Foundations of International Migration of Labour Vasily Erokhin School of Economics and Management Harbin Engineering University
Contents: Major definitions. Theories of international labour migration.
Major definitions
Human migration The movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of settling, permanently in the new location.
Emigration + immigration Emigration is when people leave their places of residence and move to another for a number of reasons. Conversely, immigration describes the movement of persons into one country from another.
Types of migration Internal migration: Rural-urban migration Seasonal migration Planned migration
International migration: Voluntary migration Involuntary migration
Rural-urban migration Movement of people away from the rural region to an urban area. The social group which is the most prone to migration from rural regions to urban areas includes economically-active males in the age between 20 and 30.
Reasons for rural-urban migration
Less job opportunities. More machines which take over the work on the farms. Better farming methods. Lower rates of payment. Lack of infrastructure in the forms of health care and education in rural areas.
Bright lights syndrome. Natural disasters. Shortage of land.
Impacts of rural-urban migration For urban areas: Rural-urban migration Seasonal migration Planned migration
For rural areas: Voluntary migration Involuntary migration
Seasonal migration Movement of people away from their homes to find a livelihood, usually on a temporary basis. Seasonal migration is often caused by a decrease of employment in agriculture during the dry season. Seasonal migration can also be caused by the need for additional labour in rural areas at harvest time. There are climatic reasons for this migration.
Holiday-related moves in various regions of the world.
Planned migration Large-scale migration of people within the country, usually carried out by the government.
It is also called population transfer, or forced migration, when a government forces a large group of people out of a region, usually based on ethnicity or religion.
Causes: uneven population distribution and governmental plans to develop underdeveloped areas.
Effects: overcome of landless problem and food shortage, cultural clash between migrants and locals.
Step migration
A series of shorter, less extreme migrations from a person's place of origin to final destination.
Chain migration A series of migrations within a family or defined group of people.
Migration fields – the clustering of people from a specific region into certain neighborhoods or small towns.
Return migration Return migration (or circular migration) is the voluntary movements of immigrants back to their place of origin.
It is important to distinguish between voluntary return and involuntary return.
International migration Intercontinental – between continents. Intracontinental – between countries on a given continent.
Involuntary international migration Movement of people caused by various events which force people to move against their will. Causes: unfavourable social, political, or environmental conditions.
Refugees – people who flee to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution; who owing to well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or political opinions, are outside of their country of origin and cannot or owing to such fear, do not wish to avail themselves of the protection of that country.
Voluntary international migration Voluntary migration is a migration by choice or one’s own free will. Causes:
employment opportunities, better recognition of talents and skills, lower living costs in the receiving country, more relaxed and less stressful lifestyle, high income and better life, changes in life’s course such as retiring or getting married, opting for a different political system.
Voluntary international migration: pros and cons Benefits: new trades, new skills and talents, cheaper workforce.
Drawbacks:
healthcare and education services, housing shortages, racial tensions, welfare system.
Migrants Emigrants – people who are leaving a country to reside in another. Immigrants – people who are entering a country from another to take up new residence.
Refugees – people who are residing outside the country of their origin due to fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Internally displaced people, who are forced to leave their home region because of unfavorable conditions (political, social, environmental, etc.) but do not cross any boundaries.
Migration stream – a group migration from a particular country, region, or city to a certain destination.
Push & Pull factors Factors which either forcefully push someone into migration or attract them to migrate. Push factors – forceful factors, which relate to the country the person is migrating from.
Pull factors – some attraction concerning the country a person migrates to.
Push factors:
Lack of employment or entrepreneurial opportunities; Lack of educational opportunities; Lack of political or religious rights; Threat of arrest or punishment; Persecution or intolerance; Lack of freedom to choose religion, or to choose no religion; Oppressive legal or political conditions; Struggling or failing economy; Military draft, warfare or terrorism; Famine or drought; Cultural fights with other cultural groups; Expulsion by armed force or coercion; Overpopulation.
Pull factors:
More job opportunities; Quick wealth, or promise of higher pay; Technological advancements; Proper infrastructure; Chain migration Prepaid travel; Building a new nation; Building specific cultural or religious communities; Political freedom; Cultural opportunities; Favorable climate; Easygoing to across the boundaries.
Push & Pull factors 1.
Environmental.
2.
Economic.
3.
Political.
4.
Cultural.
Push & Pull factors Place utility – the desirability of a place based on its social, economic, or environmental situation, often used to compare the value of living in different locations.
Intervening opportunities – opportunities nearby are usually considered more attractive than equal or slightly better opportunities farther away.
