migration cause and effect essay

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World history

Course: world history   >   unit 3, causes and effects of human migration.

• Key concepts: Human Migration
• Focus on causation: Human migration
• Migration is the movement of people from one place to another with the intent to settle
• Causes: In preindustrial societies, environmental factors, such as the need for resources due to overpopulation, were often the cause of migration
• Effects: As people migrated, they brought new plants, animals, and technologies that had effects on the environment

Causes of migration

• (Choice A)   Temporary movement that follows seasonal weather patterns A Temporary movement that follows seasonal weather patterns
• (Choice B)   Movement to a new region with the intent to settle there B Movement to a new region with the intent to settle there
• (Choice C)   Continuous movement to follow resources C Continuous movement to follow resources

Causes of migration in Africa

Causes of migration in the pacific.

• (Choice A)   Iron farming tools and weapons A Iron farming tools and weapons
• (Choice B)   Long-term food preservation techniques B Long-term food preservation techniques
• (Choice C)   Types of canoes that could sail in the open ocean C Types of canoes that could sail in the open ocean

Effects of migration

• (Choice A)   Rats eating eggs and greatly reducing the bird population A Rats eating eggs and greatly reducing the bird population
• (Choice B)   Intense storms that altered the landscape of the island B Intense storms that altered the landscape of the island
• (Choice C)   Human activity, such as hunting and cutting down trees C Human activity, such as hunting and cutting down trees
• Jerry Bentley, et al, Traditions and Encounters , Vol. 1 (New York: McGraw Hill, 2015), 284.
• Douglas L. Oliver, Polynesia in Prehistoric Times (Honolulu: Bess Press, 2002), 32-35.
• Oliver, 232, 239.

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Article contents

Global migration: causes and consequences.

• Benjamin Helms Benjamin Helms Department of Politics, University of Virginia
•  and  David Leblang David Leblang Department of Politics, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.631
• Published online: 25 February 2019

International migration is a multifaceted process with distinct stages and decision points. An initial decision to leave one’s country of birth may be made by the individual or the family unit, and this decision may reflect a desire to reconnect with friends and family who have already moved abroad, a need to diversify the family’s access to financial capital, a demand to increase wages, or a belief that conditions abroad will provide social and/or political benefits not available in the homeland. Once the individual has decided to move abroad, the next decision is the choice of destination. Standard explanations of destination choice have focused on the physical costs associated with moving—moving shorter distances is often less expensive than moving to a destination farther away; these explanations have recently been modified to include other social, political, familial, and cultural dimensions as part of the transaction cost associated with migrating. Arrival in a host country does not mean that an émigré’s relationship with their homeland is over. Migrant networks are an engine of global economic integration—expatriates help expand trade and investment flows, they transmit skills and knowledge back to their homelands, and they remit financial and human capital. Aware of the value of their external populations, home countries have developed a range of policies that enable them to “harness” their diasporas.

• immigration
• international political economy
• factor flows
• gravity models

Introduction

The steady growth of international labor migration is an important, yet underappreciated, aspect of globalization. 1 In 1970 , just 78 million people, or about 2.1% of the global population, lived outside their country of birth. By 1990 , that number had nearly doubled to more than 150 million people, or about 2.8% of the global population (United Nations Population Division, 2012 ). Despite the growth of populist political parties and restrictionist movements in key destination countries, the growth in global migration shows no signs of slowing down, with nearly 250 million people living outside their country of birth as of 2015 . While 34% of all global migrants live in industrialized countries (with the United States and Germany leading the way), 38% of all global migration occurs between developing countries (World Bank, 2016 ).

Identifying the causes and consequences of international labor migration is essential to our broader understanding of globalization. Scholars across diverse academic fields, including economics, political science, sociology, law, and demography, have attempted to explain why individuals voluntarily leave their homelands. The dominant thread in the labor migration literature is influenced by microeconomics, which posits that individuals contemplating migration are rational, utility-maximizing actors who carefully weigh the potential costs and benefits of leaving their country of origin (e.g., Borjas, 1989 ; Portes & Böröcz, 1989 ; Grogger & Hanson, 2011 ). The act of migration, from this perspective, is typically conceptualized as an investment from which a migrant expects to receive some benefit, whether it be in the form of increased income, political freedom, or enhanced social ties (Schultz, 1961 ; Sjaastad, 1962 ; Collier & Hoeffler, 2014 ).

In this article we go beyond the treatment of migration as a single decision and conceive of it as a multifaceted process with distinct stages and decision points. We identify factors that are relevant at different stages in the migration process and highlight how and when certain factors interact with others during the migration process. Economic factors such as the wage differential between origin and destination countries, for example, may be the driving factor behind someone’s initial decision to migrate (Borjas, 1989 ). But when choosing a specific destination, economic factors may be conditioned by political or social conditions in that destination (Fitzgerald, Leblang, & Teets, 2014 ). Each stage or decision point has distinguishing features that are important in determining how (potential) migrants respond to the driving forces identified by scholars.

This is certainly not a theoretical innovation; migration has long been conceived of as a multi-step process, and scholars often identify the stage or decision point to which their argument best applies. However, most interdisciplinary syntheses of the literature on international labor migration do not provide a systematic treatment of this defining feature, instead organizing theoretical and empirical contributions by field of study, unit or level of analysis, or theoretical tradition (e.g., Portes & Böröcz, 1989 ; Massey et al., 1993 ; European Asylum Support Office, 2016 ). Such approaches are undoubtedly valuable in their own right. Our decision to organize this discussion by stage allows us to understand this as a process, rather than as a set of discrete events. As a result, we conceptualize international labor migration as three stages or decision points: (a) the decision to migrate or to remain at home, (b) the choice of destination, and (c) the manner by which expatriates re-engage—or choose not to re-engage—with their country of origin once abroad. We also use these decision points to highlight a number of potential new directions for future research in this still-evolving field.

Figure 1. Global migration intentions by educational attainment, 2008–2017.

Should I Stay or Should I Go, Now?

The massive growth in international labor migration in the age of globalization is remarkable, but the fact remains that over 95% of the world’s population never leave their country of origin (United Nations Population Division, 2012 ). Figure 1 shows the percentage of people who expressed an intention to move abroad between 2008 and 2017 by educational attainment, according to data from the Gallup World Poll. Over this time period, it appears that those who were highly educated expressed intent to migrate in greater numbers than those who had less than a college education, although these two groups have converged in recent years. What is most striking, however, is that a vast majority of people, regardless of educational attainment, expressed no desire to move abroad. Even though absolute flows of migrants have grown at a near-exponential rate, relative to their non-migrating counterparts, they remain a small minority. What factors are important in determining who decides to migrate and who decides to remain at home? 2

From Neoclassical Economics to the Mobility Transition

Neoclassical economic models posit that the primary driving factor behind migration is the expected difference in wages (discounted future income streams) between origin and destination countries (Sjaastad, 1962 ; Borjas, 1989 ; Clark, Hatton, & Williamson, 2007 ). All else equal, when the wage gap, minus the costs associated with moving between origin and destination, is high, these models predict large flows of labor migrants. In equilibrium, as more individuals move from origin to destination countries, the wage differential narrows, which in turn leads to zero net migration (Lewis, 1954 ; Harris & Todaro, 1970 ). Traditional models predict a negative monotonic relationship between the wage gap and the number of migrants (e.g., Sjaastad, 1962 ). However, the predictions of neoclassical models are not well supported by the empirical record. Empirical evidence shows that, at least in a cross-section, the relationship between economic development and migration is more akin to an inverted U. For countries with low levels of per capita income, we observe little migration due to a liquidity constraint: at this end of the income distribution, individuals do not have sufficient resources to cover even minor costs associated with moving abroad. Increasing income helps to decrease this constraint, and consequently we observe increased levels of emigration as incomes rise (de Haas, 2007 ). This effect, however, is not monotonic: as countries reach middle-income status, declining wage differentials lead to flattening rates of emigration, and then decreasing rates as countries enter later stages of economic development. 3

Some research explains this curvilinear relationship by focusing on the interaction between emigration incentives and constraints : for example, increased income initially makes migration more affordable (reduces constraints), but also simultaneously reduces the relative economic benefits of migrating as the wage differential narrows (as potential migrants now have the financial capacity to enhance local amenities) (Dao, Docquier, Parsons, & Peri, 2016 ). The theoretical underpinnings of this interaction, however, are not without controversy. Clemens identifies several classes of theory that attempt to explain this curvilinear relationship—a relationship that has been referred to in the literature as the mobility transition (Clemens, 2014 ). These theories include: demographic changes resulting from development that also favor emigration up to a point (Easterlin, 1961 ; Tomaske, 1971 ), the loosening of credit restraints on would-be migrants (Vanderkamp, 1971 ; Hatton & Williamson, 1994 ), a breakdown of information barriers via the building of transnational social networks (Epstein, 2008 ), structural economic changes in the development process that result in worker dislocation (Zelinsky, 1971 ; Massey, 1988 ), the dynamics of economic inequality and relative deprivation (Stark, 1984 ; Stark & Yitzhaki, 1988 ; Stark & Taylor, 1991 ), and changing immigration policies in destination countries toward increasingly wealthy countries (Clemens, 2014 ). While each of these play some role in the mobility transition curve, Dao et al. ( 2016 ) run an empirical horse race between numerous explanations and find that changing skill composition resulting from economic development is the most substantively important driver. Economic development is correlated with an increase in a country’s level of education; an increase in the level of education, in turn, is correlated with increased emigration. However, traditional explanations involving microeconomic drivers such as income, credit constraints, and economic inequality remain important factors (Dao et al., 2016 ). The diversity of explanations offered for the mobility transition curve indicates that while most research agrees the inverted-U relationship is an accurate empirical portrayal of the relationship between development and migration, little theoretical agreement exists on what drives this relationship. Complicating this disagreement is the difficulty of empirically disentangling highly correlated factors such as income, skill composition, and demographic trends in order to identify robust causal relationships.

Political Conditions at the Origin

While there is a scholarly consensus around the mobility transition and the role of economic conditions, emerging research suggests that the political environment in the origin country may also be salient. We do not refer here to forced migration, such as in the case of those who leave because they are fleeing political persecution or violent conflict. Rather, we focus on political conditions in the homeland that influence a potential migrant’s decision to emigrate voluntarily. Interpretations of how, and the extent to which, political conditions in origin countries (independent of economic conditions) influence the decision to migrate have been heavily influenced by Hirschman’s “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” framework (Hirschman, 1970 , 1978 ). Hirschman argues that the opportunity to exit—to exit a firm, an organization, or a country—places pressure on the local authorities; voting with one’s feet forces organizations to reassess their operations.

