3.5 increased economic migration

Question 1

megacities

Answer 1

cities with a population of over 10 million

• world currently has 28 megacities (in 1970 it was just 3)
• they grow through rural-urban migration and natural increase

Question 2

causes of rural- urban migration

Answer 2

urban PULL factors:

• employment. FDI by TNCs provides range of work opportunities in urban parts of poorer countries. urban areas offer hope of promotion and and advancement into professional roles.
• schooling and better healthcare

rural PUSH factors:

• lack of opportunities
• lack of jobs: agricultural modernistaion reduces need for rural labour further
• droughts and flooding
• poverty partly due to lack of investment

shrinking world technologies (TV, radios etc) switch on people in rural areas: they gain knowledge of the outside world. cheap mobile phones enable communication. commonly successful migrants communicate useful info and advice to new potential migrants.

Question 3

hyper- urbanisation in New Dehli

Answer 3

rapid population growth is outstripping the ability to provide basic needs eg sanitation.
main causes:
- natural increase (high birth rate and low death rate)
- one of worlds fastest rates of rural -> urban migration
financial district is becoming a global finance hub persuading Coca- Cola and Microsoft to base their Indian operations there
hyper- urbanisation is common in emerging countries. In Mumbai, is home to 22 million (2015) having doubled in size since 1970.

Question 4

social and environmental challenges of rapid growth

Answer 4

social:

• sprawling shanty towns (result of uncontrollable urban growths) eg Dharavi
• pressure on gov. to provide houses and eductaion etc.
• private companies target wealthy first causing uneven development ( eg piped water in wealthy areas)
• number of homeless people due to overpopulation and increased demand increasing house prices

environmental:
- sewage pollution
- chemical dumping
- air quality (photochemical smog) New Dehli has 153 micrograms of particulates per cubic metre and air pollution is Indias 5th largest killer (26 mill. vehicles on its roads by 2050)

Question 5

international migration and global hubs

Answer 5

• globalisation has increased the flow of people moving around the world. this increases interdependance between regions. there are 3 different types of migration: elite i. migrants, low- wages i. migrants and internal migrants. in 2014 there were 231.6 million migrations (mainly for work): 35% of this was from developing to developed countries.
• global hub (world city) is a region that has significant global influence (eg business in London, trade in Shanghai and education in Cambridge). it is recognised by its influence rather than size. flows of money, goods and workers help link the worlds global hubs together forming a network. the three types of migrant all contribute to the growth of a global hub/ world city.

Question 6

elite migrants

Answer 6

wealthy highly skilled and/or influential individuals.
contribute to major global hubs such as NY, London or Dubai by providing investment.
eg London
- flows of elite migrants have moved there and London is now a property hotspot (foreign buyers involved in 82% of property deals: a third of which went to Russians)
- Quatari investments have brought iconic buildings (The Shard, Harrods etc)
- housing demand has sky rocketed causing property inflation becoming too expensive for native residents to live there (in 2011, apartment in the Hyde Park development sold for £136 mill to a Ukranian oligarch)

Question 7

low wage migrants

Answer 7

are drawn towards global hubs in large numbers. London, Los Angeles and Dubai are all home to large numbers of legal and illegal immigrants working for low pay in kitchens, construction sites or as domestic cleaners. it has led to rapid building of infrastructure for high end international tourism and services.
eg Indian workers moving to UAE
- over 2 mill live there (30% of total population) estimated $15 bill. is returned to India annually as remittances.
- in 2014, 1.4 mill. building wokers for the WC 2022 in Qatar (migrants are used as cheap labour and work in dangerous conditions under unfair contracts: many are exploited and abused)

Question 8

host countries benefits and costs

Answer 8

benefits:

• fills in skills shortages eg Indian doctors arriving in the UK in the 50s
• economic migrants willingly do labour that no one else will do
• working migrants spend their wages on rent and pay tax, more money into the economy
• sustains the lifestyle of the middle class ( workers to provide childcare, cleaning etc)

costs:
- pressure on healthcare
- social tensions arive if host country believes migration has led to lack of jobs etc
- shortages of school places due to increase of youths

Question 9

source countries benefits and costs

Answer 9

benefits:

• remittance payments can contribute to national earnings significantly (in 2014, remittances contributed to 25% of Nepals ne)
• some government spending costs (education, health) are transferred to host region
• remittance payments can be used to build homes/ invest in the country increasing employment

costs:
- young, skilled workers are lost from their own workforce
- reduced economic growth as consumption falls
- imbalanced population: aged dependants are left without young to rely on
-