Distance decay – as distance from a given location increases, understanding of that location decreases.
Impacts of migration Diffusion – the process through which certain characteristics (e.g., cultural traits, ideas, disease) spread over space and through time.
Relocation diffusion – ideas, cultural traits, etc. that move with people from one place to another and do not remain in the point of origin.
Expansion diffusion – ideas, cultural traits, etc., that move with people from one place to another but are not lost at the point of origin, such as language.
Cultural markers– structures or artifacts that reflect the cultures and histories of those who constructed or occupy them.
Receiving country Advantages: new skills which are introduced into the labour force, creation of a multicultural society, readily available labour source.
Negatives:
greater pressure on the resources of the receiving country, greater pressure on the social services, social resentment towards the newly arrived, changes in the country’s social structure.
Country of origin Advantages:
money earned abroad is remitted in the country of origin, temporary solution for unemployment, valuable skills which may benefit the country, emigration alleviates stress on social services system.
Negatives:
brain drain, ageing of population, decrease in number of people in active working age, lower productivity, worsening structure of labour force
Measuring migration In-migration – people moving into one place from another place within a nation (internal migration).
Out-migration – people moving out of one place to another place within a nation (internal migration).
Gross migration – total number of in-migrants and out-migrants (internal migration).
Net internal migration – the difference between in-migration and outmigration.
Movers from abroad – people coming into a nation from another country or part of the world.
Net migration – the difference between net internal migration and movers from abroad.
Net migration Positive net migration – a country has more immigrants than emigrants in a particular period of time.
Negative net migration – a country has more emigrants than immigrants in a particular period of time.
Theories of international migration
Migration Laws Ernest George RAVENSTEIN
Ravenstein’s Law #1 Most migrants distance
travel
only
a
short
Technology did not allow for migrants to travel far. Less economic strain. Less cultural change. Easier to travel to. Closer to the family and friends.
Ravenstein’s Law #2 Migrants typically move to major cities More economic opportunities. Better access to food and job. Better standards of living.
Ravenstein’s Law #3 Major urban centers generally have migrants from neighboring rural areas, and more distant migrants move to those rural areas Most migrants are moving from farm areas to more developed cities and communities with industry and a bigger market – absorption.
There are gaps left by migrants who move from rural to urban areas searching for more economic advancement opportunities and willing to be closer to markets.
Ravenstein’s Law #4 When people from rural areas move to more distant areas, those from urban areas then move to fill the “gaps” in rural areas
Dispersion. Better environmental conditions. More space. Unoccupied jobs left by migrants
Ravenstein’s Law #5 Each migration flow produces a counterflow
For every wave of migration, another wave is produced from the first wave.
There must be as many people moving into rural areas as moving out.
Absorption and dispersion leave “gaps” that need to be filled
Ravenstein’s Law #6 Rural people are more likely to migrate than urban people
Urban people experience less push factors compared to rural dwellers.
Rural people have a lower standard of living, so they are more likely to be seeking advancement.
The assumption is built on the exponential growth of cities driven by natural increase and rural-urban migration.
Ravenstein’s Law #7 Long-distance migrants typically move to larger cities
People who do move long distances are largely unaware of the opportunities that are available at their destinations.
They tend to move to large urban centers, where more information and more opportunities are available, including jobs, accomodations, resources, health care, better education.
Ravenstein’s Law #8 Women are more likely to migrate short distances than men, while men more frequently venture international migration
Men want to move out of less developed countries to more developed countries.
Men
have more opportunities.
power,
respect,
and
job
Women generally have children to take care of, while men move to get jobs and support families at home
Ravenstein’s Law #9 People whose families have lived in an area for longer periods of time are less likely to move than those who have more recently moved to an area
Native settlers are more attached to land. Recent moving could be due to certain occupations that may require frequent movement.
New settlers have less family and friends in that area
Ravenstein’s Law #10 The major cause of migration is economic
The biggest reason people migrate is because of economic instability or wanting to get to a more economic community with more opportunities in industry or the market place.
People move in search of jobs, higher pay, homes, and better social environment
Ravenstein’s Law #11 Most long-distant migrants are adult individuals instead of families with children
It is inconvenient to move entire families compared to the migration of a single person.
More money for the individual.
Families do not want to be separated.
Ravenstein’s Law #12 Migration increases as commerce develop improves
industries and and transport
It is easier for people to migrate with better transportation
Better logistics and commerce is a pull factor for migrants
Ravenstein’s Law #13 Migration occurs in stages Migrants have to take multiply steps to migrate to the area they desire.