When applied to the politics of emigration, Hirschman’s framework generates two different hypotheses. On the one hand, politicians may allow, encourage, or force the emigration of groups that oppose the regime as a political safety valve of sorts. This provides the government with a mechanism with which to manage potential political challengers by encouraging their exit. On the other hand, politicians—especially those in autocracies—may actively work to prevent exit because they fear the emigration of economic elites, the highly skilled, and others who have resources vital to the survival of the regime. 4

A small number of studies investigate how local-level, rather than national, political circumstances affect a potential migrant’s calculus. The limited empirical evidence currently available suggests that local conditions are substantively important determinants of the emigration decision. When individuals are highly satisfied with local amenities such as their own standard of living, quality of public services, and overall sense of physical security, they express far less intention to migrate compared with highly dissatisfied individuals (Dustmann & Okatenko, 2014 ). Furthermore, availability of public transport and access to better education facilities decreases the propensity to express an intention to emigrate (Cazzuffi & Modrego, 2018 ). This relationship holds across all levels of wealth and economic development, and there is some evidence that satisfaction with local amenities matters as much as, or even more than, income or wealth (Dustmann & Okatenko, 2014 ).

Political corruption, on both national and local levels, also has substantively important effects on potential migrants, especially those who are highly skilled. Broadly defined as the use of public office for political gain, political corruption operates as both a direct and an indirect factor promoting emigration. 5 Firstly, corruption may have a direct effect on the desire to emigrate in that it can decrease the political and economic power of an individual, leading to a lower standard of living and poorer quality of life in origin countries. If the reduction in life satisfaction resulting from corruption is sufficiently high—either by itself or in combination with other “push” factors—then the exit option becomes more attractive (Cooray & Schneider, 2016 ). Secondly, corruption also operates through indirect channels that influence other push factors. Given the large literature on how political corruption influences a number of development outcomes, it is conceivable that corruption affects the decision-making process of a potential migrant through its negative effect on social spending, education, and public health (Mo, 2001 ; Mauro, 1998 ; Gupta, Davoodi, & Thigonson, 2001 ).

The combination of its direct and indirect impacts means that corruption could be a significant part of a migrant’s decision-making process. At present there is limited work exploring this question, and the research does not yield a consensus. Some scholars argue that political corruption has no substantive effect on total bilateral migration, but that it does encourage migration among the highly skilled (Dimant, Krieger, & Meierrieks, 2013 ). This is the case, the argument goes, because corruption causes the greatest relative harm to the utility of those who have invested in human capital, who migrate to escape the negative effect on their fixed investment. In contrast, others find that a high level of corruption does increase emigration at the aggregate level (Poprawe, 2015 ). More nuanced arguments take into account the intensity of corruption: low to moderate levels of corruption lead to increased emigration of all groups, and especially of the highly skilled. But at high levels of corruption, emigration begins to decrease, indicating that intense corruption can act as a mobility constraint (Cooray & Schneider, 2016 ). All of these existing accounts, however, employ state-level measures of corruption by non-governmental organizations, such as those produced by Transparency International. Scholars have yet to harness micro-level survey data to explore the influence of personal corruption perception on the individual’s decision-making process.

The Land of Hopes and Dreams

Given that an individual has decided to emigrate, the next decision point is to choose a destination country. Advanced industrial democracies, such as those in the OECD, are major migrant-receiving countries, but so are Russia and several Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (World Bank, 2016 ). A country’s constellation of political, economic, and social attributes is crucial to understanding an emigrant’s choice of destination. Potential migrants weigh all of these factors simultaneously when choosing a destination: will the destination allow political rights for the migrant and their children, is access to the labor market possible, and does the destination provide an opportunity for reunification with friends and family? In this section we focus on the non-economic factors that draw migrants to certain countries over others. In addition, we emphasize how skill level adds layers of complexity to a migrant’s calculus.

Political Environment, Both Formal and Informal

As noted earlier, traditional neoclassical models and their extensions place wage differentials and associated economic variables at the heart of a migrant’s choice. Gravity models posit that migrants choose a destination country based on their expected income—which itself is a function of the wage rate and the probability of finding employment in the destination—less the costs associated with moving (Ravenstein, 1885 ; Todaro, 1969 ; Borjas, 1989 ). A rigid focus on economic factors, however, blinds us to the empirical reality that a destination country’s political environment influences what destination a migrant chooses (Borjas, 1989 ). A country’s legal and political rights structure for migrants, as well as its level of tolerance for newcomers, is critical to migrants discriminating between an array of potential destinations. Fitzgerald, Leblang, and Teets ( 2014 ) argue, for example, that states with restrictive citizenship policies and strong radical right anti-immigrant parties will receive fewer migrants, while states with relatively liberal citizenship requirements and weak radical right political movements will receive more migrants. In the rational actor framework, migrants seek countries with hospitable political environments to maximize both their political representation in government and their access to labor market opportunities as a result of citizenship rights and social acceptance (Fitzgerald et al., 2014 ).

Using a broad sample of origin countries and 18 destination countries, they find that relative restrictiveness of citizenship policies and level of domestic support for the radical right are substantively important determinants of global migratory flows. Further, they find that these political variables condition a migrant’s choice of destination: the relative importance of economic factors such as the unemployment rate or the wage differential diminishes as a destination country’s political environment becomes more open for migrants. In other words, when migrants are choosing a destination country, political considerations may trump economic ones—a finding that is an important amendment to the primarily economics-focused calculus of the initial stage of the immigration decision.

However, prior to choosing and entering a destination country, a migrant must also navigate a country’s immigration policy—the regulation of both migrant entry and the rights and status of current migrants. While it is often assumed that a relatively more restrictive immigration policy deters entry, and vice versa, a lack of quantitative data has limited the ability of scholars to confirm this intuition cross-nationally. Money ( 1999 ) emphasizes that the policy output of immigration politics does not necessarily correlate with the outcome of international migrant flows. There are a number of unanswered questions in this field, including: is immigration policy a meaningful determinant of global flows of migration? Do certain kinds of immigration policies matter more than others? How does immigration policy interact with other political and economic factors, such as unemployment and social networks?

Only a handful of studies analyze whether or not immigration policy is a significant determinant of the size and character of migratory flows. Perhaps the most prominent answer to this question is the “gap hypothesis,” which posits that immigration rates continue to increase despite increasingly restrictive immigration policies in advanced countries (Cornelius & Tsuda, 2004 ). Some subsequent work seems to grant support to the gap hypothesis, indicating that immigration policy may not be a relevant factor and that national sovereignty as it relates to dictating migrant inflows has eroded significantly (Sassen, 1996 ; Castles, 2004 ). The gap hypothesis is not without its critics, with other scholars arguing that the existing empirical evidence actually lends it little or no support (Messina, 2007 ).

A more recent body of literature does indicate that immigration policy matters. Brücker and Schröder ( 2011 ), for example, find that immigration policies built to attract highly skilled migrants lead to higher admittance rates. They also show that diffusion processes cause neighboring countries to implement similar policy measures. Ortega and Peri ( 2013 ), in contrast to the gap hypothesis literature, find that restrictive immigration policy indeed reduces migrant inflows. But immigration policy can also have unintended effects on international migration: when entry requirements increase, migrant inflows decrease, but migrant outflows also decrease (Czaika & de Haas, 2016 ). This indicates that restrictive immigration policy may also lead to reduced circular migrant flows and encourage long-term settlement in destination countries.

Disaggregating immigration policy into its different components provides a clearer picture of how immigration policy may matter, and whether certain components matter more than others. Immigration policy is composed of both external and internal regulations. External regulations refer to policies that control migrant entry, such as eligibility requirements for migrants and additional conditions of entry. Internal regulations refer to policies that apply to migrants who have already gained status in the country, such as the security of a migrant’s legal status and the rights they are afforded. Helbling and Leblang ( 2017 ), using a comprehensive data set of bilateral migrant flows and the Immigration Policies in Comparison (IMPIC) data set, find that, in general, external regulations prove slightly more important in understanding migrant inflows (Helbling, Bjerre, Römer, & Zobel, 2017 ). This indicates that potential migrants focus more on how to cross borders, and less on the security of their status and rights once they settle. They do find, however, that both external and internal components of immigration are substantively important to international migrant flows.

The effects of policy, however, cannot be understood in isolation from other drivers of migration. Firstly, poor economic conditions and restrictive immigration policy are mutually reinforcing: when the unemployment rate is elevated, restrictive policies are more effective in deterring migrant flows. An increase in policy effectiveness in poor economic conditions suggests that states care more about deterring immigration when the economy is performing poorly. Secondly, a destination country’s restrictive immigration policy is more effective when migrants come from origin countries that have a common colonial heritage. This suggests that cultural similarities and migrant networks help to spread information about the immigration policy environment in the destination country. Social networks prove to be crucial in determining how much migrants know about the immigration policies of destination countries, regardless of other cultural factors such as colonial heritage or common language (Helbling & Leblang, 2017 ). In summary, more recent work supports the idea that immigration policy of destination countries exerts a significant influence on both the size and character of international migration flows. Much work remains to be done in terms of understanding the nuances of specific immigration policy components, the effect of policy change over time, and through what mechanisms immigration policy operates.

Transnational Social Networks

None of this should be taken to suggest that only political and economic considerations matter when a potential migrant contemplates a potential destination; perhaps one of the biggest contributions to the study of bilateral migration is the role played by transnational social networks. Migrating is a risky undertaking, and to minimize that risk, migrants are more likely to move to destinations where they can “readily tap into networks of co-ethnics” (Fitzgerald et al., 2014 , p. 410). Dense networks of co-ethnics not only help provide information about economic opportunities, but also serve as a social safety net which, in turn, helps decrease the risks associated with migration, including, but not limited to, finding housing and integrating into a new community (Massey, 1988 ; Portes & Böröcz, 1989 ; Portes, 1995 ; Massey et al., 1993 ; Faist, 2000 ; Sassen, 1995 ; Light, Bernard, & Kim, 1999 ). Having a transnational network of family members is quite important to destination choice; if a destination country has an immigration policy that emphasizes family reunification, migrants can use their familial connections to gain economically valuable permanent resident or citizenship status more easily than in other countries (Massey et al., 1993 , p. 450; Helbing & Leblang, 2017 ). When the migrant is comparing potential destinations, countries in which that migrant has a strong social network will be heavily favored in a cost–benefit analysis.

