llega por vías legales, los cruces maritimos, ya sea por el Medite...

Why can't anyone stop the boats?
Those who have faced extreme hardship will not be deterred by threats of detention or deportation. Deterrence cannot work as migration policy: it cannot compete with hope of a better life.

Escribo para el Nada Es Gratis.

nadaesgratis.es/admin/por-qu...

¿Por qué nadie consigue detener las pateras? Por Apurav Bhatiya. La migración irregular es uno de los temas más politizados de Europa. Aunque la mayoría de las personas migrantes llega por vías legales, los cruces maritimos, ya sea por el Medite...

"¿Por qué nadie consigue detener las pateras?"
@apuravbhatiya.bsky.social

"Cuando pierdes la vida muchas veces, el miedo se vuelve pequeño. Quien ha soportado dificultades extremas, no se va a frenar por amenazas de detención, deportación o cárcel."

nadaesgratis.es/admin/por-qu...

Migrant Electoral Rights Dataset (1960-2020)

📊 Link to dataset: hdl.handle.net/1814/93661

📕 Link to codebook: cadmus.eui.eu/server/api/c...

💼 Link to 400 page documentation: cadmus.eui.eu/server/api/c...

British politics has become fluid. Only 42% of voters have stayed loyal since 2019 (vs 70% a decade ago). Major changes are within ideological blocs rather than across them. Even Reform UK is not immune to churn: only 54% of early supporters have stayed with them.

More here: tinyurl.com/29y55d85

Digital IDs and the Politics of Control Why are Digital IDs so unpopular and why do Reform UK supporters, who want tougher borders, oppose them the most?

UK’s plan for digital ID cards to curb illegal migration has sparked backlash—over 2.7M signed a petition against it.
Opposition is highest where trust in MPs is lowest. Reform voters oppose digital IDs most—anti-establishment sentiment outweighs anti-immigration stance
More here: shorturl.at/lr1cs

The Hope That Outweighs Fear Why has every government attempt to deter small boat crossings been so ineffective?

“When you lose your life many times, you become not so afraid”
Why has every government attempt to deter small boat crossings been so ineffective? I explore why detterence can not work as migration policy.

Read more here: open.substack.com/pub/poleconn...

How effective is the UK’s one-in-one-out migrant deal with France? And what should the UK government be doing instead? My research was featured in Al Jazeera, where I spoke about why the scheme is unlikely to deter crossings and why safer, legal routes matter.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...

Are we living in an age of constant crisis or are we overusing the word? I track how often news outlets used the words crisis, issue, and challenge.

Maybe COVID-19 left a linguistic inertia, where even serious challenges are quickly labelled as crises?

More here: open.substack.com/pub/poleconn...

📊 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

1 year since 2024 election:
👉 Reform UK — 5 MPs, yet ~16× more coverage per MP than Labour.
👉 Lib Dems — 72 MPs, but least coverage per MP of all major leaders.

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 punches far above its weight, while the 𝗟𝗶𝗯 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝘀 are overlooked despite their size.

Small boat crossings have a disproportionate impact on immigration attitudes - British Politics and Policy at LSE Though small boat crossings represent only a small share of total migration, their visibility and media attention reduces support for all forms of immigration

With record Channel crossings and protests outside asylum hotels this summer, small boat migration is at the centre of UK politics.

Accounting for <2 per cent of total migrant inflows, it has an outsized impact on attitudes to #immigration.

@apuravbhatiya.bsky.social @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social

With record Channel crossings & protests outside asylum hotels this summer, small boat migration remains the centre of UK politics.

Thanks to @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social for featuring our research on how these visible events shape wider public attitudes.

Full Paper: warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/econ...

Recently, it feels like every news story on UK migration is about small boats. Is our national conversation being shaped more by visibility than scale?

Since 2021, small boat arrivals made up less than 1.5% of UK net migration—yet accounted for ~20% of all migration-related media coverage.
#EconSky

📢 Google Scholar's 2025 Scholar Metrics are out!

h5-index is largest number h such that h articles published in 2020-2024 have at least h citations each.

See how Economics journals rank 👇
#EconSky
📊 Rankings: scholar.google.co.uk/citations?vi...
📢 Announcement: scholar.google.com/intl/en/scho...

