Theories of Migration: Migration decision-making. Best Presentation

Migration decision-making • Core assumption – Humans: • A sedentary or a mobile animal? – If sedentary: • Migration an unusual event • Push factors will take priority over pull – Unless costs (psychic, financia ...

Migration decision-making • Core assumption – Humans: • A sedentary or a mobile animal? – If sedentary: • Migration an unusual event • Push factors will take priority over pull – Unless costs (psychic, financial) greatly reduced – If mobile • Migration a normal event • Pull factors will trigger migration Migration motivations • Contrast between short and long-distance migration • Contrast between “internal” (within a country) and “international” migration Macro-economic theories • Migration caused by geographic differences in supply and demand for labor Macro-economic theories • Wage gap necessary • Doesn’t explain start or end of migrations Initial deterrents: Migration is costly Poverty a constraint on migration • Incentive to flee poverty v costs of flight • Economic development – Raises wages, generates credit markets Later Deterrents • Economic Development – Raises wages, increases incentives to stay • Prior Migration Industrialization and emigration: Development lowers the poverty constraint The impact of development •Prior to industrialization, low wages constrain emigration (w0-e0) •After industrialization, higher wages facilitate emigration (w1-e1)Development lowers the poverty constraint Industrialization and emigration Early stage of industrialization:  Sending society demand for labor low  But low wages & costs of movement constrain migration Migration hump Micro-economic theories • Focus on individual motivations – Rational balancing of costs and benefits – Abstract model Economic theories • Benefits of migration – Long-term earnings power in receiving society – long-term earnings power in home society • Affected by probability of un- or underemployment in home society Economic theories • Migrant selectivity – Who leaves? Who stays? • Differences in skills, abilities • Relevance for receiving and sending societies • Implication for what happens after emigration Migration and selectivity by skill • Motivation to migrate varies • by differences in rate at which high/low skills are rewarded In which country will high skilled workers be more motivated to migrate? Economic theories: “new economics of labor migration” • Household as actor: – Migrant maximizes resources for household • Household goals – migration may be a form of insurance, risk reduction • against what do households want to insure? • portfolio diversification • Migrants send home remittances – may be a form of capital accumulation • migrant saves money that can be used to expand land or buy machinery • Offset imperfections in credit market – migration complementary to traditional activities • used to expand small holdings New economics of migration Redeployment of household members Demand-side theories • What drives the demand for immigrant labor? • Last era of mass migration Segmented labor market theory • Idea of “dual” or “segmented” labor markets – Different labor markets • Primary sector Segmented labor market theory • Demand concentrated in “secondary labor market” – Low level jobs Segmented labor theory • Chronic nature of demand for immigrant labor – Prestige differences Demand for immigrants High growth occupations •Low-skilled •Non-tradable: can’t be outsourced abroad •Home health aides •Personal and home care aides •Higher-skilled occupations •Rapid proportional growth •But absolute growth modest Temporary migration: supply side • Sojourning: migration as investment or risk-reduction strategy – Circular migration emporary migration: demand side • Preferences of migrants coincide with those of employers Perpetuation of migration: social networks • Interpersonal ties between settlers and migrants – Concepts: • Migration chains; Friends and family effect; Social capital Perpetuation of migration: social networks • Impact: Reduce costs, uncertainties – Physical costs of migration Perpetuation of migration: social networks • Migrant institutions – Network consolidation Migrant networks • Impact: – Make migration a “self-feeding process” • More difficult to stop Cumulative causation • Migration becomes self-sustaining – Cumulative • each act of migration alters social context in which subsequent migration decisions are made Cumulative causation Point of origin: • Distribution of land by migrants – Buy land for prestige value or retiremen Limits to migration • Network saturation • Local labor shortages and rising wages in hHigh skilled migration: causes • Demand: “Give us your best and your brightest” – Spike in demand Gaps in average professional salaries Reasons for emigration: university students in southern Africa High-skilled migration: causes • Supply International Student Mobility: Temporary or Permanent Migration? Post-migration mobility channels: from student to workerPercent of immigrants among high skilled workers in US Causes of Brain DrainCase study: Immigration to US from India ndian immigrants: educational selectivitySupply-side causes • English proficiency • Growth of higher education – By mid-60s, small network, high quality institutions Demand-side causes • Skill shortages – 1960s/70s – medicine Demand-side causes • Skill shortages – 1960s/70s – medicine