Note, however, that even outside of a strict rational actor framework with perfect information, transnational social networks still may be quite salient to destination choice. An interesting alternative hypothesis for the patterns we observe draws on theories from financial market behavior which focus on herding. Migrants choosing a destination observe the decisions of their co-ethnics who previously migrated and assume that those decisions were based on a relevant set of information, such as job opportunities or social tolerance of migrants. New migrants then choose the same destination as their co-ethnics not based on actual exchanges of valuable information, but based solely on the assumption that previous migration decisions were based on rational calculation (Epstein & Gang, 2006 ; Epstein, 2008 ). This is a classic example of herding, and the existing empirical evidence on the importance of transnational social networks cannot invalidate this alternative hypothesis. One could also explain social network effects through the lens of cumulative causation or feedback loops: the initial existence of connections in destination countries makes the act of migration less risky and attracts additional co-ethnics. This further expands migrant networks in a destination, further decreasing risk for future waves of migrants, and so on (Massey, 1990 ; Fussel & Massey, 2004 ; Fussel, 2010 ).

No matter the pathway by which social networks operate, the empirical evidence indicates that they are one of the most important determinants of destination choice. Potential migrants from Mexico, for example, who are able to tap into existing networks in the United States face lower direct, opportunity, and psychological costs of international migration (Massey & Garcia España, 1987 ). This same relationship holds in the European context; a study of Bulgarian and Italian migrants indicates that those with “social capital” in a destination community are more likely to migrate and to choose that particular destination (Haug, 2008 ). Studies that are more broadly cross-national in nature also confirm the social network hypothesis across a range of contexts and time periods (e.g., Clark et al., 2007 ; Hatton & Williamson, 2011 ; Fitzgerald et al., 2014 ).

Despite the importance of social networks, it is, again, important to qualify their role in framing the choice of destinations. It seems that the existence of co-ethnics in destination countries most strongly influences emigration when they are relatively few in number. Clark et al. ( 2007 ), in their study of migration to the United States, find that the “friends and relatives effect” falls to zero once the migrant stock in the United States reaches 8.3% of the source-country population. In addition, social networks alone cannot explain destination choice because their explanatory power is context-dependent. For instance, restrictive immigration policies limiting legal migration channels and family reunification may dampen the effectiveness of networks (Böcker, 1994 ; Collyer, 2006 ). Social networks are not an independent force, but also interact with economic and political realities to produce the global migration patterns we observe.

The Lens of Skill

For ease of presentation, we have up to now treated migrants as a relatively homogeneous group that faces similar push and pull factors throughout the decision-making process. Of course, not all migrants experience the same economic, political, and social incentives in the same way at each stage of the decision-making process. Perhaps the most salient differentiating feature of migrants is skill or education level. Generally, one can discuss a spectrum of skill and education level for current migrants, from relatively less educated (having attained a high school degree or less) to relatively more educated (having attained a college or post-graduate degree). The factors presented here that influence destination choice interact with a migrant’s skill level to produce differing destination choice patterns.

A migrant’s level of education, or human capital, often serves as a filter for the political treatment he or she anticipates in a particular destination country. For instance, the American public has a favorable view of highly educated migrants who hold higher-status jobs, while simultaneously having an opposite view of migrants who have less job training and do not hold a college degree (Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2010 ; Hainmueller & Hopkins, 2015 ). Indeed, the political discourse surrounding migration often emphasizes skill level and education as markers of migrants who “should be” admitted, across both countries and the ideological spectrum. 6 While political tolerance may be a condition of entry for migrants in the aggregate, the relatively privileged status of highly educated and skilled migrants in most destination countries may mean that this condition is not as salient.

While it is still an open question to what extent immigration policy influences international migration, it is clear that not all migrants face evenly applied migration restrictions. Most attractive destination countries have policies that explicitly favor highly skilled migrants, since these individuals often fill labor shortages in advanced industries such as high technology and applied science. Countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand all employ so-called “points-based” immigration systems in which those with advanced degrees and needed skills are institutionally favored for legal entry (Papademetriou & Sumption, 2011 ). Meanwhile, the United States maintains the H-1B visa program, which is restricted by educational attainment and can only be used to fill jobs in which no native talent is available (USCIS). Even if destination countries decide to adopt more restrictive immigration policies, the move toward restriction has typically been focused on low-skilled migrants (Peters, 2017 ). In other words, even if immigration policy worldwide becomes more restrictive, this will almost certainly not occur at the expense of highly skilled migrants and will not prevent them choosing their most preferred destination.

Bring It on Home to Me

This article began by asserting that international labor migration is an important piece of globalization, as significant as cross-border flows of capital, goods, and services. This section argues that migrant flows enhance flows of capital and commodities. Uniquely modern conditions such as advanced telecommunications, affordable and efficient international travel, and the liberalization of financial flows mean that diasporas—populations of migrants living outside their countries of origin—and home countries often re-engage with each other (Vertovec, 2004 ; Waldinger, 2008 ). This section reviews some of the newest and most thought-provoking research on international labor migration, research that explores diaspora re-engagement and how that re-engagement alters international flows of income, portfolio and foreign direct investment (FDI), trade, and migratory flows themselves.

Remittances

As previously argued, migration is often driven by the prospect of higher wages. Rational, utility-maximizing migrants incur the cost of migration in order to earn increased income that they could not earn at home. But when migrants obtain higher wages, this additional increment to income is not always designated for individual consumption. Often, migrants use their new income to send remittances, direct transfers of money from one individual to another across national borders. Once a marginal financial flow, in 2015 remittances totaled $431 billion, far outpacing foreign aid ($135 billion) and nearly passing private debt and portfolio equity ($443 billion). More than 70% of total global remittances flow into developing countries (World Bank, 2016 ). In comparison with other financial flows such as portfolio investment and FDI, remittances are more impervious to economic crises, suggesting that they may be a countercyclical force to global downturns (Leblang, 2017 ).

Remittances represent one of the most common ways in which migrants re-engage with their homeland and alter both global income flows and distribution. Why do migrants surrender large portions of their new income, supposedly the very reason they migrated in the first place, to their families back home? New economics of labor migration (NELM) theory argues that immigration itself is motivated by a family’s need or demand for remittances—that remittances are an integral part of a family’s strategy for diversifying household financial risk (Stark & Bloom, 1985 ). Remittances “are a manifestation of informal contractual agreements between migrants and the households from which they move,” indicating that remitting is not an individual-level or purely altruistic action but rather occurs in a larger social context, that of one’s immediate or extended family (European Asylum Support Office, 2016 , p. 15).

The impact of migrant remittances on countries of origin is multifaceted yet somewhat ambiguous. Most scholarly work focuses on whether remittances positively or negatively influence existing economic conditions. A number of studies find that remittances modestly reduce poverty levels in developing countries (Adams & Page, 2005 ; Yang & Martinez, 2006 ; Acosta, Calderon, Fajnzybler, & Lopez, 2008 ; Lokshin, Bontch-Osmolovski, & Glinskaya, 2010 ). On other measures of economic well-being, such as growth, inequality, and health, the literature is quite mixed and no definitive conclusions can be drawn. For instance, some studies find that remittances encourage investment in human capital (Yang, 2008 ; Adams & Cuecuecha, 2010 ), while others find no such effect and suggest that families typically spend remittances on non-productive consumption goods (Chami, Fullenkamp, & Jahjah, 2003 ). Here we can only scratch the surface of the empirical work on remittances and economic outcomes. 7

Some of the most recent research in the field argues that remittances have a distinct political dimension, affecting regime support in developing countries and altering the conditions in which elections are held. Ahmed ( 2012 ), grouping remittances with foreign aid, argues that increased remittances allow autocratic governments to extend their tenure in office. These governments can strategically channel unearned government and household income to finance political patronage networks, which leads to a reduced likelihood of autocratic turnover, regime collapse, and mass protests against the regime. More recent research posits nearly the exact opposite: remittances are linked to a greater likelihood of democratization under autocratic regimes. Escriba-Folch, Meseguer, and Wright ( 2015 ) argue that since remittances directly increase household incomes, they reduce voter reliance on political patronage networks, undermining a key tool of autocratic stability.

Remittances may also play an important role in countries with democratic institutions, yet more research is needed to fully understand the conditions under which they matter and their substantive impact. Particularly, remittances may alter the dynamics of an election as an additional and external financial flow. There is evidence of political remittance cycles : the value of remittances spikes in the run-up to elections in developing countries. The total value of remittances to the average developing country increases by 6.6% during election years, and by 12% in elections in which no incumbent or named successor is running (O’Mahony, 2012 ). The effect is even larger in the poorest of developing countries. Finer-grained tests of this hypothesis provide additional support: using monthly and quarterly data confirms the existence of political remittance cycles, as well as using subnational rather than cross-national data (Nyblade & O’Mahony, 2014 ). However, these studies do not reveal why remittances spike, or what the effects of that spike are on electoral outcomes such as vote share, campaign financing, and political strategy.

Remittances represent a massive international financial flow that warrants more scholarly attention. While there are numerous studies on the relationship between remittances and key economic indicators, there remains much room for further work on their relationship to political outcomes in developing countries. Do remittances hasten the downfall of autocratic regimes, or do they contribute to autocratic stability? In democratic contexts, do remittances substantively influence electoral outcomes, and if so, which outcomes and how? Finally, do remittances prevent even more migration because they allow one “breadwinner from abroad” to provide for the household that remains in the homeland? While data limitations are formidable, these questions are important to the study of both international and comparative political economy.

Bilateral Trade

The argument that migrant or co-ethnic networks play an important role in international economic exchange is not novel. Greif ( 1989 , 1993 ) illustrates the role that the Maghrebi traders of the 11th century played in providing informal institutional guarantees that facilitated trade. This is but a single example. Cowen’s historical survey identifies not only the Phoenicians but also the “Spanish Jews [who] were indispensable for international commerce in the Middle Ages. The Armenians controlled the overland route between the Orient and Europe as late as the nineteenth century . Lebanese Christians developed trade between the various parts of the Ottoman empire” (Cowen, 1997 , p. 170). Rauch and Trindade ( 2002 ) provide robust empirical evidence linking the Chinese diaspora to patterns of imports and exports with their home country.

