Migration Spec Notes

Migration Models:

    Lee - models the positive and negative factors of origin and destination, as push and     pulls, and places intervening obstacles in the middle

    Stark - migration is due to family, not the individual, and based on interdependence

        Issues: young migrants (i.e. 18-40) may not have family, or may not care as much         about family when migrating

    Todaro - economic push and pull factors are the most influential towards migrants

        Issues: conflict/persecution can catalyse migration (not economic reason), however         economic can alter migration after this conflict has occurred

    Push/Pull: push factors repel a migrant from country of origin, pull factors attract     migrants to country of destination

Spatial patterns: Most migrants move from south-south (37%) or south to north (34%). Not many migrants move north-south (4%). There are large numbers of migrants in areas of conflict, as immigrants are most likely to move to neighbouring countries. 

Examples of inter regional flows:

    between UAE and South East Asia (3 million works a year). move due to promise of     economic opportunity (£300 a month). bad conditions. families rarely receive     remittances. workforce leaving origin country. 

        Definition - flow between two world regions

Examples of intra regional flows:

    within the EU (3-4million people move a year). due to schengen agreement     (established in 1985), allows passport free movement across EU states to allow     people to travel work and live. brexit radically decreased flow of eu migrants to the uk. 

        Definition - flow within one of the world’s major regions

Migration and Socio-economic development

    Economic development in source decreases emigration - economic growth means     push factors are less significant. stronger economy means more stable jobs. economic     growth could lead to better public services.  

    Economic development in source increased emigration - greater economic growth,          more money to travel and migrate. Economic growth benefits rich, leading to wider     inequality, so poor are more likely to want to emigrate. Higher educational investment     increasing job opportunities in tertiary and quaternary sectors. 

    Patterns of development and migration - higher developed areas demonstrate a higher     positive level of human migration, as there are more pull factors to the area. 

Global Migration (stability, growth and development):

        Migrants - increased education (6.9 million international students). marriage (10% of         migrants move for marriage reasons). remittances made and sent home ($860         million)

        Source countries - remittances are sent back home, boosting the USA gdp.         immigrants create new companies at twice the rate of native-born americans,                    sending home remittances)

        Host countries - culture, sport (8% of major league basketballers are mexican).         music, irish music has particularly influences on usa music. food (usa consumes 17         million tons of pasta a year)

Global Migration (inequalities, conflcits and injustices)

        Migrants - migration causes tensions, leading to conflict and anti-immigrant violence

        Source - laos ranked number 1 in east asia on human flight index. many emigrants     leave to thailand, wages are significantly higher. 

        Host - illegal border crossing peaked at nearly 250,000 i december 2023. 13.7     million illegal immigrants in the us

Economic globalisation

    Asia has experienced the greatest growth in international migrants, as Asia becomes     more developed, more economic opportunities.

Age and gender of migration: 48% of migrants are women, 75% of refugees are women, most migrants are 25-40. Asia and Africa have the fewest number of female migrants, less safe for women, sexual violence, higher birth rates in less developed countries and women dont want to travel with children.

South-South Corridors: 106 million migrants in 2019 (39% of all immigrants).

    Neighboring countries easier to migrate to

    Northern countries often have stricter visa rules, more expensive

    EDCs have emerging economic opportunities

Conflict and Persecution

    Number of conflicts has steadily increased, but level of fatality of these conflicts has     decreased. More than 50% of refugees are children. 5.8 million refugees have been     recorded across Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Turkey holds the     largest amount of refugees in the world, due to proximity to Syria, and Afghanistan. 

Changes in national immigration and emigration policies

    Main change in migration policies - most countries have some form of merit     based system, increasing complexity

    Other changes include - Brexit, Remain in Mexico 

        UK: points-based, on skills, salary and English Language provision

        Japan: anti-immigration policy

        Dominica: sells passports

        USA: family-based immigration policy, prioritisng those with family members.         quota of immigrants a year

        Pakistan: pro-emigration, aims to reduce unemployment and poverty. 

Case Study (AC) - USA

    patterns of emigration - increased return migration to Mexico. retirees going to     mexico, looking for cheaper living healthcare. quality of life in NZ, Aus, UK. job     opportunities in EU and Canada.

    patterns of immigration - 20% of global migrants reside in the USA. pull factors     incl. chain migration and family reunification, highly paid jobs, excellent     universties. mexican income normally rises by 2-5 times when they migrate.     “american dream”. push factors incl. gangs and violence in surrounding     countries, political instability, food insecurity, hurricane devastation (e.g.     hurricana eta).

    migration policies - stems from 1952 immigration and nationality act, favouring     family based reuinification, skilled workesr, seasonal workers. includes annual     caps on all visa types. trump has increased severity of immigration policies, with     ICE, blocking 75 countries from immigration to the USA.

