Economic Drivers Of International Migration

The key drivers of international migration are economic factors. Discuss

In answering the essay topic students should draw on examples from western and non-western countries.

Macro and Micro Theories of Labour Migration

The phenomenon where people from one nation state shift to another, in order to fulfill particular objectives is known as international migration. This objective can be of various kinds, thus making a complex impact on the global population as well. According to sociologists, migration is movement from one geographical location to another (Abel and Sander 2014).  International migration is both influenced by and also influences globalization hence it can be said that the phenomenon is both “cause and effect”. Due to migration that has been a grown in the possibility of globalization, while on the other hand development and globalization has opened international doors for people (Clemens et al. 2014). With the right collection of policies and regulations migration can prove to be a positive impact, however, it may also give rise to contradiction and domestic resistance. Global mobility owes its growth to a number of factors like advancement in technology, growth in the international business, inclusiveness of the society, rise of education opportunity etc (Madianou and Miller 2013). international migration also extends to be the rising complexity of the impact it has on countries, migrants, families and communities. The purpose of this essay is to understand the economic factors that are involved in international migration. And thus prove that the key drivers of international migration are economic factors. There are also a number of conflicts in several nation states on illegal migration which has led to conflict and unstable conditions in the economic as well as political scenario of the country (Madianou and Miller 2013).

According to the statics of United Nation, there is significant number of migrants form one geographic location to another. The trend of migration is from low- and middle-income nation states toward high-income ones. However, the figure and the trend indicate that the volume of migration has decreased from 2005-2010 (4.5 million per year) to 2010-2015 (3.2 million per year) (Un.org, 2018). One of the most important economic factors that influence international migration is the growth of multinational companies. Organisations all around the world want to expand their business in other markets in order to gain advantage of the demand of their services. Depending upon the staffing policy of the company migration of the employees from one country to another depends. For example: if an American Multinational company asks a manager of American citizenship, to take care of the subsidiary in New Zealand. He or she moves form America to New Zealand to claim the position and the responsibility. This mostly has a positive impact of both the economies as the growth of the business directly influences the economy of the country; it also provides the person who is being migrated to have more purchasing power. Multinational organisations are adapting to a number of strategies and policies in order to encourage an inclusive and encouraging work culture (Clemens et al. 2014).

Migration Trends

People, who are in the service industry i.e. work for a company or an organisation in exchange for money, make for the employment population of the country. There is various motivations for a person who is skilled and educated to look for a job. For most of the population it is the responsibility they have towards the family or the society that drives them to work, there are many who like the service that they are engaged in and thus look forward to employment opportunities. When there is less employment opportunity in the country people tend to move to another location where they find opportunity not only that, the wage rate in the developed countries are higher which also encourages them to move to another country (Clemens et al. 2014). The factor that has been discussed above is also associated with employment and thus it can be said that it is the key factor for a person to migrate on an international level.  Employment condition and situation of a country is an important indicator towards the development of the economy. When there is a lack of opportunity in the country there is significant number of migration. It has been stated earlier that most of the time it is international migration is from low- and middle-income countries to high-income countries. For both host and country of origin country the rate of net migration can have important impacts on the labour markets of. Furthermore, it also has macroeconomic effects on variables such as economic growth, unemployment. There are a number of refugees who migrate in search of work. The livelihood of a lot of people depend upon service and when there is lack of service opportunity in their country of origin these people are move to places where there are employment opportunities. For example: A number of people from countries like India, Sri Lanka etc migrate to the UAE. International as well as domestic migration is mostly influenced by occupation opportunity (Madianou and Miller 2013). Unemployment is an issue in under developed countries and thus people move to another country in search of opportunity, this further leads to an issue of brain drain form the country of origin. It is the phenomenon where skill and talent is lost to another country due to lack of opportunity. Employment gives purchasing power and thus improving or adding to the economy of the country, the disposable income of the people are further invested in host country. There are also several risks associated with such migration, people end up on unacceptable circumstances where they face discrimination and also extents of violence. Increasing out reach of global media is one of the reasons for people to move to another country in search of a job. Another perspective to this driver is the favorable condition of the labour market (Madianou and Miller 2013).

Impact of Multinational Companies

According to the Neoclassical economics: macro theory is one of the first theories that was developed to understand the labour migration. It states like it is labour migration is based on the simple theory of demand and supply. On the other hand, the micro theory suggests that there is a cost-benefit outcome to the migration that motivates people to move from one place to another (Bodvarsson and Van den Berg 2013). An expectation to a positive net return influences the migration. These assumptions of net returns are based on the observation of the income associated with the corresponding skills. The choice of movement is based on their assumption of productivity based on the skill and talent. However, there are a number of costs that are associated with the movement before any benefit is yield.  Some of the costs like travelling and maintenance while looking for a job, learning a new language and culture of the new place etc.  

The new economies of migration give a completely different insight to the phenomenon; it states that migration does not occur on the basis of just one isolated objective. This is due to maximize the income opportunities and minimize the risks associated with the migration process (Arango 2017). All the  theories regarding international immigration help the policy makers as they are not always contradictory in nature by incorporating the elements for the these theories by the policy makers chose to employee conditions like changing wages and employment conditions in the countries of destination (Arango 2017).