A variety of case studies document the importance of migrant networks in helping overcome problems of information asymmetries. In his study of Indian expatriates residing in the United States, Kapur ( 2014 ) documents how that community provides U.S. investors with a signal of the work ethic, labor quality, and business culture that exists in India. Likewise, Weidenbaum and Hughes ( 1996 ) chronicle the Bamboo Network—the linkages between ethnic Chinese living outside mainland China and their homeland—and how these linkages provide superior access to information and opportunities for investment.

Connections between migrant communities across countries affect cross-national investment even when these connections do not provide information about investment opportunities. In his work on the Maghrebi traders of the 11th century , Greif argues that this trading network was effective because it was able to credibly threaten collective punishment by all merchants if even one of them defected (Greif, 1989 , 1993 ). Grief shows that this co-ethnic network was able to share information regarding the past actions of actors (they could communicate a reputation)—something that was essential for the efficient functioning of markets in the absence of formal legal rules. Weidenbaum and Hughes reach a similar conclusion about the effectiveness of the Bamboo Network, remarking that “if a business owner violates an agreement, he is blacklisted. This is far worse than being sued, because the entire Chinese networks will refrain from doing business with the guilty party” (Hughes, 1996 , p. 51).

Migrants not only alter the flow of income by remitting to their countries of origin, but also influence patterns of international portfolio investment and FDI. Most existing literature on international capital allocation emphasizes monadic factors such as the importance of credible commitments and state institutional quality, failing to address explicitly dyadic phenomena that may also drive investment. Diaspora networks, in particular, facilitate cross-border investment in a number of ways. They foster a higher degree of familiarity between home and host countries, leading to a greater preference for investment in specific countries. Diaspora networks can also decrease information asymmetries in highly uncertain international capital markets in two ways. Firstly, they can provide investors with salient information about their homeland, such as consumer tastes, that can influence investment decision-making. Secondly, they can share knowledge about investment opportunities, regulation and procedures, and customs that decrease transaction costs associated with cross-border investment (Leblang, 2010 ). This place of importance for migrants suggests to the broader international political economy literature the importance of non-institutional mechanisms for channeling economic activity.

Although the hypothesized link between migrants and international investment has only recently been identified, the quantitative evidence available supports that hypothesis. Leblang ( 2010 ), using dyadic cross-sectional data, finds that diaspora networks “have both a substantively significant effect and a statistically significant effect on cross-border investment,” including international portfolio investment and FDI (p. 584). The effect of bilateral migratory flows correlates positively with the degree of information asymmetry: when informational imperfections are more pervasive in a dyad, migrants (especially the highly skilled) play a disproportionately large role in international capital allocation (Kugler, Levinthal, & Rapoport, 2017 ). Other quantitative studies find substantively similar results for FDI alone (e.g., Javorcik, Özden, Spatareanu, & Neagu, 2011 ; Aubry, Rapoport, & Reshef, 2016 ).

Many questions still remain unanswered. Firstly, does the effect of migrants on investment follow the waves of the global economy, or is it countercyclical as remittances have been shown to be? Secondly, how does this additional investment, facilitated by migrants, affect socioeconomic outcomes such as inequality, poverty, and economic development (Leblang, 2010 )? Does the participation of migrants lead to more successful FDI projects in developing countries because of their ability to break down information barriers? Within portfolio investment, do migrants lead to a preference for certain asset classes over others, and if so, what are the effects on bilateral and international capital markets? These are just a few directions in an area ripe for additional research.

Return Migration and Dual Citizenship

Besides financial flows, migrants themselves directly contribute to global flows of capital by returning to their countries of origin in large numbers. This phenomenon of return migration—or circular migration—can come in a few temporal forms, including long-term migration followed by a permanent return to a country of origin, or repeat migration in which a migrant regularly moves between destination and origin countries (Dumont & Spielvogel, 2008 ). While comparable data on return migration is scarce, some reports suggest that 20% to 50% of all immigrants leave their destination country within five years after their arrival (e.g., Borjas & Bratsberg, 1996 ; Aydemir & Robinson, 2008 ; Bratsberg, Raaum, & Sørlie, 2007 ; Dustmann & Weiss, 2007 ). An independent theoretical and empirical account of return migration does not yet exist in the literature and is beyond the scope of this paper. But in the rational actor framework, motivations to return home include a failure to realize the expected benefits of migration, changing preferences toward a migrant’s home country, achievement of a savings or other economic goal, or the opening of additional employment opportunities back home due to newly acquired experience or greater levels of economic development (Dumont & Spielvogel, 2008 ).

While most migration literature treats the country of origin as a passive actor that only provides the conditions for migration, new literature on return migration gives home country policies pride of place. Origin countries can craft policies that encourage diaspora re-engagement, incentivizing individuals to return home. Dual citizenship, for example, is an extension of extraterritorial rights, allowing migrants to retain full legal status in their home country. Dual citizenship “decreases the transaction costs associated with entering a host country’s labor market and makes it easier for migrants to return home” (Leblang, 2017 , p. 77). This leads migrants to invest their financial resources in the form of remittances back home as well as their valuable human capital. When states provide such extraterritorial rights, expatriates are 10% more likely to remit and 3% more likely to return home. Dual citizenship is also associated with a doubling of the dollar amount of remittances received by a home country (Leblang, 2017 ). These striking results suggest that in addition to the power of migrants to affect cross-border flows of money and people, countries of origin can also play a significant role.

Conclusion and Future Directions

This brief article has attempted to synthesize a broad range of literature from political science, economics, sociology, migration studies, and more to construct an account of international labor migration. To do so, the migratory process was broken down into distinct stages and decision points, focusing particularly on the decision to migrate, destination choice, and the re-engagement of migrants with their homeland. In doing so, the article also discussed the interlinkages of international migration with other fields of study in international political economy, including cross-border financial flows, trade, and investment. Through a multiplicity of approaches, we have gained a greater understanding of why people decide to move, why they decide to move to one country over another, and how and why they engage with the global economy and their homeland. Despite this intellectual progress, there remain many paths for future research at each stage of the migratory process; we highlight just a few of them here.

We know that income differentials, social ties, and local political conditions are important variables influencing the migration process. Yet the question remains: why do a small but growing number of people choose to leave while the overwhelming majority of people remain in their country of birth? Here, individual- or family-level subjective characteristics may be significant. There are a handful of observational studies that explore the relationship between subjective well-being or life satisfaction and the intention to migrate, with the nascent consensus being that life dissatisfaction increases the intention to migrate (Cai, Esipova, Oppenheimer, & Feng, 2014 ; Otrachshenko & Popova, 2014 ; Nikolova & Graham, 2015 ). But more research on intrinsic or subjective measures is needed to understand (a) their independent importance more fully and (b) how they interact with objective economic, political, and social factors. For instance, do those who are more optimistic migrate in larger numbers? Do minority individuals who feel they live in an environment in which diversity is not accepted feel a greater urge to leave home? Synthesizing these types of subjective variables and perceptions with the more prominent gravity-style models could result in a more complete picture of the international migration process.

For the “typical” migrant, one who is relatively less educated than the population in the chosen destination and does not have specialized skills, social networks are key to minimizing the risk of migrating and quickly tapping into economic opportunities in destination countries. Does this remain true for those who are highly educated? Although little empirical research exists on the topic, greater human capital and often-accompanying financial resources may operate as a substitute for the advantages offered by social networks, such as housing, overcoming linguistic barriers, and finding gainful employment. This would indicate that the “friends and family effect” is not as influential for this subset of migrants. Economic considerations, such as which destination offers the largest relative wage differential, or political considerations, such as the ease of quickly acquiring full citizenship rights, may matter more for the highly skilled. Neoclassical economic models of migration may best capture the behavior of migrants who hold human capital and who have the financial resources to independently migrate in a way that maximizes income or utility more broadly.

Since we have focused on international migration as a series of discrete decision points in this article, we have perhaps underemphasized the complexity of the physical migration process. In reality, migrants often do not pick a country and travel directly there, but travel through (perhaps several) countries of transit such as Mexico, Morocco, or Turkey along the way (Angel Castillo, 2006 ; Natter, 2013 ; Icduygu, 2005 ). There is little existing theoretical work to understand the role of transit countries in the migratory process, with much of it focusing on the potential for cooperation between destination and transit countries in managing primarily illegal immigration (Kahana & Lecker, 2005 ; Djajic & Michael, 2014 ; Djajic & Michael, 2016 ). Another related strand of the literature focuses on how wealthy destination countries are “externalizing” their immigration policy, encompassing a broader part of the migratory process than simply crossing a physically demarcated border (Duvell, 2012 ; Menjivar, 2014 ). But many questions remain, such as the following: how do we understand those who desire to enter, say, the United States, but instead relocate permanently to Mexico along the way? How do countries of transit handle the pressure of transit migrants, and how does this affect economic and political outcomes in these countries?

Finally, the focus of nearly all literature on international migration (and this article as a byproduct) implicitly views advanced economies as the only prominent destinations. However, this belies the fact that 38% of all migration stays within the “Global South” (World Bank, 2016 ). While there is certainly some literature on this phenomenon (see Ratha & Shaw, 2007 ; Gindling, 2009 ; Hujo & Piper, 2007 ), international political economy scholars have yet to sufficiently tackle this topic. The overarching research question here is: do the same push and pull factors that influence the decision to migrate and destination choice apply to those who migrate within the Global South? Do we need to construct new theories of international migration with less emphasis on factors such as wage differentials and political tolerance, or are these sufficient to understand this facet of the phenomenon? If we fail to answer these questions, we may miss explaining a significant proportion of international migration with its own consequences and policy implications.

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1. Our use of the term international labor migration follows academic and legal conventions; we use the term migration to refer to the voluntary movement of people across national borders, either in a temporary or permanent fashion. This excludes any discussion of refugees, asylum seekers, or any other groups that are forced to migrate.

2. We do not have space in this article to delve into the theoretical and empirical work unpacking the effect of demographic characteristics—age, gender, marital status, household size, and so forth on the migration decision and on subsequent flows of migrants. For comprehensive reviews, see Lichter ( 1983 ), Morrison and Lichter ( 1988 ); United Nations Population Division ( 2013 ); and Zaiceva and Zimmerman ( 2014 ).

3. Zelinsky ( 1971 ) originally identified this relationship and termed it mobility transition curve . A wealth of empirical work supports Zelinsky’s descriptive theory in a number of contexts (see Akerman, 1976 ; Gould, 1979 ; Hatton & Williamson, 1994 ; and Dao et al., 2016 ).

4. For a review of the arguments as well as some empirical tests, see Miller and Peters ( 2018 ) and Docquier, Lodigiani, Rapoport, and Schiff ( 2018 ).