    interdependence with countries linked by migration - largest bilateral migration     corridor on the planet with USA and Mexico. huge flows of money across the     border. colorado and rio grande rivers have catchment areas across both     countries. migration driven urbanisation on both sides of the border have     necessitated bilateral ecosystem protection. cultural blending. two countries     work together to reduce the trafficking of illegal drugs, weapons and people. US     to Mexico remittances ($66bn/year)

    opportunities - diversity and innovation, offsetting population decline. refugee     support. tax contributions. culinary and cultural contributions.

    challenges - overburdened immigration systems, polarisation, strain on public     services, filling labour gaps, cultural assimilation, border security and legal     concerns

Case Study (EDC) - Mexico

    current patterns of immigration - return migration from the USA, both voluntarily     and forcibly (through deportation). the increases skills to mexico, and increased     education, as well as social connections. negatives include family separation,     social ostracization (60% of emigrants struggled with mental wellbeing),     documents required from us can be forgotten, leading to legal challenges.

    current patterns of emigration - 150 emigrants to US for every 1 to Canada (next     biggest destination), emigration has declined to the US, even if there are still     large flows, due to more severe immigration policy within the USA. mexican     population in us has dropped by over 1 million since 2007.

    transit migration - through a country to reach the final destination (in mexico,     these come from ecuador, guatemala el salvador, honduras, attempting to go to     US or Canada). impacts include economic benefits to mexico, and     interdependence with the US, however, challenges include organised crime and     public safety concerns.

    changes in immigration and emigration over time - emigration has decreased in     the 21st century, due to decreasing push and pull factors, and more intervening     obstacles.

    economic, political and social interdependence with countries connected to the     EDC by migrant flows - largest bilateral migration corridor on the planet with     USA and Mexico. huge flows of money across the border. colorado and rio     grande rivers have catchment areas across both countries. migration driven     urbanisation on both sides of the border have necessitated bilateral ecosystem     protection. cultural blending. two countries work together to reduce the     trafficking of illegal drugs, weapons and people. US to Mexico remittances     ($66bn/year)

    the impact of migration on:

        economic development

            emigration - positives, migrants send home billions in remittances,             triggering multiplier effect, strengthening mexican economy. negatives,             legal migrants into us are often most educated, leading to brain drain and             decreasing the taxes these would be paying to the government

            immigration - postives, return migrants come back with brain gain, returning             with more skills and money. negatives, return migration and immigration             are spatially profound, leading to inequality when some areas recieve more             benefits.

            transit migration - positives, transit migrants spend money in the regions             they pass through. negatives, place strain on public services and require             larger investments in policing and border forces.

        political stability - positives, more money in economies of northern sates in         mexico as americans travel over border. return flows have stabilised economy         of mexico. NAFTA (mexico, us, canada) trade bloc, replaced with USMCA         which has made this agreement less american dominated, interdependence         of trade. negatives, racism and xenophobia, cultural assimilation, trump called         mexicans “drug dealers, criminals and rapists”, illegal border crossings has         fuelled violence, and trafficking in mexico

        social equality - postives, return migrants can improve education, and         remittances can increase quality of life, women often enter labour market if         husband leaves, leading to increased equality between genders, older         mexicans can benefit from remittances sent home by younger migrants.         negatives, migrants are often travelling due to being extremely poor, but         skilled, leading to brain drain, women encounter more issues on migrations         due to rape and abuse, women are also often left in traditional roles to look         after children, younger mexicans also almost always larger beneficiaries than         older ones.

Case Study (LIDC) - Laos

       interdependence with countries linked to it by migration (Thailand) - migrants         go to work in thailand and send remittances home to Laos. Memorandum of         Understanding. Both are members of ASEAN. laos is landlocked, so principle         access to trade is through Thailand. bilateral agreement reduced tax         privileges, encouraging bilateral trade and investment.

        patterns of emigration - most migrants emigrate to Thailand and USA. (1.3m).         negative net migration of -1.1 per 100. number leaving to Thailand increases         by 100,000 a year. push factors incl. job scarcity (only 15% of laotians work in         a job that pays them a salary), climate change increasing dry season placing         rural areas under pressure. six major floods in last decade has displaced         100,000 people. pull factors incl. higher wages in thailand, 2x laos. similarities         with laotian and thai languages allows for quicker integration. intervening         obstacles - human trafficking of women and girls for sex trade and domestic         work.

        patterns of immigration - most immigrants from vietnam, china, thailand. only         20,000 immigrants. most migration done within laos. pull factors incl. laos         government pursued economic reform to small and medium enterprises. push         factors - less opportunities for immigrants to make money due to being         communist state.

        migration policies - laos is member of ASEAN, meaning free movement of         skilled labour. laos and thailand signed a memorandum of understanding,         giving laotians full legal status and access to employment in thailand.

    opportunities - immigrants increase work force and cultural diversity. emigrants     provide remittances (7% of the gdp of laos), improved skills and social     remittances

    challenges - immigrants, laos is an lidc so additional people puts strain on     healthcare, education and food. emigrants lead to loss of workers, brain drain.     human trafficking on route which laos has to attempt to stop. emigrants facing     healthcare issues such as mental problems, spread of infectious disease, hiv     aids rates of return migrants are high