Aftale mellem Frankrig og Storbritannien skal bremse migrantstrøm over kanalen Kritikere tvivler på, at aftale mellem Storbritannien og Frankrig vil afskrække migranter fra at krydse Den Engelske Kanal

Migrants will not stop at last hurdle when they have invested so much to reach The English Channel. In @kristeligt-dagblad.dk @apuravbhatiya.bsky.social @fpalondon.bsky.social @ukandeu.bsky.social
www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/udland/aftal...

How small boat crossings shift public opinion - UK in a changing Europe Apurav Bhatiya and Shanta Kadam analyse the impact of small boat crossings on public opinion towards migration in the UK.

"For UK policymakers, the key lesson is that controlling the story may matter as much as controlling the border."

✍️ @apuravbhatiya.bsky.social and Shanta Kadam analyse public opinion around small boat crossings and the impact it has on UK politics

Trying to stop migrants at final stage of their long, costly journey across the Channel misses the point. Many spend months and most of their resources just to reach northern France. Deterrence at the last hurdle will not work. The real fix is to reduce the need for such journeys in the first place.

How small boat crossings shift public opinion - UK in a changing Europe Apurav Bhatiya and Shanta Kadam analyse the impact of small boat crossings on public opinion towards migration in the UK.

An announcement is expected today from Starmer and Macron about a “one in, one out” migration deal on small boat crossings

Read @apuravbhatiya.bsky.social & Shanta Kadam's blog on public opinion and small boat crossings in the UK and the impact it has on UK politics

ukandeu.ac.uk/how-small-bo...

Byline Podcast: Small Boats - And The Rising Tide Of Racism The latest figures show that more than 19,000 migrants have arrived in the UK from France this year after crossing the channel in makeshift vessels, despite government pledges to destroy smuggling ...

As #smallboats dominate the news once again, @goldbergradio.bsky.social hears how the headlines stir up more hatred against ALL migrants.

With @zoejardiniere.bsky.social @apuravbhatiya.bsky.social
@bylinetimes.bsky.social

podfollow.com/byline-podca...

Small Boat crossings is one of the key agenda points on French President's visit to the UK this week. My new research shows that irregular migration in the English channel increases anti-immigration sentiment among the British public even towards legal migration routes. Read more in our blog below:

The impact of welfare reforms - lessons from history Many in opposition to the government's proposed welfare cuts describe the bill as 'Dickensian' and 'from another era'. While the debate continues, we highlight the work of CAGE Research Associates Eri...

“.. welfare cuts are felt most strongly by those who are already economically vulnerable and can therefore exacerbate existing inequalities.” Research by @ericmelander.bsky.social and Martina Miotto analyses the impact of the 1834 reforms – the largest welfare cut in British history. buff.ly/5CdCJWw

Byline Podcast: Small Boats - And The Rising Tide Of Racism The latest figures show that more than 19,000 migrants have arrived in the UK from France this year after crossing the channel in makeshift vessels, despite government pledges to destroy smuggling ...

"Immigration is going to happen anyway. Currently it is being extremely poorly managed..."

@zoejardiniere.bsky.social @apuravbhatiya.bsky.social a join @goldbergradio.bsky.social to talk about small boats & migration

From @bylinetimes.bsky.social

podfollow.com/byline-podca...

Great discussion on latest figures of people crossing the Channel in small boats, & how hostility towards them has us caught in a doom-loop that prevents the sane, humane management of immigration #r4today

Thank you @bylinetimespod.bsky.social 😊

We also find:
- Higher Google searches for “small boats” & “English Channel crossings”
- More people name immigration as most pressing issue
- Increase in perception of high immigration levels
Irregular migration may be small in scale but big in political impact. Full paper here: shorturl.at/vtRaJ

Why? Because irregular migration is not just news—it is narrative. Media coverage spikes after crossings, especially in right-leaning outlets who frame it as crime and loss of border control. Left-leaning media can offset anti-immigration attitudes, but only those with low baseline concern.

We study small boat crossings across English Channel—highly visible and heavily politicised.
Linking daily arrival data with panel survey responses from the BES, we show migrant crossings reduce support for all migration—including legal routes.
Recent policy changes closely mirror these shifts.

Illegal migration tops the political agenda.
Trump vows mass deportations. Starmer wants to “Smash the Gangs”. Sunak pledged to “Stop the Boats”.
Yet its hidden nature makes it hard to track and harder to study its impact on public attitudes.
My new paper digs in. 🧵 #EconSky