5. Transparency International. “What is corruption?”

6. For example, former United Kingdom Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has called for the United Kingdom to adopt an immigration system that only allows in highly skilled migrants (“UKIP launches immigration policy”). In 2014, US President Barack Obama emphasized that he wanted to attract international students to American universities and that they “create jobs, businesses, and industries right here in America” (USA Today: “Full text: Obama’s immigration speech”). A key issue in Germany’s 2018 government formation was the creation of skill-based migration laws (Severin & Martin, 2018 ).

7. For a more comprehensive review, see Rapoport and Docquier ( 2006 ); and Adams ( 2011 ).

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What is Migration: Causes, Characteristics, Types and Effects

Migration refers to the process of moving from one place to another for reasons like seeking economic opportunities, political persecution, environmental factory, terrorism so on and so forth. This article will deal with a detailed explanation of migration, its causes, characteristics, types and effects.

Ever since the beginning of time, humanity has been on the move. The phenomenon of migration isn’t recent rather it has a long history that predates the history of humanity. The motive of migration right from the very beginning has been to seek better and safe living conditions which was not available at the home country. People associate multiple reasons to migrate such as relocate to join family in another country, boost educational chances,  find employment  opportunities, to rescue from hostilities, persecution, terrorism, escape natural catastrophes so on and so forth.  However there is a pattern of change in the reasons behind migration pertaining to the question of time. In the ancient times, shelter and security were the prime reasons behind migration that motivated an  individual or groups of individuals to move from their home country to another country they consider suitable to inhabit. But with the passage of time, reasons expanded to economic, political, social and environmental security. With advancement in communication and transportation, the phenomenon of migration increased manifold that not only remained limited to national boundaries but became an international matter. As per the reports of  the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2020, 281 Million people, or 3.6 percent of all people in the world, were identified as migrants who embarked on dangerous  journeys to escape poverty or oppression with the hope of  getting a better life. This shows how the phenomenon of migration is increasing with every passing day.

Also Read: 6 Major Social Issues in the Society

Causes of Migration

While discussing the causes of migration, the mention of Push factors and Pull factors are necessary.  Push factors make a person  leave a place, whereas pull factors attract a person to a particular area. These two factors never operate in isolation but  together. For example, if someone is leaving an area due to inadequate employment opportunities (push factor), they are presumably going to a place with abundant employment opportunities (pull factor).

However, the causes of migration are as follows –

• · Economic Causes of Migration – Economic causes of migration often lead to voluntary migration where a person feels the urge from within to move from one place to another. Economic causes can be anything that include improvement in a person’s financial situation by shifting  to a country or region where there are ample amount of employment opportunities along with payment of a wholesome amount, having access to better educational facilities, having personal connections to enhance economic growth, or escaping the toxic and corrupt work culture of the home country or region, so on and so forth that shows a path to people to improve their economic conditions.   According to the UN International Labour Organization, migrant workers stood at roughly 164 million worldwide in 2017 and represented nearly two thirds of international migrants where almost 70% were found in high-income countries, 18.6% in upper middle-income countries, 10.1% in lower middle-income countries and 3.4% in low-income countries. This number shows an increase when a new ILO report estimated that between 2017 and 2019 the number of people migrating for work internationally increased from 164 to 169 million.
• Political Causes of Migration- Political causes includes events and episodes like conflict, war, tyranny, lack of freedom, and violations of human rights that convince people to migrate. These are undoubtedly the push factors of the home country of the migrants but attractive pull factors like ensuring human rights, liberty and equality,  benefits offered by the government and the existence of powerful institutions that do not entertain corruption further stimulates the urge of people to migrate to enjoy these benefits.  Asylum seeking is a direct outcome of the outflow of political migrants from an oppressive state who flee to a more democratic country. For example, in the year 2002, United Kingdom received the highest asylum applications, nearly 15% of the total global asylum applications.  It cannot be denied that political reasons like human rights violation, political persecution, limitation on freedom, lack of judicial independence, wars are some of the main reasons of migration.
• Environmental Causes for Migration – Living in a healthy and beautiful environment is a natural human tendency as a healthy environment builds a mentally and physically healthy individual. But people residing in a country or region that is prone to natural calamities, famine, drought, landslides or anything else brought  by nature that would take a toll on one’s life would make people leave that region or country and migrate to some safe place where the environment is pleasant and hospitable. A pleasant climate, secured location and scenic beauty of a place always attract people to migrate to that place.
• Social Causes of Migration – There are many elements in the society that motivates people to migrate to another region or country and lead their lives. Social bonds, culture, emotional dependence are some of the social factors that leads to migration.  For example, the desire to be with family or relatives who have previously migrated to another country, identification of similar cultural and social traits of the desired region with that of the individual, the urge to enhance social status and situation etc.  are some of the social causes of migration.
• Demographic causes of migration- Demography is an important factor behind migration. Demographic factors like birth rates, death rates, mortality rates, morbidity rates, marriage, family size etc . determine the designing and functioning of a country. For example, the average population age may have a detrimental impact on employment and worker opportunities that will convince people to migrate to a country where there is the requirement of young workforce.  It therefore can be clearly observed that demographic reasons can lead to migration.

Characteristics of Migration

There are a few important characteristics of migration which can be discussed as follows –  

• Migration focus on the age factor

Young people typically being more mobile in nature than the old people migrate more for any possible reason. Young people migrate from one place to another where they seek better opportunities to pursue their further studies or boost their career by moving to those places that offers better employment opportunities.

• Migration focus on social networks

Migrants have the propensity to migrate to those areas where they have contacts and networks with people belonging to their community who have previously migrated to that area acting as linkages to the new migrants creating a chain giving rise to “chain migration.”

• Migration has been motivated by industrialization

 With the wide scale establishment of industries and  factories  the need for unskilled labour emerged and this need was fulfilled by  immigrants, particularly young men who remained the most suitable source of labour as they agreed to work in lower wages at less favourable conditions for the sake of work than the native born workers.

Types of Migration

Migration can be classified into various types on the basis of nature of movement, time period, nature of residence and consent.

• In view of nature of movement, migration can be classified as-

Immigration – Immigration  means entering another country for a permanent or temporary residence or for some other reasons.

Immigration can be understood as ‘in-migration’ which means that a person  has moved to a separate country. For example, A person leaving India to settle in UK for a better life makes that person  an immigrant of UK. 

Emigration – Emigration is the process in which people leave the citizenship of their own country to reside in another country for good. For example, a person leaving India to settle in UK for a better life makes that person  an emigrant to India.

Also Read: UK Family Structure – Summary

• In view of the time of stay of migrants in the region, migration can be classified as

Short-term migration : People who migrate to another place for a short span of time from their original place is called short term migration. For example, tourists can be called short term migrants.  

Long-term migration: People who migrate to another region or country essentially for a couple of years can be called long term migration. For example, students going to another country for pursuing further studies or Companies sending their employees to another region to engage in some projects can be called long term migrants.  

Seasonal migration: Whenever people migrate to another place during a specific season and return to their original place at the end of the season is termed as seasonal migration. Agriculture-based labor is a perfect example to explain  seasonal migration.

• In the view of the nature of residence of the migrants, migration can be classified as

Internal migration – When people move within the geographical boundaries of a country or state, it is called internal migration.  Internal migration can further be classified into four types that are as follows –

Rural to Urban Migration – When people move from rural areas to nearby towns and cities seeking for better living conditions, employment and education opportunities, rural to urban migration takes place.  

Rural to Rural Migration – When people move from one rural area to another rural area mainly for agricultural or family related purpose, rural to rural migration takes place.

Urban to Urban Migration –   The movement of people  from one urban area to another urban area to seek comparatively significant compensation and opportunities can be called urban to urban migration.

Urban to Rural Migration- When migration takes place from urban area to rural area as a matter of escape from city life hassle and issues like pollution, overpopulation and even when there is the intent of returning to one’s native place, it is called urban to rural migration.  

According to census 2011, rural to urban migration was 20.5 million, rural to rural migration was 53.3 million, urban to urban migration was 14.3 million and urban to rural was 6.2 million.

• International migration

International migration refers to change of residence across national boundaries.  According to the International Migrant Stock 2019 report (released by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs), India with 5 million international migrants has emerged as the top source of international migrants, constituting 6.4% of world’s total migrant population. International migration can be further classified as follows –

Legal immigration– Legal immigration is when people move to another country following legal procedures and complying to the  lawful authority of the receiving country.

Illegal immigration– Illegal immigration takes place when people migrate without any legal procedures.  

Refugees – Refugees refer to those migrants who migrate to another country silently in order to escape abuse they face in their home country.

• In view of the consent of the migrants, migration can be classified as –

Voluntary migration: When migration takes place upon the choice and consent of the migrants, it is called voluntary migration. For example, migrating to a different region in search of better job opportunities or educational facilities.  

Involuntary migration: When migration takes place forcefully and against the desire of the migrants, it is called involuntary migration. For example, refugees have to migrate involuntarily.

Also read: Understanding Slums in Sociological Perspective

 Effects of Migration

• Economic effects

Economies of both the native and migratory economies are impacted by migration and it could be advantageous to one person and detrimental to another. The migratory place can economically flourish with the movement of skilled labour and the availability of the migrant labourers can contribute to the success of the economy and lead to rapid expansion of economic enterprises. There is also the possibility of the migrants becoming taxpayers in the country they have migrated to, boosting that country’s economy. But on a negative note, the employment prospects of the native citizens  might be devoured by the migrants leading to the issue of unemployment. Every country has currently been facing the issue of illegal immigration that threatens the economic development of the host country as the illegal immigrants may deplete the resources of the country depriving the native citizens from enjoying a good life. Additional population strains the host country’s economy which will have long-lasting impact on the overall development of the country.

• Political effects

The outcome of migration has several political repercussions. Border conflict issues are on rise with migration flows worldwide. Defining international borders is a daunting task and conflict can arise when territories share border control officials from different nations that makes it difficult to determine who is responsible for migration related political controversies. The host countries are bound to formulate policies keeping in mind the needs and rights of the migrants which might not be favourable to the native citizens and conflicts take place in such a scenario. Although voting rights are hardly granted to the migrants yet they get to enjoy all other rights like the native citizens which sometimes goes against the interest of the natives.

