1.b. Current patterns of international migration are related to global patterns of socio-economic development

1---- The relationship between patterns of international migration and socioeconomic development, using national indices such as ‘value of migrant remittances’ and ‘Human Development Index’. 2-----How global migration can promote stability, growth and development within and between countries through flows of people, money, ideas and technology. 3-----How global migration causes inequalities, conflicts and injustices for people and places through flows of people, money, ideas and technology.

How much money was sent in remittances in one year

$413 billion was sent to source countries in 2014

3x the amount of government aid

What % of global remittances go to EDCs and LIDCs

75%

What countries receive the most remittances

India, China, Phillipines

How much income for foreign countries is thanks to remittances (PSD)

• Tonga - 41% of the GDP

• Somalia - 35%

• Nepal - 29%

What is the relationship between remittances and poverty reduction

A 10% increase in remittances can reduce poverty by 3.5%

What is the relationship between remittances and HDI

Generally, the greater the % of GDP that is made up from migrant remittances, the lower the HDI

What is HDI

Human Development Index - measure of health, wealth, education

How do remittances affect the 'health' part of HDI

• Families can afford better healthcare -> Birth weight of babies born into families that receive remittances are heavier

How do remittances affect the 'education' part of HDI

Families can afford school fees -> improved literacy rate -> people can do more skilled jobs -> long term development

Advantages of remittances to the host country

• People receive money from family members, making them perceieve the host country as wealthy

• This encourages migration there as the family back home believe the host is a good place for opportunity

• More people spending money in the host country increases its GDP

Why are remittances considered a stable source of income

They are less vulnerable to political and economic shifts than foreign aid or investment

Advantages of remittances for source country

• Reduce poverty rates

• Improve health

• Improve education

• Provide a stable flow of income

• Increase household consumption

Disadvantages of remittances (source country)

• Not all of the money you send goes to the family

  • For example in Venezuela if you send $100 your family may only get $10

• Sometimes remittances are banned altogether, to protect against money laundering

• Brain drain because skilled workers leave

• Can increase inequality

• Countries may start relying too much on remittances

  • a culture of dependency that inhibits economic growth could develop

disadvantages of remittances (host country)

Money is being sent to source country rather than being spent in the host, leading to a downward spiral 

How do remittances link international migration to socioeconomic development

Remittances can improve health, education, and income in source countries. This helps development. But over-reliance on remittances can create structural weakness and inequality

Global migration positives vs negatives

Can promote stability, growth, development

Can also cause inequality, conflict, and injustice

How does global migration promote growth --> ratios

Migration helps host countries to balance their dependency ratios, by offsetting an aging population and shrinking workforce e.g. in the UK

Global migration promotes stability -> remittances

• Migrant remittances are a source of foreign exchange

  • This helps contribute to the economic stability of the recipient country

Global migration promotes stability -> remittances EXAMPLE

Example - Nigeria uses 85% of its remittances on education, health, and investments

Global migration promotes stability --> technology

• Mobile money transfer platforms allow rapid remittance transfers to rural areas without traditional bank branches.

  • This promotes economic inclusion.

• Secondly, geo-mapping technology and cell phone tracking are used in crisis and natural disasters.

  • This helps co-ordinate relief for displaced populations

Global migration promotes stability -> ideas and values

• Returning migrants come back having acquired new ideas and values

  • These include democracy and equality

  • This helps contribute to peacebuilding and conflict resolution

• This is known as 'social remittances'

Global migration promotes stability -> ideas and values EXAMPLE

•  Migrants returning to Mexico expect more of public officials thanks to their experiences in the US

• This causes them to demand greater accountability from police and government.

Global migration promotes growth -> skill gaps

• Migrants can fill skill gaps and shortages in the labour market of a host country

  • This helps fill essential positions in the host country, for example in the healthcare sector

  • Therefore the workforce is increased so waiting lists are reduced and the system becomes more productive

Global migration promotes growth -> GDP boost

• The GDP and tax base of the host nation can be boosted by working migrants.

  • For example, the migrants that work in the UK add to the UK's GDP by paying tax and boosting the economy by working and spending in areas which wouldn’t have been if they weren't there

Global migration promotes development -> networks

• Migrants can create networks which ease flows of skills, financial resources, values, ideas

  • This increases the skills, values, and ideas of citizens in the source country

  • As they become more skilled they will migrate to the host country and send remittances back home, increasing the source's GDP

  • If the GDP of the source increases, more people will migrate to different host countries and there will be a positive multiplier effect

Global migration promotes development -> skill

• Skill and knowledge acquired by returning migrants can be of benefit to countries of origin.

  •  This can help as often in host countries there are better opportunities for education.

  • If they return to their original country, they can help either train other people or use their new skills in certain sectors.

Global migration causes inequality ->brain drain

• Migrants that leave the source country are often more skilled

  • This leads to 'brain drain' in the source country

  • This means there are less skilled workers in the source, reducing the GDP because most people are working low-income or informal jobs

  • This reduces development of LIDC and EDC countries

Global migration causes inequality -> young work force

• Countries of origin lose a proportion of the youngest and fittest element of the labour force.

  • This can contribute to downward economic spiral as older people may not be able to do the same jobs as they may lack the strength or fitness younger people have.

  • This also means that the birth rates may decrease leading to less people being born, meaning they also lose out on a future generation of workers, decreasing the labour force even more

Global migration causes inequality -> remittances

• There can be a divide between families that receive remittances and those that don't in source countries

Global migration causes inequality --> technology

Surveillance tech at borders e.g. smart fences, fingerprint systems, can criminalise migrants and worsen human rights.

Global migration causes conflict -> border control

• International borders can be areas of conflict for border control authorities, traffickers, and illegal migrants

  • When migrants attempt to cross from source to host they could be subject to violence

  • This makes migrating more dangerous, discouraging younger generations from migrating if they hear about the risk of conflict

  • This reduces development in the source as there are less remittances

Global migration causes conflict -> hosts vs newcomers

• Social conflict can develop between host communities and newcomers.

  • There may be a language barrier which makes it difficult to set a good relationship and communication.

  • If there are miscommunications, it may lead to fights and social exclusion which can decrease the quality of life.

  • If quality of life decreases, migrants may feel less motivated to work and lead to further unhappiness in the community

Global migration causes injustice -> asylum seekers

• Asylum seekers can be mistreated - for example getting held in detention centres, and not being allowed to work

  • This stops them from earning money (in the UK, asylum seekers can't work unless their claim has been outstanding for over 12 months)

  • Not being able to work doesn't set them up properly for their new life in a different country

  • Therefore it can lead to them living in poor conditions because they haven't got enough money

Global migration causes injustice -> human rights

• Migrants are vulnerable to violation of their human rights as a result of forced labour, exploitation of women and children and human trafficking.

  • This may lead to them being paid less in work compared to citizens.

  • This may lead to remittances being less or not being able to afford rent or basic needs.

  • This again can lead to a decrease in quality of living and may make the experience of migration less enjoyable .