The law is based on the Ravenstein’s observations that migration occurred in steps with people gradually moving up the settlement hierarchy – from rural areas to villages, to towns, to cities, and finally the capital city
Ravenstein’s types of stepped migratory movement
Migration Model of Push & Pull Factors Everett LEE
Simple Migration Model
Lee’s Migration Model
Gravity Model of Migration William REILLY
Gravity model of migration the number of people moving between places A and B is equal to the population of A multiplied by the population of B divided by the square of the distance between them.
Distance decay – the farther apart the two locations are, the movement between them will be less.
Gravity model of migration traffic flow, migration between two areas, number of people likely to use one central place.
sphere of influence of each central place,
breaking point between the two settlements.
Neoclassical Theory of Migration
Neoclassical Model
Neoclassical model: outcome Short-term: decrease of wages at destination due to increased competition, increase of wages at home, decreased returns to capital at home, increased returns to capital at destination
Long-term: through adjustment the gradual equalization of wages and capital remuneration in both countries, equilibrium reached The gradual decrease of the intensity of capital and labor movements in the long run, as the economies become similar
Neoclassical model: microeconomic dimension Migration modeled as a rational decision of an individual.
There is a cost-benefit analysis, taking into the account current and future income, employment/deportation probability.
Migration perceived as investment. Migrants move to the destinations where the rate of return to migration is the highest
Neoclassical model: practical implementation Migrants move from least-developed and developing countries to developed economies.
Capital moves in opposite direction. Migrants move between countries which have the biggest disparity in terms of wages.
International migration flows will lead to gradual convergence of global economy, equalization of wages and decrease of labour mobility as prices are equal
Harris-Todaro Model John HARRIS
Michael TODARO
Harris-Todaro Model The migration decision is based on expected income differentials between rural and urban areas rather than just wage differentials. This implies that rural-urban migration in a context of high urban unemployment can be economically rational if expected urban income exceeds expected rural income.
Harris-Todaro model: practical implementation An equilibrium is reached when the expected wage in urban areas is equal to the marginal product of an agricultural worker.
Unemployment is non-existent in the rural agricultural sector, and rural agricultural production and the subsequent labor market is perfectly competitive.
Agricultural rural wage is equal to agricultural marginal productivity.
In equilibrium, the rural to urban migration rate will be zero since the expected rural income equals the expected urban income.
Harris-Todaro model: practical implementation Rural to urban migration causes overcrowding and unemployment in cities as migration rates exceed urban job creation rates.
Many people end up in unproductive or underproductive employment in the informal sector.
This behavior is economically rational and utilitymaximizing.
As long as the migrating economic agents have complete information concerning rural and urban wage rates and probabilities of obtaining employment, they will make an expected income-maximizing decision.
Dual Labour Market Theory
Dual Labour Market Theory Migration from less developed countries into more developed countries is a result of a pull created by a need for labour in the developed countries in their secondary market.
Tertiary labour market – requires highskilled labour.
Primary labour market – very labourintensive, but requires low-skilled workers.
Dual labour market theory: practical implementation Secondary sector is characterized by short-term employment relationships, little or no prospect of internal promotion, and the determination of wages primarily by market forces.
It consists primarily of low or unskilled jobs. The theory generally ignores the micro-level decisions. It focuses on immigration as a natural consequence of economic globalization and market penetration across national boundaries.
New Economics of Labour Migration
New Economics of Labour Migration Migration can be viewed as a result of risk aversion on the part of a household that has insufficient income. The household is in need of extra capital that can be achieved through remittances sent back by family members who participate in migrant labor abroad.
Relative Deprivation Theory
Relative Deprivation Theory Relative deprivation – lack of resources to sustain the diet, lifestyle, activities and amenities that an individual or group are accustomed to or that are widely encouraged or approved in the society to which they belong. The incentive to migrate is a lot higher in areas that have a high level of economic inequality. In the short run, remittances may increase inequality, but in the long run, they may actually decrease it.
Stages of migration 1. Workers invest in human capital formation. 2. Workers then they try to capitalise on their investments. Successful migrants may use their new capital to provide for better level of success.
World Systems Theory
World Systems Theory of Migration
Trade with one country, which causes economic decline in another, may create incentive to migrate to a country with a more vibrant economy.
World systems theory: practical implementation Developed countries import labour-intensive goods, which causes an increase in employment of unskilled workers in the less developed countries, decreasing the outflow of migrant workers.
The export of capital-intensive goods from rich countries to poor countries also equalises income and employment conditions, thus also slowing migration.
In either direction, this theory can be used to explain migration between countries that are geographically far .
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