• Demographic effects

Demography that refers to population’s size , composition, and quality in a certain area or region, migration would have an immediate influence on the demographic makeup of a region or nation. As individuals frequently migrate to those places that offers better living and earning opportunities, the demography of that place might drastically change due to migration. Rural to urban migration is the most common type of migration resulting in  urban population rises which negatively affects the demography of the rural areas  as it loses its young and  trained workers. Changing demography is affecting the host region’s  birth rate, death rate, sex, and infertility rates along with increasing instances of criminal activities.

• Social effects

Migration has a tremendous effect on the social structure of a region. People choose a region with multiple opportunities and consider it livable and thus decide to migrate but when that region gets overcrowded with both natives and migrants, the standard of living diminishes leading to poverty and turn the place into a  hub of criminal activities. Migration causes a number of cities or countries to lose their inhabitants’ culture and beliefs due to successful assimilation taking place in the host region as the migrants adapt themselves with the culture and norms of that region. But there also emerge the issue of discrimination when the natives shows unwillingness of accepting the migrants into their society considering them to be a threat to their social identity. This brings a disorder in the society destabilizing the life of both the migrants and the natives.

• Environmental effects

Due to widespread migration flows from one place to another, mostly from rural to urban areas, overpopulation has become a grave issue and its effect is seen in the environment. Natural resources are under pressure and on the brink of vanishing. The unprecedented growth of city settlements, infrastructural growth is leading to issues like ground water depletion, inadequate drainage system, traffic congestion, scarcity in drinking water and food production, difficulty in managing solid wastes, pollution, flood and others.

Migration is a multidimensional process. Understanding the causes and characteristics of migration it can be realized that migration isn’t motivated by a single event or instance rather it is instigated by multiple events which has wide ranging impacts or consequences upon the society, be it the origin place of the migrants or the receiving place where the migrants have relocated to. If the concerned governing bodies of the respective host countries or region doesn’t take effective measures to handle migration flows, there would be a chaos in the functioning of the country affecting the lives of the inhabitants.

• https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/migration
• https://www.toppr.com/guides/evs/no-place-for-us/migration-and-its-effects/
• https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/human-geography/population-geography/causes-of-migration/
• https://unacademy.com/content/upsc/study-material/physical-geography/consequences-of-migration/
• https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_808884/lang–en/index.htm
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359438780_CAUSES_OF_MIGRATION_AND_ITS_EFFECTS
• https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/world/20200624STO81906/exploring-migration-causes-why-people-migrate
• https://www.socialworkin.com/2021/09/migration-forms-and-characteristics.html

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Immigration: Causes and Effects

Introduction, economic causes, social causes, works cited.

For a long time, immigration has been a significant policy subject in the United States, with numerous reports and studies conducted on its motives and implications. Immigration is the movement or relocation of people from one country to another. Factors that promote immigration can be categorized to economic, social, and political causes. Although limited by slight economic downsides and political backlash, immigration is necessary for creating social diversity, protecting individuals’ rights and freedoms, and enhancing international relations. There are two significant groups of immigration causes: economic and social, which are associated with particular consequences.

First, the economic causes for immigration are high demand of manpower, unemployment, the desire for better entrepreneurial and employment opportunity. Income and economic status differences between resident and destination nations encourage people to migrate from poor to more prosperous countries. Developed countries have a high demand for labor unlike in less developed countries with high unemployment rates (Duan 3). The shortage of specialists in a particular profession in a specific region increases wages for this profession and stimulates the influx of migrants. The effect of the economic causes of immigration is overwhelming the available opportunities and resources. In 2019, the American Immigration Council reported a population of 44.9 million immigrants in the U.S (American Immigration Council 1). The right-wing Democratic Party in the US is opposed to immigration in effect, that unregulated inflow of foreign labor increases job competition, reduced wages, and increased unemployment. The social zeal for a better quality of life and connection to friends and families promoting immigration results in enhanced diversity, improved international relations, cross-cultural exchange, cosmopolitanism and diversity. Immigration has enhanced international relations and access to social amenities such as education.

The social rationale for immigration is aspirations for a better quality of life and connection with close family and friends. Social factors that influence the rate of immigration include crime rate, access to social amenities such as schools, and inter-cultural exchange (Duan 2). An immigrant can sponsor a family member or friend through an affidavit. Political grounds for immigration include state policies, threats of persecution, armed conflict, and humanitarian issues that force people to seek refuge in stable countries. The social causes of immigration are the inclination for a better life, while political migration is often due to unsafe conditions in the residence country. The effect of social immigration is in the occurrence of cosmopolitanism resulting from social immigration enhances the redistribution of wealth diversity and adequate co-existence of nationalities and socio-cultural exchange. Immigration protects the rights and freedoms of individuals advanced of their countries by political factors of armed conflict, state assassination, and discrimination.

Ultimately, immigration is a significant economic, social, and political factor with clashing implications. The desire for better quality of life and family bonds social causes of immigration lead to enhanced diversity, cosmopolitanism, cross-cultural exchange and international relations. Moreover, immigration protects the rights and freedoms of people threatened by political factors. On the downside the economic immigration driven by the desire for better employment and investment opportunities is characterized by high unemployment, prejudice, discrimination, and political backlash. While policymakers perceive immigration to drive slow wage growth and unemployment, Immigrants present remarkable social, economic, and political benefits. Therefore, migration significantly affects the economic and social structure of the countries. The mentioned effects are connected with the primary causes of migration.

American Immigration Council. “Immigrants in the United States.” American Immigration Council , 2021. Web.

Duan, Carson, Bernice Kotey, and Kamaljeet Sandhu. “A systematic literature review of determinants of immigrant entrepreneurship motivations.” Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship (2021): 1-33. Web.

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Why many policies to lower migration actually increase it

Senior Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute

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Jessica Hagen-Zanker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Every spring and summer, when the weather improves, the numbers of people trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe drastically increase, sometimes tripling . Distressing photos and headlines dominate front pages, and politicians stoke negative narratives about migration.

People migrate for many reasons: safety, work, education, family or adventure. Even though politicians like to divide migrants into neat categories, such as refugees and economic migrants, the messy reality is that most people moving fit into several categories at once. This makes it all the harder for governments to stop it from happening, try as they might.

Some adopt a “send ‘em back” approach, like the UK’s proposed Rwanda policy. Also popular is the “cash for migration control” approach, turning countries on the edges of Europe into, effectively, “border guards”. One example is the EU’s recent deal with Tunisia, promising €150 million (£128 million) to boost Tunisia’s migration control efforts.

A refrain often heard is that the best way to address migration is to “ tackle the root causes” – improve people’s lives in their countries of origin so that they are less likely to need or want to migrate in the first place. This approach proposes giving aid money to poorer countries to, for example, help create local jobs and improve schools and healthcare.

This approach seems to make sense, and feels more humane and certainly less unpleasant than implementing a Rwanda-style deportation plan. But there is not much consensus on what the root causes of migration actually are, and little evidence to show that addressing them actually reduces migration.

In MIGNEX , an EU-funded research project on global migration, I worked with a team of researchers to look at what drives people to consider leaving their families and communities and move to another country. We looked at 26 communities across ten countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, using data from more than 13,000 interviews.

Tackling the root causes

People living in poorer countries experience many social and economic challenges. These are often discussed as “root causes” – which MIGNEX defines as widely experienced hardships that are perceived to be persistent, immediately threatening or both, and to which migration is a possible response.

But which ones are the most important drivers for people to take the enormous step of leaving home for somewhere new?

The problem in migration policymaking – which often relies on intuition and guesswork, rather than evidence – is a scatter-gun approach which lists a whole range of issues as root causes. A case in point is the European Trust Fund for Africa which funds development projects to promote resilience, economic and equal opportunities, security and development, and end human rights abuses.

Policymakers assume that addressing all of these issues will reduce people’s desire to migrate. But often, these assumptions do not hold. Through our research, we have found that reducing poverty and raising educational levels might actually increase desires to migrate, because it gives people the means to do so and broadens their horizons. For example, having a PhD increases migration aspirations by 22%, compared to those with no formal education.

Addressing other drivers – such as scarce livelihoods and a lack of good jobs – might be more effective, but even so it tends to take generations before international migration is no longer desirable. Creating jobs also tends to be incredibly costly, for example the World Bank estimates that an investment of the equivalent of £8 million in Tunisia would create, at most, 300 jobs in the trade and construction sectors, at the cost of £24,000 per job.

Instead, what we have found is that addressing corruption is key to reducing people’s aspirations to migrate. People living in communities where being asked to pay a bribe for a service is a common practice are 36% more likely to have strong wishes to migrate.

Corruption is not merely a nuisance but typically a symptom of deeper and less obvious societal challenges. Corruption in hospitals, schools and police forces can be signs of low pay, inadequate management and a lack of accountability.

For example, in Redeyef , a declining mining town in Tunisia’s desert, high levels of corruption block many qualified young people from the most desirable jobs, contributing to an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Tackling corruption, therefore, can improve lives and strengthen people’s confidence to build their futures locally, rather than seeking opportunities elsewhere.

Aid and migration control

None of this evidence makes richer countries’ efforts to help poorer countries reduce poverty, create jobs and expand education any less necessary. These policies continue to be important in their own right, and often make a significant difference to improving people’s lives and wellbeing.

Tackling the root causes of migration is not an easy, short-term fix to prevent migration. Governments allocating aid must separate this from the issue of migration, so that this money can be channelled into what it’s actually meant for: addressing economic, humanitarian, political and security issues.

Meanwhile, any policy responses to manage migration must be tailored to the specific local context – people’s concerns and motivations to migrate are different everywhere.

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Essay on Migration | Causes and Effects of Migration

December 3, 2017 by Study Mentor Leave a Comment

Animals and man have been ever travelling. From grassy plains to fertile land, in search of better food, better opportunities. ‘Migration’ means the movement of population from one place to another for better opportunities.

Table of Contents

What is Migration?

Everyone wishes to lead a happy and secure life. A place where they can offer security to their family and a better future both for themselves and family. Migration many be of two types- permanent and temporary. Some migration may also occur annually, seasonally, or diurnally. According to certain census it has been found that migration mostly happens in three stages- (a) rural to rural , (b) rural to urban , (c) urban to urban , and (d) urban to rural

Maximum migration is from rural to urban, especially in developing countries like India. Even urban to urban migration happens quite a lot. But migration of the type (a), (d) is very rare. Migration of type (a) happens only when a person goes from another village to sell his items during bazaar or Melas. Some migration also happens from rural to small then from small town to urban. Such type of migration is called step wise migration.

