2. Global Migration Flashcards
What has an impact on cross-border flow?
Related politics e.g. Brexit
Not only of people, but goods and services too
3 Lines of argument
Economic
Rights-based
Political
Migration drivers
Emigration
- Political and humanitarian crisis e.g. Syria
- Economic crises and prospects
Immigration
- Relative economic success and wage discrepancies
- Accession to Diaspora
Emigration drivers
- Political and humanitarian crisis e.g. Syria
- Economic crises and prospects e.g. hierarchy, some are more eligible for migration
e. g. skilled labourers, skillset country needs accepted
Immigration drivers
- Relative economic success and wage discrepancies (often highly volatile e.g. Spain)
- Accession to Diaspora, more accepted if a lot of people already there
Net UK Migration 2001-2010
225,000
Recent migration
Immigration higher than emigration
Impact of UK Immigration
Many convinced it is negative
This is dependent on levels of EDUCATION
Not the case that low or unskilled workers negatively affected
“The lump of labour fallacy” to be avoided, why?
Very clear that labour markets are very absorptive
The number of jobs in an economy is not fixed, fluctuate
Relates to work as a scare commodity
Number of jobs increases as more people enter
Weakness of policies the issue
Fluctuations due to
Periods of distress
Economic arguments relate to
National economy: Limited number of resources, jobs available to the households
Global market: Resources on a global level
Rights-based arguments:
People have the right to immigrate but also have the right to say no to immigration
Political arguments relate to:
Interests in particular distribution of resources and opportunities
Who has the rights to opportunities of wealth.
What is migration drivers?
Reasons behind migration
Influencing factors
(Manning, 2016)
Overall net economic impact on UK workers is insignificant
Anti-Immigration party UK
UKIP
Reduction in manufacturing jobs UK, low-medium skilled work
Growing concern of job insecurity, discontent
Changing landscape of economy, more jobs elsewhere as industries changing
Bottom 99% of economy
Wage share lost (Bengsson and Ryner 2012) add to discontent
Foreign workers as a % of working age population
Low in most European countries
Don’t take up a large share of jobs
Why do people think like this then?
How has migration been framed as a problem?
National stable growth of heavily policed borders, access and eligibility of citizenship.
Growing generational expectations of stability and affluence.
Most research has taken affluent Global Northern destination countries as its starting point
Neglect perspectives of origin/transit countries and migrants.
Research funding and capacities are concentrated to the Global North (Castles, 2010: 1571).
Highly skilled considered valuable and celebrated while lower-skilled migrant workers are seen as unwanted (Castles, 2010: 1567).
However, perceptions of competition and complementarity matter, as well as education (Manning 2016).
Castles, 2010 on perceptions of migration
Research funding and capacities are concentrated to the Global North (Castles, 2010: 1571).
Highly skilled considered valuable and celebrated while lower-skilled migrant workers are seen as unwanted (Castles, 2010: 1567).
‘Expat’ vs ‘Immigrant’ language discrepencies
Expat: High skilled going from global north to south
Immigrant: Going from global south to north
Both are migrants?
Global Political Economy of Migration
Examining the links between social transformation and human mobility
Globalisation refers to
the increasing interconnectedness of people, products, information, and processes throughout the globe
Categories of migrants
Economic category today typically seen as negative, unless high-skilled labour.
Political (refugees – negative, despite history of giving refuse to someone) category is challenged by receiver communities.
Labour Migration and the Historical Construction of Classes of Workers
Historically “free” peoples less constrained in its movements in the pursuit of food, that is those who were not kept as slaves.
Invasion and displacement at the same time as borders were being erected around kingdoms.
Labour Migration and the Historical Construction of Classes of Workers
Historically “free” peoples less constrained in its movements in the pursuit of food, that is those who were not kept as slaves.
Invasion and displacement at the same time as borders were being erected around kingdoms.
Emergence of capitalism and formation of wage labour
Modern History of Labour Migration
Post-War Reconstruction, Decolonisation and the welcoming of labour to help rebuild countries
Creation of welfare state: privileges, rights based on tax paid, who deserves what?
Control of labour supply and rights as well as duties
Trafficking and modern forms of slavery/unfree labour
Different types of migration, migrants and receiver community politics
a) international: transnationalisation of production, highly educated and mobile class
b) regional: dependent upon regional integration, concentrated to high- and low-skilled.
c) intra-national: urbanisation
Uneven global picture
Where people want to move
Without migration what would happen?
Population of more developed regions would decline, they don’t want this
Why don’t they want population decline in more developed?
Ageing population in global north countries
Reduction in number of children born per woman
Immigration can help resolve these issues
How can immigration help agin population?
Tend to be younger, working age
Resource to help economy prosper and grow
Expected over time
Growth in mega cities in LDC
Decline in large cities in MEDC
LDC not undergone industrialisation
Revenue made in exports falling
Fortress Europe
The right to life chances (political or economic reasons)
The right to decline receipt of immigration
Local receiver communities
European migration management
Term ‘Fortress’
Implies heavily fortified borders that deny the right to life chances
Dangerous, coming for the sake of their lives
Real grim reality of immigration
Fortress Europe
Populist politics, exploiting largely unfounded fears.
Dublin II and “burdensharing”
Frontex
Cheap labour in a context of globalisation: Illegal labour and refugee labour
Dublin II and “burdensharing”
Burden negative word
Countries become responsible for managing immigrants
Point of entry often isn’t where they want to end up
Frontex est 2005
Deals with necessity for policing of borders
Deny entry but
Economy needs them to survive
‘American Dream’
Trump US-Mexican border to protect this
No real relationship between labour flows and lack of opportunities
Controlling cheap labour
Why Trump came into power
Those more in economic distress supported trump
Played into his hands for US Mexican border, protect our people and labour
The USA/Mexico border
US military mission on the southern border which would see the deployment of 8,000 troops
‘Operation Faithful Patriot’, the Pentagon re-branded the mission as ‘border support’
- Vigilantes protecting their land vs. the ‘invaders’
Politically, economically, socially and emotionally charged; also a question of morals, values and ethics
The idea that all immigrants are dangerous criminals is cemented amongst hardline Trump supporters and presented by Trump in speeches
Chinese Internal Migration and Immigration
China continues to experience greatest urban immigration in human history
Extreme example of surplus labour economy both in the rural areas and in the urban areas. (Knight et al. 2011)
Migrant labour scarcity and rising migrant wages” (Knight et al. 2011: 185).
Under Hukou -household registration
mingong have become both an urban underclass and the victims of social exclusion:
Knight et al 2011
The Chinese system of ‘floating’—temporary migration—will increasingly become economically inefficient
