Knowt
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
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
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
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
environmental change | economic effects | political events | |
|---|---|---|---|
influence of factor | Climate change is already causing refugees to leave regions where agriculture is threatened, e.g., Syrian refugee crisis in part has been attributed to desertification by the US Pentagon’s security analysts. | The global financial crisis of 2007-8 had an unprecedented effect on immigration. For the first time since 1945, world GDP shrank. Net migration from Poland fell to its lowest levels since the 1950s. | New conflicts can unexpectedly trigger or diversify global migration flows. On many occasions since WWII, political regime changes have prompted ethnic groups to flee states |
evaluation of importance | Climate change acts to intensify rural poverty in some countries. Movers who might previously have been classed as economic migrants become refugees due to an increasingly hostile environment. | The realisation that globalisation has a ‘reverse gear’ means future projects for urbanisation + global migration should be treated with caution - economic systems can become unstable. | In parts of N. Africa, C. Africa, + Middle East, political factors are now a more important influence on migration than globalisation - 12million people have been displaced by Syria’s war. |
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
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
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
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
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
environmental change | economic effects | political events | |
|---|---|---|---|
influence of factor | Climate change is already causing refugees to leave regions where agriculture is threatened, e.g., Syrian refugee crisis in part has been attributed to desertification by the US Pentagon’s security analysts. | The global financial crisis of 2007-8 had an unprecedented effect on immigration. For the first time since 1945, world GDP shrank. Net migration from Poland fell to its lowest levels since the 1950s. | New conflicts can unexpectedly trigger or diversify global migration flows. On many occasions since WWII, political regime changes have prompted ethnic groups to flee states |
evaluation of importance | Climate change acts to intensify rural poverty in some countries. Movers who might previously have been classed as economic migrants become refugees due to an increasingly hostile environment. | The realisation that globalisation has a ‘reverse gear’ means future projects for urbanisation + global migration should be treated with caution - economic systems can become unstable. | In parts of N. Africa, C. Africa, + Middle East, political factors are now a more important influence on migration than globalisation - 12million people have been displaced by Syria’s war. |
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
