The paper, prepared for the Regional conference on migration and development in Asia, contrasts and compares the evidence on internal migration in Asia to gain a better understanding of the links between migration, poverty reduction and development. Recent field studies across Asia show that internal migration is growing and, if managed properly, can play an important role in poverty reduction and the redistribution of the benefits of location-specific growth to underdeveloped regions. As always, there are differences in the specific drivers of migration, the conditions under which people migrate, wages of migrant workers, the costs and risks of migration and the impact of remittances on the household and the wider economy, depending on the respective locations. Current development policies need accompanying measures to make migration less risky and expensive for both those leaving and those staying behind.