In India there is a crazy race of the population travelling from the rural areas to the metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore etc, seeking for better employment and better work opportunities. And this craze is increasing more and more in the coming years.

That is why competition in the job sector is increasing in the urban sphere. Metropolitan cities act a crowd puller. People are attracted to the vibrant colours of life in the cities. They fall in the wrong notion that they can pull up something big or great in the cities and earn a living but not everyone gets equal opportunities. Some end up rag-pickers, some end up as street dwellers, and some end up beggars who don’t get any means of livelihood.

Another term that comes along with migration is commutation. Commutation is the means of travelling on a daily schedule of the people to cities from the neighbouring towns and villages for the purpose of job and other works. This is a type of temporary migration.

Some people commute seasonally- incase or family gathering or wedding ceremonies. While some immigrants migrate annually. Migration is not just a re-location of human resources and settlements but it is a process which has three-fold impact:

(a) On the area experiencing immigration,

(b) On the area experiencing out-migration, and

(c) On the migrants themselves, the purpose of migration may be employment, business, education, family movement, marriage, calamity, etc.

These migrants have very little skill and professional expertise, moreover they lack literacy. They mostly get involved in the low grade activities and fields of manual labour, where there is not much sophistication or use of literary capabilities.

Very few are in administrative, professional or technical sphere. The condition of women migrants is worse. Majority of them are illiterate or have very little literacy. Such people take up even lower grade of jobs like the domestic maid servants, hawkers or vendors. This change has been termed by many as ‘evolutionary urbanization’.

This sudden migration burst has led in detoriation in the look of the city and spreading of cities. Rapid human pressure has led to the unprecedented growth of shabby towns, slums and bastees and squatter settlements. Cities are spreading far beyond its boundary limits.

There are also other evils like the overflow of urban unemployment, rapid exploitation of the items of daily necessity like- food, clothing and shelter and their unavailability and there is a very sharp decline of human values and moral and it is increasing over the years( as observed its increase from 1981-1999 and will steadily increase over the 21st century).

Hence the metropolitan cities are becoming like blown-up urban villages which fail to offer basic necessities of life to the people residing in it. Due to unchecked or unprecedented human growth the cities lack in urban functions, characteristics, urban infrastructure and services, and without a strong economic base.

They are slowly stepping towards what is called as ‘degeneration’ or ‘decay’.

The urban areas not only attract the poor and the illiterate class but it has become a place for the educated and elite class to earn a living and lead a comfortable and relaxed life. There have been many cases where students from villages have come in cities to get higher education, managed with a good job and become a part of the city itself.

Even some big landlords and rich farmers have shown their interest in investing a good part of their agricultural profits in the different businesses that goes on in the city and also commercial activities. Hence the cities of developing countries like India are developing on the plunder or the remains of the rural parts (both natural and human). Unless this exploitation of blood-sucking trend is terminated for once and for all, the development or the revival of the ‘desi’ villages is a farfetched dream.

Not just there are rural immigrants to deal with. There are international migrants as well. Majority of the international migrants to India come from Asian countries, which are in turn followed by Europeans, Africans, etc. The neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Russia etc. have contributed large number of migrants to India.

Since there is no restriction along Indo-Nepal international boundary large numbers of Nepali people come to India for seeking employment, education, business etc. Assam, West Bengal and north eastern states attract large number of legal and illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

This has created a number of social, economic and political problems in these areas. Nepalese are seen in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi. Similarly migrants from Sri Lanka are most frequented in South India especially in Tamil Nadu

Migration not only creates confusion and commotion, but also an ill-growth of cities. That does not mean that we will shun away the immigrants.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Illegal Immigration — Causes and Effects of Immigration

Causes and Effects of Immigration

• Categories: Illegal Immigration

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Words: 731 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 731 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Causes of immigration, effects of immigration, a. economic factors, b. political factors, c. social factors, a. economic effects, b. social effects, c. political effects.

• National Academy of Sciences. (2017). The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration .
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD). (2019). International Migration Outlook 2019 .
• Peri, G., & Shih, K. (2019). "The Economic Contribution of Unauthorized Workers: An Industry Analysis". National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series.

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Essay on Migration

Students are often asked to write an essay on Migration in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Migration

Understanding migration.

Migration refers to the movement of people from one place to another. It can be within a country (internal migration) or between different countries (international migration).

Reasons for Migration

People migrate for various reasons. Some move for better job opportunities, while others might move due to conflicts or natural disasters in their home region.

Effects of Migration

Migration can have both positive and negative effects. It can lead to cultural diversity and economic growth, but it can also cause overcrowding and strain on resources.

Migration is a complex issue with many facets. It’s important to understand why people migrate and its impact on societies.

Also check:

• Advantages and Disadvantages of Migration

250 Words Essay on Migration

Introduction.

Migration, an inherent human phenomenon, has shaped societies and cultures since the dawn of civilization. It is a complex process influenced by an intricate interplay of economic, political, social, and environmental factors.

Types of Migration

Migration can be categorized broadly into internal and international. Internal migration involves movement within a country, often from rural to urban areas, driven by the pursuit of better economic opportunities. International migration, on the other hand, involves crossing national borders, often influenced by factors like conflict, persecution, or economic disparity.

The Push-Pull Theory

The push-pull theory provides a framework to understand migration. ‘Push’ factors include poverty, political instability, or environmental disasters that compel people to leave their homes. Conversely, ‘pull’ factors attract individuals to new regions, such as better job opportunities, political stability, or higher living standards.

Impacts of Migration

Migration has profound implications on both the source and destination regions. While it can lead to brain drain and demographic imbalances in the source region, it can also alleviate poverty and foster development. In destination regions, it can stimulate economic growth but may also strain resources and potentially cause social tension.

Migration, an integral part of our globalized world, presents both challenges and opportunities. It is crucial to foster policies that maximize its benefits while mitigating its potential drawbacks. Understanding the dynamics of migration can pave the way for more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable societies.

500 Words Essay on Migration

Migration is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, deeply ingrained in human history. It has been a significant driver of cultural, economic, and social evolution. It is the movement of people from one geographical location to another, either permanently or temporarily. The reasons for migration can vary from political to economic, environmental, or social.

The Driving Forces of Migration

The primary drivers of migration are often classified as push and pull factors. Push factors refer to the conditions that drive individuals to leave their homes, such as poverty, lack of opportunities, political instability, or environmental disasters. Pull factors, on the other hand, are the attractive aspects of the destination, like better economic opportunities, political stability, or higher living standards.

Migration can be categorized into different types based on various parameters. Internal migration refers to the movement within a country, while international migration involves crossing national borders. Migration can also be voluntary, where individuals choose to move, or forced, where individuals are compelled to leave due to circumstances beyond their control.

Migration has profound impacts on both the source and destination regions. For the source region, it can lead to a brain drain if skilled individuals migrate, potentially hindering the development. However, it can also alleviate pressure on resources and lead to remittances that boost the local economy.

For the destination region, migration can lead to an increase in diversity and cultural richness. It can also fill labor gaps, contributing to economic growth. However, if not managed well, it can lead to social tensions.

Migration in the Age of Globalization

In the era of globalization, migration has become more accessible and prevalent. The interconnectedness of economies has led to increased labor mobility. However, it has also exposed the stark inequalities between regions, further motivating migration. The rise of transnational communities, where migrants maintain strong ties with their home countries while integrating into the host society, is another notable trend.

Challenges and Opportunities

Migration presents both challenges and opportunities. The challenges include managing integration, ensuring migrants’ rights, and addressing social tensions. The opportunities lie in harnessing the potential of migrants for economic development, cultural exchange, and fostering global understanding.

In conclusion, migration is an inherent part of human society, driven by a complex interplay of factors. It has far-reaching impacts on individuals, communities, and nations. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the dynamics of migration will continue to evolve, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Understanding and managing migration effectively is crucial to building inclusive, diverse, and prosperous societies.

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Immigration has a Major Impact on Society IELTS Essay

Many people are migrating to other countries each year in recent years. Immigration has a major impact on society.

What are the main reasons for immigration? What consequences can it lead?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words.

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These days, millions of people across the world are moving to other countries for a better quality of life and to avoid war and conflicts. Immigration exerts tremendous impacts on society- both for the host and origin countries.

Several factors contribute to the recent wave of migration. The most prominent reason is the dream to build a good career and to have a more satisfying lifestyle. For example, each year millions of people from developing nations move to developed countries only to have a better job and to get a better living standard for themselves and their family. Economic challenges also contribute to this phenomenon. While skilled and educated people migrate to have a more gratifying lifestyle, poor and unskilled take it as an opportunity to make a living in a rich country.

War and conflicts also compel millions to move to other countries. War destroys houses, hospitals, schools, utilities, and water and sanitation systems and hundreds of thousands of people are killed by brutal conflicts. In consequence, people flee from war-torn countries. A case in point is the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. A substantial number of Muslim families have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in the wake of conflicts and ethnic cleansing.

Migration has both positive and negative impacts on society. For the origin country, it causes a brain drain which is a tremendously negative impact. It also causes gender imbalance as it is typically men who migrate to foreign countries. However, it reduces pressure on resources and jobs while boosts the economy with the remittance sent by migrants. For the host nation, migrants develop a richer and more diverse culture. It also positively affects the economy as migrants tend to take low skilled, low paid jobs. Despite the positive impacts, migration is the cause of unemployment for many natives and it threatens the cultural identity of a nation.

In fine, the expectation of a better life and war have brought the recent influx of migrants. This causes positive and negative impacts on the societies of both the home country and host country. ielts  xpre ss

IELTS Essay on Immigration and Consequences

The number of people moving overseas has been surging since the last few decades and this development has various repercussions for the motherland. This essay will discuss the root causes of this problem and its adverse effects.

On the one hand, in most of the developing countries, there is an immense issue of unemployment, and these countries are facing the disquieting problem of the brain drain. The highly qualified young generation, in particular, opt to fly abroad, so that they can enhance their career prospects and get top-notch paychecks. Besides, the developed nations do offer an extremely sophisticated lifestyle that lures the folks to migrate. ieltsxpress.com

On the flip side, this trend has numerous after-effects on the society. Firstly, there will be a lack of skilled workers in the mother-land. If the doctors, nurses or other in-demand professionals, for instance, leave their countries, it will eventually create a shortage of skilled professionals. The resident citizens will get treated by the quacks in such a scenario. Unfortunately, this will hurt the development of the society. Also, when young people move out leaving old people behind, governments will have fewer taxpayers and more dependents, who will need pensions. ielts xpre s s

In conclusion, talented people are migrating in search of better jobs and lifestyles that are not exactly available in their country. Unfortunately, this migration hurts the development of their mother country by causing a shortage of skilled people to run the industries and other sectors. At the same time, developed nations who receive immigrants benefit from their expertise.