The labour in the country is paid in sync with the economic condition that is prevalent in the country. Global labour migration is dependent and is promoted by economic factors. For example: the cost of labour is high in American states than in Pakistan. Therefore people from an underdeveloped country will want to work in a developed one in order to not only have a better chance of employment but also get rewarded in a better way (Clemens et al. 2014). The difference in wage rate in between the host country and the country of origin is one of the main reasons for international migration. There are a number of economic factors associated with this difference in wage rate as for the service sector the remuneration is what makes for the disposable income (Castles 2013). 

From the perspective of the host country, the issue of skill shortage is overcome with the help of migration, this not only help in improving productivity but also increases the chances of long-term growth prospects. Hence there is a demand for skilled immigrants in countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.  However, Castles (2013), state that the inflow of unskilled immigrants can be an issue for the host country as they are an addition to the unemployment or unskilled worker rate in the economy. Host countries have regulation and rules for social service and welfare for the people who are immigrants on a permanent basis however; there are a number of issues immigrants face in case they are temporary.  

Employment Opportunities as Drivers of International Migration

Similarly, from the perspective of the country of origin are also on the same lines. As mentioned above brain drain is a problem that countries like India is facing where people with skills are leaving the country in order to earn a better wage rate, get more exposure or even pursue education on a better platform (Delgado Wise 2013). Due to issues like this there is a shortage of skill in the economy hence there is slow rise in productivity of and growth of the economy is also slow.

Poverty and low standard of living is another economic reason for people to move out of the country and settle in some other nation. The aspiration of a person is depended on the exposure. They look forward to better opportunities in terms of education and standard of living which encourages them to move to another country (Aluttis et al 2014). The reach of media in the global context has inspired people to aspire for a better standard of living. If this is absent in the host country people tend to move to another economy where the standard of living among the people are high.  Standard of living are based on the basic economic abilities of people as well as opportunities that are available in the economy for example the opportunity to used advanced technology, if the country does not provide the citizens with the proper infrastructure to use this technology then it is a major hindrance in the process of consumption (Delgado Wise 2013). Education is a major reason for which people move from one country to another, though not being a direct economic reason but it is a factor that is associated with standard of living. Poverty is another reason for a person to choose to move out of the country, high rate of poverty is an indicator to an underdeveloped country (Madianou and Miller 2013). The currency rate of underdeveloped countries are lower, people would like to earn in US Dollar or Euro in order to improve their personal savings and investments.  A person is always looking forward to development in terms of economic and financial standards as well as standard of living (Delgado Wise 2013).

Alternatively there are also many cases where there is involuntary migration from one country to another based on social or political circumstances, this play an important role in the refugees and migration issues all over the world (Braun and Mahmoud 2014). Situations like political instability, war, cultural influences, family reasons and environmental changes etc are some of the important reasons for people to migrate. The neo classical theory that has been discussed above showcase a strong indication towards economic factors however it is based on a number of assumptions. Both Arango’s segmented labour market theory as well as the demographic approach does not consider non-economic factors. On the other hand, Igonin (2016), argues that there are evidences that suggest otherwise, for example: there is a significant rise of migration in Europe after War. There are also instances that families are driven out of the country during war situations. Hence it can be said that cultural or ethnic intolerance, ambiguous border drawing, military involvement and political conflicts can be significant reasons for international migration (Igonin 2016).

From the above discussion it can be concluded that immigrants primarily move from one country to another or one place in the same country to another in order to find economic stability and progress in their lives. Several of the theories that have been discussed indicate a number of reason or motivation for a person to migrate from one geographical location to another. Better employment opportunities, better standard of living and to lead a better life in all. It has been observed that the migration is usually from the under developed countries to a developed country, the rate of wages in the developed economy are higher and that is one of the reason for people to want to move to a new country. However, there are also socio-cultural and political reasons that have in the past as well as in the present scenario represent a large number of people moving from one country to another in order to look for a safe place to live.

References:

Abel, G.J. and Sander, N., 2014. Quantifying global international migration flows. Science, 343(6178), pp.1520-1522.

Aluttis, C., Bishaw, T. and Frank, M.W., 2014. The workforce for health in a globalized context–global shortages and international migration. Global health action, 7(1), p.23611.

Arango, J., 2017. Theories of international migration. In International migration in the new millennium (pp. 25-45). Routledge.

Bodvarsson, Ö.B. and Van den Berg, H., 2013. The determinants of international migration: Theory. In The Economics of Immigration (pp. 27-57). Springer, New York, NY.

Braun, S. and Mahmoud, T.O., 2014. The employment effects of immigration: evidence from the mass arrival of German expellees in postwar Germany. The Journal of Economic History, 74(1), pp.69-108.

Castles, S., 2013. The forces driving global migration. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 34(2), pp.122-140.

Clemens, M.A., Özden, Ç. and Rapoport, H., 2014. Migration and development research is moving far beyond remittances. World Development, 64, pp.121-124.

Delgado Wise, R., Márquez Covarrubias, H. and Puentes, R., 2013. Reframing the debate on migration, development and human rights. Population, space and place, 19(4), pp.430-443.

Igonin, D. I., 2016. Migration Crisis in European Politics: The Ethnic Discourse, Journal of Organisational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 20(2), pp. 106-114.

Madianou, M. and Miller, D., 2013. Migration and new media: Transnational families and polymedia. Routledge.

Un.org (2018). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision. [online] UN. Available at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/world-population-prospects-the-2017-revision.html [Accessed 25 Sep. 2018].