Lec 12 - Population and Migration

Question 1

How does migration affect wages, in theory and in practice? and why

Answer 1

○ In theory, migration from one country to another makes wages converge
§ e.g. Mexico and US: less labour in Mexico = wages rise, more labour in US = wages drop
○ In practice, this doesn’t exactly happen
§ Underground market
§ Would need huge migration
§ Happens to a small degree, but mostly because less industrialized country industrializes

Question 2

What are the most important international migration pathways? Why is south to south migration important?

Answer 2

• Largest flow is south to north, but south to south and north to north are also large flows
  
  • South to south migration is important for understanding global migration picture

Question 3

Which pathway for most international refugees take? What is the moth dangerous path?

Answer 3

• S to S
  noarth Africa across mediterranean

Question 4

What are the five drivers of N to S migration?

Answer 4

• Economic opportunity
  ○ Lack of jobs
  
  • Expansion of global companies
    ○ Seek postings for skilled workers to go work in India, China, etc
  • Return migration
  • Student migration
    ○ 4 million international students
    ○ Increasing trend, but pathways are diversifying (e.g. students from US and Canada going to Mexico)
  • Retirement migration

Question 5

What are the 5 economic consequences of migration?

Answer 5

 Employment in key sectors
 Taxes and revenue
 Brain drain/brain gain
 Well-being
 Remittances

• Employment in key sectors
  ○ Countries NEED immigration to push economies along (e.g. Germany needs Turkish immigrants)
  ○ Wages are higher for migrant, and productivity is higher for receiving country
  
  • Taxes and revenue
    ○ Immigrants represent a net gain for countries
  • Brain drain/brain gain
    ○ Educated people leave home countries
    ○ This is true in the case of countries like Haiti, but not for China, India, Brazil
    § For these countries, the home country actually gains!
    □ Aspirational effect
    □ Increase of return of migrants to home, who can start businesses in home country once back
  • Well-being
    ○ N-N: Financial and general increase in well-being
    ○ S-N: People are financially better, but at the cost of emotional or social well-being
    ○ S-S: move is about survival, little economic gains
  • Remittances
    ○ Most flow from North to South
    ○ Top remitting countries: US, UAE, Saudi Arabia

Question 6

From where to where to remittances mostly flow? What are the top remitting countries?

Answer 6

• N to S
• US, UAE, Saudi Arabia

Question 7

What are two reasons fro internal migration and which is more significant?

Answer 7

1. Environmental disaster (rural to rural)
2. Social Conflict (rural to urban)

Question 8

Why is it said that we are livign in the largest migration ear ever?

Answer 8

because of internal migration within china