In the current scenario, there has been a trend where people are migrating to various countries. The increasing migration is due to multifarious causes that can have diverse effects on both the individual and the country. This essay will discuss the major causes and effects of migration. ielt s xpre s s .com

Primarily, people from underdeveloped countries prefer to move to the developed nations for better education for their children and a higher standard of living for the whole family since living in a wealthy country implies living in a country with a stable economy. To give a clear example, a handful of people from countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are seen migrating to the United States and Australia to seek better opportunities, earn more, and live a luxurious life. Furthermore, political or economic instability could also be a reason for migration.

However, there is a downside to immigration. Overcrowding is a major drawback that leads to several other problems like lack of employment opportunities for the native residents and scarcity of resources. Additionally, migration of people to other countries leads to lesser knowledgeable professionals in the home country thereby affecting the literacy rate of the country. This in turn causes the overall growth of the nation to depreciate.

To conclude, migration has a wide impact on society which is irrecoverable. While immigration may provide global connectivity and exposure, it does have harmful effects on society making it economically weak and difficult in terms of the country’s growth aspect.

Immigration and Consequences IELTS Writing Task 2

Immigration has a significant impact on the contemporary society. Each year, more and more people from all over the world decide to leave their home countries and move to another place. This essay will examine the reasons and the consequences of immigration.

In my view, the main reason of immigration is a strong desire of better life quality and safe future. A lot of people from so-called Third World move to developed countries in search of better employment opportunities, and therefore, higher incomes. Moreover, living in a wealthy country implies living in a country with stable economy, so risks of losing their savings also lessen. For example, labour migration from Mexico to the USA is caused by these facts. Other reasons that force whole families to cross borders are wars and various cultural conflicts in their homeland. Many people migrate, seeking security and safe future for their children. For instance, most of the refugees who arrived in the European Union were escaping from wars.

However, sometimes immigration causes more problems than it solves, resulting in negative consequences for both immigrants and their countries of destination. First of all, most of the refugees can’t find jobs because of the lack of language skills and difficulties in adaptation. That’s why the countries have to run various refugee assistance programs to help those people. But disproportionate burden of maintaining the immigrants leads to tension in the society. Secondly, not all of the refugees receive proper asylum, food and medical care. So they are at risk even after crossing the border. Finally, even highly qualified specialists, who seek better employment, often don’t get what they are looking for.

In conclusion, I think that people immigrate to have better life prospects. However, life after immigration may not always meet people’s expectations. So it’s very important to consider all the possible outcomes and decide whether leaving your homeland is worth it.

Also Check: Many Students Today are Choosing to live in Another Country

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• Migration and Its Effects

Migration is a way to move from one place to another in order to live and work. Movement of people from their home to another city, state or country for a job, shelter or some other reasons is called migration. Migration from rural areas to urban areas has increased in past few years in India.

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Causes of Migration

Movement of people from one place to another in search of work  (Source: eiu)

Nowadays, many people decide to migrate to have a better life. Employment opportunities are the most common reason due to which people migrate. Except this, lack of opportunities, better education , construction of dams, globalization , natural disaster (flood and drought) and sometimes crop failure forced villagers to migrate to cities.

People who move from one place to another in search of work or shelter are called migrants .  Most of the times migrants people are not skilled or educated therefore they usually employed as daily wagers ( workers who are paid at the end of each day, for their services ). Daily wagers do not get enough money for the survival of their families and suffering from many problems such as they do not have enough food to eat, sanitation, hygiene , a proper place to live etc.

Read about Effects of Blowing Air

Impacts of Migration

Migration is becoming a very important subject for the life of cities . Many opportunities and attraction of big cities pull large numbers of people to big cities. Migration can have positive as well as negative effects on the life of the migrants.

Positive Impact

• Unemployment is reduced and people get better job opportunities.
• Migration helps in improving the quality of life of people.
• It helps to improve social life of people as they learn about new culture, customs , and languages which helps to improve brotherhood among people.
• Migration of skilled workers leads to a greater economic growth of the region.
• Children get better opportunities for higher education .
• The population density is reduced and the birth rate decreases.

Read about Seeds here in detail .

Negative Impact

• The loss of a person from rural areas, impact on the level of output and development of rural areas.
• The influx of workers in urban areas increases competition for the job, houses, school facilities etc.
• Having large population puts too much pressure on natural resources , amenities and services .
• It is difficult for a villager to survive in urban areas because in urban areas there is no natural environment and pure air. They have to pay for each and everything.
• Migration changes the population of a place, therefore, the distribution of the population is uneven in India.
• Many migrants are completely illiterate and uneducated, therefore, they are not only unfit for most jobs, but also lack basic knowledge and life skills.
• Poverty makes them unable to live a normal and healthy life.
• Children growing up in poverty have no access to proper nutrition, education or health.
• Migration increased the slum areas in cities which increase many problems such as unhygienic conditions, crime, pollution etc.
• Sometimes migrants are exploited.
• Migration is one of the main causes of increasing nuclear family where children grow up without a wider family circle.

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Solved Example

Q1. What are the benefits of living in the villages?

Sol: In villages, people live in a natural environment . There are so many soothing sounds. Like the gurgle of the flowing river, the murmur of trees and the chirping of birds. People here live together like a big family and help each other, in good and bad times. The elders settle quarrels among them.

Q2. What are the demerits of village life?

  Sol: There are less earning opportunities in villages. There are hospitals with lack of facilities. People are not aware of new technological advancements. Quality of education is poor as compared to a city.

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49 responses to “migration and its effects”.

Thanks, I learnt a lot.

Importance cause of labour migration in international trade

Hii people I don’t know

Emotional impact of migration

so migration has negative and positive impacts

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WHY WE DID NOT HAVE URBAN TO RURAL MIGRATION AS A MAJOR WORRY

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I want effects of migration

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It’s always good to give immigrants a helping hand, but we should be well aware of the impact they’re having on our nations.

it somehow helped

what the author?

but why do people have to migrate? gimme some good reasons plss

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WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF EXTERNAL MIGRATION

This help me a lot for my assignment!

Thankyou toppr , It helped me a lot to understand , Specially the positive and nagative impacts…..

Absolutely u r right

how does unemployment rates increase in a country receiving migrants?

It is very common for country receiving migrants to have high levels of unemployment rates because as the migrants arrive, it also lead to an increase in the population of a country, and the’ll be competition in employment opportunities leading to certain people getting employed others being left unemployed. So the more migrants, the less the job opportunities as the factories and companies cannot accommodate the whole country in terms of employment.

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The Great Migration Causes and Effects Essay

The period between 1910 and 1970 witnessed a massive movement of African-Americans from the United States’ rural south to the urban north (Spencer, 1987). Historians estimate that more than 6 million African-Americans were involved in this great exodus.

The United States’ population experienced a significant change during the Great Migration. New York and Chicago were some of the northern cities that witnessed the influx of African-Americans.

Before this migration, the population of African-Americans in these cities was only about 2 percent.

A clear demonstration of the changes caused by the Great Migration was the doubling of the number of African-Americans working in industries.

Several factors contributed towards The Great Migration. First, there was a worsening racial situation in the South especially due to the Jim Crow laws. This situation brought about educational, economic and social marginalisation.

Other factors were the pursuance of employment opportunities in the rapidly expanding industrial sector in the North and better education facilities (Johnson, 2012).

Moreover, the boll weevil infestation, coupled with the plummeting world cotton prices, adversely affected a large part of the Southern cotton fields forcing sharecroppers and labourers to migrate in search of alternative means of employment (Spencer, 1987).

Considering that this was an era of war, there were numerous opportunities in the North for African-Americans. In addition, the First World War and the Immigration Act of 1924 significantly minimised the movement of European immigrants to the burgeoning industrial centres of the North (Spencer, 1987).

As a result, there were more opportunities for African-Americans in various factories due to the need for labour to meet the increasing demand for industrial goods.

The 1927 Mississippi Floods also contributed to the Great Migration as they displaced a large number of African-American farmers and labourers.

Due to the massive movement of people to the North, there was a considerable increase in the demand for housing. This brought about hostility between the immigrants and the locals.

As a result, residential segregation gained favour in several cities with the motive of ensuring that blacks stayed away from the neighbourhoods that whites inhabited.

Even though the Supreme Court declared municipal residence segregation as unconstitutional, whites adopted a formal deed restriction, which bound the owners of white property in a particular neighbourhood not to sell to blacks (White, 2005).

Due to the restrictions regarding housing, several African-American neighbourhoods mushroomed in the cities. Harlem became the largest city predominantly inhabited by blacks.

The hostility between African-Americans and whites also presented itself in matters relating to employment. Whites, especially the working class, were afraid of the threat posed by the immigrants concerning labour.

Whites feared that African-Americans would negatively affect their pay rates and their ability to secure employment.

The whites’ tendency to protect what they considered as their territory created a racial divide that sometimes resulted in violence.

The Great Migration had a significant influence on various aspects of lives. The key areas concern language and culture due to the influx of people from different backgrounds.

As more African-Americans settled in the North, they transformed their rural lifestyle to fit into the urban culture and in the process introduced the black culture. Furthermore, the Great Migration had negative effects in the Southern states as the black population declined immensely in these states.

For example, in Mississippi and South Carolina, both of which experienced massive movements, the black population declined to about 35 percent by 1970s (Johnson, 2012).

Johnson, D. (2012). Important Cities in Black History. FactMonster.com . Retrieved from https://www.factmonster.com/us/us-cities/cities-black-history

Spencer, R. C. (1987). The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-40, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR . Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1987/03/art5full.pdf

White, K. (2005). Women in the Great Migration: Economic Activity of Black and White Southern-Born Female Migrants in 1920, 1940, and 1970. Social Science History, 29 (3), 413-455.

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IvyPanda. (2024, April 6). The Great Migration Causes and Effects. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-migration/

"The Great Migration Causes and Effects." IvyPanda , 6 Apr. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-migration/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'The Great Migration Causes and Effects'. 6 April.

IvyPanda . 2024. "The Great Migration Causes and Effects." April 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-migration/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Great Migration Causes and Effects." April 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-migration/.

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IvyPanda . "The Great Migration Causes and Effects." April 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-great-migration/.

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