Contemporary Theories of Migration Flashcards
▪ Oldest and most well-known
migration theory
▪ Migration driven by labor supply and
demand differences
▪ Wage gaps cause movement from
low-wage to high-wage regions
▪ Migration balances labor distribution,
adjusting wages over time
Neoclassical Economic Thoery
__________\ Perspective
▪ Regions with labor ________ → low wages
▪ Regions with labor _________ → high wages
▪ Migration occurs until wage gaps reflect movement costs
Macroeconomic Perspective
surplus = low wages
scarcity = high wage
_____________\ Perspective
▪ Individuals migrate based on cost-benefit analysis
▪ Migration = investment in human capital
Three costs include:
Microeconomic Perspective
▪ Costs include:
▪ Travel & relocation expenses
▪ Job search efforts
▪ Cultural adaptation & psychological adjustments
TRE JSE CA PA
▪ Migrants estimate future earnings vs. costs
▪ Expected earnings depend on:
▪ Wages at destination × probability of employment
▪ Minus wages at origin × probability of employment
▪ Discounted over time to determine net migration return
Decision Making Process of the Neoclassical Migration Thoery
▪ Developed countries
manage risk via:
▪ Crop insurance
▪ Unemployment benefits
▪ Pensions
CPU
▪ Challenges individual-focused neoclassical theory
▪ Migration decisions made by families, households, or
communities
▪ Motivations extend beyond income maximization
▪ Factors:
▪ Status
▪ Risk minimization
▪ Access to capital & credit
New Economics of Migration
▪ In developing areas,
households diversify
labor sources
▪ Migrants provide
financial security
through remittances
Risk Management and Income Stability
▪ Migration compensates for lack of
access to credit & capital
▪ Families send workers abroad to:
▪ Save & remit funds
▪ Substitute for borrowing
▪ Fund consumption &
productive investments
Migration as a Capital Strategy
▪ Income is not just about total earnings
▪ Households seek status improvement
▪ Migration driven by comparison with wealthier groups
▪ Reducing relative deprivation can be a key incentive
Beyond Absolute Income - Relative Deprivation
▪ Contrasts with neoclassical and new economics of migration
▪ Migration driven by structural needs of industrial societies
▪ Push factors (low wages, unemployment) are less important than pull factors (chronic labor demand) ▪ Migrant workers become structurally necessary
Segmented Labor Market Theory
▪ Wages reflect prestige & social
expectations
▪ Employers can’t simply lower
wages due to hierarchical
constraints (union contracts,
regulations)
▪ Low-status jobs remain
undesirable for native workers,
creating demand for migrants
Structural Inflation and Social Status
▪ Workers seek income +
social status
▪ Bottom-tier jobs offer no
prestige or mobility →
locals avoid them
▪ Migrants accept these
jobs as a means to an end
(e.g., remittances, savings)
Motivation and the Bottom of the Job Hierarchy
▪ Primary sector: Stable, skilled jobs,
employer investment, unionization
▪ Secondary sector: Unstable, low-skill
jobs, expendable workers
▪ Employers use migrants to fill
secondary-sector jobs due to lack of
local interest
Economic Dualism and Labor Segmentation
▪ __________ mix primary &
secondary market features
▪ Low pay & instability but offer
upward mobility for migrants
▪ Require continuous inflow of
new migrants for sustainability
The Role of Ethnic Enclaves
Rooted in historical–structural
tradition in social science
▪ Migration = Result of capitalist
expansion into non-capitalist areas
▪ Capitalist firms enter poor regions
for land, labor, and markets
World Systems Theory
Migration results from the
global expansion of capitalism
into non-capitalist or pre-
capitalist regions, creating
economic and social disruptions
that push people to migrate.
World Systems Theory of Migration
- Core capitalist regions seek land, raw materials, cheap labor,
and new consumer markets in peripheral (developing) regions. - Capitalist farming practices (land consolidation, mechanization,
cash cropping) displace traditional farmers. - Factory jobs in export-processing zones disrupt local
economies, weaken traditional labor structures, and create a
mobile workforce.
Capitalist Expansion
- Capitalist development disrupts local economies
- Traditional land tenure systems are dismantled
- Mechanization & cash crops displace agrarian workers
- Creates a mobile labor force forced to seek new opportunities
Capitalism and Migration
Second Key Mechanism in WST
Dual Effect of Global Capitalism
Peripheral regions:
* Economic displacement pushes people
out (peasants, unemployed laborers).
Core regions:
* Economic growth in global cities pulls
migrants in (demand for low-wage labor).
- Former peasants pushed into wage labor
- Global firms establish factories in
developing regions - Undermines traditional economies &
restructures gender roles - Creates socially uprooted populations
prone to migrationLabor
Labor Markets and Global Capitalism
Investments in transportation, trade,
and communication networks facilitate
migration by reducing costs and
logistical barriers.
* Global cities become migration hubs
due to their economic dominance and
ties to peripheral areas.
Third Key Mechanism in WST
Infrastructure and Transportation Links
- Economic globalization attracts migrants
to urban centers - Investment hubs need migrant labor for
logistics & production - Improved transport & communication
reduce migration costs - Economic links → Migration pathways
Migration Towards Global Cities
- Core nations maintain
geopolitical order through
military interventions and bases,
fostering migration through
social and political ties.
Fourth Key Mechanism of WST
Military and Political Influence
- Global capitalism needs security
→ Core nations deploy military - Military presence creates social &
political ties - Bases & interventions generate
migration routes
Military and Migration Links
Colonial legacies, mass media,
and advertising spread Western
cultural ideals, making migration
to core nations more desirable.
Fifth Key Mechanism in WST
Cultural and Ideological Influence
- Colonial ties & mass media
reinforce migration patterns - Advertising & cultural diffusion
create aspirations for migration - Global cities become cultural
magnets for peripheral migrants
Cultural and Ideological Influence
explains migration as a structural
outcome of global capitalism,
where economic expansion in
core regions disrupts livelihoods
in peripheries,
creating migration flows toward
developed global cities.
World Systems Theory
- Migration theories integrate multiple
perspectives. - Rooted in social, economic, political,
and cultural transformations. - Capitalist expansion disrupts traditional
livelihoods, creating mobile workers. - Migration results from development
itself, not from its absence.
Theoretical Synthesis
People displaced from traditional
jobs _______________ in new markets.
sell their labor
drive rural-to-urban and
international migration (Neoclassical
Economics).
Wage gaps
▪ Migration is not just about wages but
also ?
risk management.
support large expenses,
investments, and retirement savings.
Remittances
Post-industrial cities create two labor markets:
▪ Primary: High pay, stability (locals prefer).
▪ Secondary: Low wages, unstable (migrants fill gaps).
Global cities drive demand for both
high-skilled professionals & low-wage
service workers.
True
Foreign-owned industries in peripheral
areas create?
economic dependency.
disrupts traditional
livelihoods, creating mobile workers.
disrupts local
economies, further fueling migration.
capitalist expansion
reflect prestige & social
expectations
Wages
Five Key Mechanisms in DTT
- Capitalist Expansion and Economic Disruptions
- Dual Effect of Global Capitalism
- Infrastructure and Transportation Links
- Military and Political Influence
- Cultural and Ideological Influence
Developed countries manage risk via
▪ Crop insurance
▪ Unemployment benefits
▪ Pensions
▪ (3) Factors in New Economics Theory of Migration:
▪ Status
▪ Risk minimization
▪ Access to capital & credit
