6 Theory of Migration
Migration has piqued the interest of demographers and sociologists alike, as it is currently regarded as the most important determinant in population change. Many people have attempted to create laws that are globally applicable. In this part, we will go over some of these theories.
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
Between 1885 and 1889, E.G. Ravenstein was the first to establish a theory of migration based on generalisations from empirical studies of population movements in the United Kingdom, the United States, and several nations in North Western Europe. His laws are broad comments concerning the migration process and migrants.
1-Neoclassical economic theory
According to this migration theory, the fundamental motivation for labour movement is a wage disparity between two geographic regions. Wage disparities are typically linked to geographic labour demand and supply. Regions with a scarcity of labour but an excess of capital have a high relative pay, whereas areas with a surplus of labour but a scarcity of capital have a low relative wage. Labor tends to migrate from low-wage to high-wage locations. Changes in the sending and receiving countries are frequently associated with this flow of labour. Because international immigration laws and other state controls do not apply to transnational migration, neoclassical economic theory best defines it.
2-Dual labor market theory
According to the dual labour market theory, pull factors mostly promote migration in more developed nations. This theory assumes that the labour markets in these industrialised countries are divided into two segments: the primary market, which requires highly trained labour, and the secondary market, which is labor-intensive and requires low-skilled workers. This hypothesis holds that migration from less developed nations to more developed countries is caused by a pull created by a labour shortage in the developed countries' secondary market. Migrant workers are needed to occupy the lowest rungs of the labour market because native labourers do not want to do these occupations because they present a lack of mobility. This creates a demand for migratory employees. Furthermore, the initial scarcity of available labour drives up wages, making migration even more appealing.
3-New economics of labor migration
According to this theory, migratory movements and patterns cannot be described merely at the level of individual workers and their economic motives, but must also take into account larger social units. The household is one such social entity. Migration might be considered as a result of risk aversion from a low-income household. In this instance, the household need additional capital, which can be obtained through remittances sent back by family members who work as migrant workers abroad. These remittances, which bring in capital, can also have a greater impact on the economy of the sending country as a whole. [38] Recent research has examined a decline in interstate migration in the United States from 1991 to 2011, hypothesising that the decrease is due to a decrease in the geographic specificity of occupations and an increase in workers' ability to learn about other locations before moving there, via both information technology and low-cost travel. According to some researchers, the location-specific aspect of housing is more relevant than moving costs in determining labour reallocation.
4-Relative deprivation theory
According to relative deprivation theory, awareness of the economic disparity between neighbours or other households in the migrant-sending neighbourhood is critical in migration. In locations with significant levels of economic disparity, the motivation to migrate is much greater. Remittances may raise inequality in the short run, but they may decrease it in the long run. Workers migrate in two stages: first, they invest in human capital formation, and then they strive to capitalise on their investments. Successful migrants can use their new capital to provide higher education for their children and better housing for their families in this manner. Successful high-skilled emigrants may act as role models for their neighbours and potential migrants who aspire to the same degree of achievement.
5 -World systems theory
World-systems theory examines migration from a global standpoint. It illustrates how interaction between different communities can play a significant role in societal transformation. Trade with one country may offer an incentive to migrate to a country with a more robust economy, causing an economic deterioration in another. Former colonies' economic dependence on mother countries can be argued to persist even after decolonization. This perspective on international commerce, however, is divisive, with others arguing that free trade can minimise migration between developing and developed countries. It might be argued that developed countries import labor-intensive items, which leads to an increase in the employment of unskilled employees in developing countries, hence reducing migrant worker outflow. Exporting capital-intensive items from developed countries to developing ones also helps to equalise income and employment conditions, decreasing migration. This idea can be used to explain migration between countries that are geographically separated in either direction.
6-Osmosis theory
Djelti investigates the evolution of human migration's natural factors based on the history of human migration. According to him, there are two forms of human migration: simple and complicated. The simple migration is further subdivided into diffusion, stabilisation, and concentration phases. Water availability, proper climate, security, and population density are the inherent determinants of human migration during these times. The complex migration is distinguished by its rapid evolution and the creation of new sub-determinants, most notably earnings, unemployment, networks, and migration policies. Osmosis theory (Djelti, 2017b) analogically explains human migration through the biophysical phenomena of osmosis. In this regard, countries are represented by animal cells, borders by semipermeable membranes, and persons by water ions. According to the idea, persons migrate from nations with low migration pressure to countries with high migration pressure due to the osmosis phenomena. To quantify the latter, the variables of the second principle of thermodynamics used to evaluate osmotic pressure are replaced by natural determinants of human migration.
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