Immigration

globalisation - the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade + cultural exchange

voluntary economic migrants - moving for work

refugees - forced to leave their country because of war, natural disasters, persecution

asylum seekers - fleeing to another country to fight for the right to international protection

Changing patterns of demands for labour

• at a national scale
  • people move from traditional rural economies to work in cities, which have become hubs for industry / industrial activity
• at an international scale
  • easier movement of people, (EU: free movement), whilst elsewhere most countries readily offer work visas to those with skills and with a sponsor

International migration

international migration - the movement across national borders

• around 4% of the global population - 280million people - live outside their country of birth
• some of the countries with the largest number of emigrants living abroad include:
  • India
  • Mexico
  • China
  • Russia
  • Bangladesh
• the main factor for this is economic migration
• however, as well as being triggered by economic inequality, migration also produces it from the source countries due to %%brain drain%%
• <<in 2014, 1 in 8 (13%) of the usual resident population of the UK were born abroad. This compared to 1 in 11 (8.9%) in 2004<<

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Global variation in immigration

Japan’s ageing population:

• 27% are aged over 65
• its working-age population is predicted to fall to 44 million by 2037 (half the size it was in 2007)
• only 1.7% of the Japanese population is immigrant
• the UN suggests that Japan needs 17 million migrants by 2050 to maintain its working population at 2007 levels
• unlike English, Japanese is not a global business language
• Japan has a closed door policy to immigration

Australia

• Australia’s immigration policy for 40 years has been skills-based
• 70% of immigrants are accepted based on skills shortages where there are insufficient Australian workers
• rather than being an economic problem, immigrants contribute 10% more per capita than non-migrants to Australia’s GDP

The economic theory behind the free movement of people

+ migrant labour is mostly focused on the movement to core regions

+ economic theory views humans as an economic resource that businesses need to make use of. People should therefore be allowed to move where work is, to optimise economic output.

E.g., the EU encouraged by the Schengen Agreement since 1985

- high inward migration can lead to rising house prices if the housing supply fails to meet demand together with overcrowded schools, strained healthcare provision, and falling local wages (because immigrant labour is usually willing to work for less)

- large out-migrations from source regions can leave those areas with skills shortages and an ageing population (brain drain)

E.g., poverty and violence in Mexico and Central America have motivated millions of people to head (both legally + illegally) to the USA

E.g., political upheaval and religious repression in Myanmar is causing people to leave the country, particularly from the Muslim minority

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Open borders and immigrants

Immigration is controversial and can cause resentment within host populations, who may sense threats to their national identities. Some migrants become victims of harassment, abuse, violence + exploitation, or the subject of hostility in the tabloid press. Tensions have risen both within the EU and its neighbours:

• extreme political parties are now becoming increasingly significant in Europe
• since 2014, huge numbers of Syrian refugees and economic migrants have caused tensions

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Immigration policies

Types of immigration include:

• immigrant investment programmes

Immigrant investor visas criteria varies from country to country. U.S immigrant investor programme requires a minimum investment of $500,000 and a minimum creation of 10 jobs. It is one way of obtaining permanent residency (aka green cards) and the benefit of this programme, is the creation of new business opportunities within the host country.

For Mexicans, crossing the border into the USA is risky and expensive. Many illegal immigrants pay people smugglers between US$4,000-10,000 to cross the border.

• skilled worker programmes

Migrants to Australia generally enter as skilled workers, but they need a minimum of 65 points in Australia’s point-based system. Skilled workers include professional and manual workers, with accountants and mechanics earning 60pts. Points are awarded depending on age, qualifications and competence in English. Preference is also given to those with an existing job offer.

• study abroad
• irregular immigration

The complex causes of migration

post colonial migrants - people who moved to the UK from former colonies of the British Empire during the 50s-70s

sovereignty - the authority of a state to govern itself or another state

diaspora - the dispersion or spread of any people from their original homeland

displacement - the action of moving something from its place or position

capital - wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organisation or available for a purpose

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Consequences of international migration

causality - the causes of differing attitudes towards migration

identity - how the identity of populations change as a result of migration

culture - the ideas, beliefs, customs and social behaviour of a group or society

ethnic - a social group identified by a distinctive culture, religion, language, or similar

assimilation - the gradual integration of an immigrant group into the lifestyle and culture of the host country, sometimes at the expense of their own distinctiveness. This happens over time as migrants become more mobile, have mixed marriages, and adjust to the host nation’s way of life.

ethnic segregation - the voluntary or enforced separation of people of different cultures or nationalities

• migration changes the cultural and ethnic composition of whole countries, the degree of change depends on the rate and level of assimilation of migrants into the host nation
• over time, ethnic enclaves become permanent
• once established, cultural factors - such as the growth of specialist shops, places of worship and community leisure facilities - help to maintain these separate ethnic enclaves
• in S. Africa, three decades of equal rights since the abolition of apartheid have hardly altered its ethnic segregation; residential areas in both urban and rural areas usually remain differentiated by ethnicity and skin colour.

apartheid - the enforced segregation of people by skin colour or ethnicity in S. Africa 1948-1991

Case Study: Mediterranean Migration

• lots of trafficking and smuggling
• in the first seven months of 2021, up to 1,000 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean
• every year thousands of people fleeing war, persecution + poverty try to cross
• illegal migration to Europe first began to grow noticeably in 2006, often by a fishing boat
• 700 people died when a boat capsized in rough seas off the Italian coast near Lampedusa, in April 2014
• by the end of 2014, 3,700 people had died in similar circumstances
• 160,000 were rescued at sea in 2014, the majority being from Libya → people fled as they were exposed to lots of violence, extortion, torture + kidnapping; people are often held in detention centres in horrible conditions
• EU attempts to stem migration by strengthening national borders + detention facilities

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