A-Level Geography: Migration, Identity and Sovereignty CASE STUDY EXAMPLES

Question 1

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Point] What are the economic reasons behind migration?

Economic reasons, such as employment, are pull factors behind migration.

Answer 1

• In the two years following Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic’s joining of the EU in 2004, the UK became the host country for 600,000 Eastern European migrants, with the vast majority citing economic causes as their motivation for migrating.
• Many migrants found jobs in construction, retail and administrative trades, in which they earned up to five times as much as they did in their source countries. Not only does employment opportunity act as a pull factor behind international migration, but the economic prosperity from jobs in the UK also attracts additional migration due to high wages.

Question 2

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Counterbalance] What are the economic reasons behind migration?

Economic reasons, such as unemployment, are push factors behind migration.

Answer 2

• In Poland, the unemployment rate averaged 18.2% in 2005, the highest unemployment rate in the 27 nations of the OECD.
• Because of these conditions, many Poles fail to utilise their skillsets in the workplace. Because of this, they will migrate to countries with job opportunities that they cannot find in Poland. Hence, these economic reasons act as push factors for international migration.

Question 3

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Point] What are the political reasons behind migration?

Political reasons, such as war and conflict, act as push factors behind migration.

Answer 3

• Conflicts in the Middle East have led to a rapid influx of refugees and asylum seekers across international borders; the severity of the Syrian civil war has led to the cumulation of around 5 million refugees outside of Syria, with 500,000 travelling across the Mediterranean to claim asylum in Europe in 2015.
• War can damage the remaining infrastructure and services, resulting in dire living conditions and drastic. This acts as a political push factor behind international migration.

Question 4

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Counterbalance] What are the political reasons behind migration?

Political reasons, such as the type of government, act as pull factors behind migration.

Answer 4

• Often times western countries provide political freedom amongst their citizens. For US citizens, the 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. The UK’s Magana Carta is viewed as the foundation for British law, liberty, and principle.
• Because of freedoms found in most western countries, they are often targeted by migrants from countries under oppressive governments and little political freedom as was the case in Syria where you risk jail time if you discussed politics. This acts as a pull factor behind international migration, particularly to the west.

Question 5

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Point] How has globalisation acted as a reason for increased international migration?

Technological reasons, such as improved modes of transportation, have greatly increased rates of international migration.

Answer 5

• As of 2014, 230 million people lived in a country that wasn’t their place of birth.
• This is due to the advancement of transport networks. This had allowed people to travel easily and affordably. This had enabled the increased cross-border movement of people and therefore more globalisation.

Question 6

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Counterbalance] How has globalisation acted as a reason for increased international migration?

Economic reasons, such as the rise in global trading, have greatly increased rates of international migration.

Answer 6

• However, attributing migration to the increased technological advancement fails to consider why people migrate initially. People immigrate due to the rise in global trading. The extent is shown by how just ten nations, including China, the USA, Germany, and Japan, account for more than half of all global trade.
• The rise in global trading means businesses have to operate on a global scale, which has led to the rise of expats. Expats migrate abroad to operate said businesses. As a result, the rise in global trading increases rates of international migration.

Question 7

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Point] How has globalisation acted as a reason for increased rural-urban migration?

Economic reasons, such as global shift, greatly increased rates of rural-urban migration.

Answer 7

• This was particularly seen with the global shift from Europe and America to the Asian economies in the 1970s and 80s. In 1980, over 80% of Chinese people lived in rural areas; by 2012, 51% of the population lived in urban areas in China.
• This is because the global shift enabled TNCs to move to carry out global manufacturing in places of cheaper labour and unit costs. Since they were placed in China’s urban regions, many from rural regions migrated to those regions to find employment provided by said TNCs.

Question 8

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Counterbalance] How has globalisation acted as a reason for increased rural-urban migration?

Political reasons, such as barriers to migration, decreased rates of rural-urban migration.

Answer 8

• An example of political power being used to create barriers to migration is the Hukou System. The system was introduced around the 1950s after the CCP was instilled.
• It restricted internal migration due to having everyone registered at an official residence. Those moving must be registered and buy a permit, which increases the costs of rural-urban migration. As a result, this naturally decreases the rate of internal migration regardless of the scale of globalisation.

Question 9

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Point] What are the reasons behind global variations in international migration?

Political reasons, such as attitudes towards migration, are reasons why rates of international migration vary amongst countries.

Answer 9

• Japan’s attitudes towards migration is relatively poor considering it is a globalised and advanced nation. This is because Japan has closed-door policies towards migrants. Politically, the ‘no-immigration’ principle is widely supported by the people.
• As a result, international migrations towards countries sharing attitudes like Japan can be considerably difficult due to negative views on migrations pushing harder closed-door policy to restrict migration.

Question 10

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Counterbalance] What are the reasons behind global variations in international migration?

Cultural reasons, language barriers, are also reasons as to why rates of international migration vary amongst countries.

Answer 10

• In the case of Japan, part of the problem is that Japanese is not recognised as a global business language, unlike English.
• Languages take years to become accustomed to, making learning them have a time gap before it may be used in practice. Because of this fact, naturally, migration levels to places like Japan would be relatively low due to the time costs potentially outweighing the benefits for migrants.

Question 11

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Point] What are the reasons behind global variations in international migration?

Economic reasons, such as labour shortages, are reasons why rates of international migration vary amongst countries.

Answer 11

• In the case of Australia, its immigration policy has been skills-based. 70% of immigrants are accepted based on skills shortages where there are insufficient Australian workers.
• If a country is facing a labour shortage, migration is often a solution due to allowing skilled labour to fill in the job vacancies. The government often does this simply because training skilled labour often comes with a time gap. As a result, countries with shortages will be more willing to allow loosened immigration and hence more migration.

Question 12

Enquiry question 1: What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration?

[Counterbalance] What are the reasons behind global variations in international migration?

Social reasons, such as demographic changes, are reasons why rates of international migration vary amongst countries.

Answer 12

• In the case of Australia, another factor as to why they may allow greater flow of migration is due to its ageing population. The median age is 37, but migrants tend to be younger; 88% are under 40 compared to the 54% of resident Australians.
• Migration offsets the problems of ageing populations. If there are more economically active people in the economy than inactive, than those retiring would not increase pressure on the costs/funds of medical or social care in Australia. In this case, it would favourable to allow high rates migration to mitigate the issue.