Migration Flows (migration + flow)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Rational Migration Policy Should Tolerate Non-zero Illegal Migration Flows: Lessons from Modelling the Market for Illegal Migration

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 1 2002
Horst Entorf
The debate on the immigration policies in OECD countries has turned its attention towards illegal migrants. Given that migration flows are determined by immigration laws, the probability of potential detection, penalties for unauthorized migrants and their employers, and income differences between sending and receiving countries, this paper presents a new approach to the problem of illegal migration, grounded on the economic theory of illegal behaviour. The framework considers the interaction of potential migrants, citizens, employers, and the government. After introducing the supply function of illegal migration and its determinants, the trade-off between social costs and benefits of preventing and combating illegal migration is demonstrated. This trade-off results in an optimal level of migration larger than zero. A complete "market model" of illegal migration is offered by presentation of a demand curve of illegal migration, based on the tolerance of the society towards clandestine foreigners. Equilibrium forces predict a non-zero level of illegal migration. The rule of law of our legal systems, according to which any illegal activity has to be reduced to zero, bears the danger of producing inefficient disequilibria. A reasonable policy of wanted and unwanted migration should address the question of how to allocate scarce resources. Ignoring social optima and equilibrium forces means to abandon public resources that could be used for other public assignments, such as schooling or foreign aid, for instance, i.e., measures that could strike the problem of illegal migration at its root. [source]


The Migration of Professionals: Theories and Typologies

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 5 2001
Robyn Iredale
In an historical context, highly skilled migration typically involved the forced movement of professionals as a result of political conflicts, followed by the emergence of the "brain drain" in the 1960s. In the current situation, highly skilled migration represents an increasingly large component of global migration streams. The current state of theory in relation to highly skilled migration is far from adequate in terms of explaining what is occurring at the high skill end of the migration spectrum. Continuing growth of temporary skilled migration is heralding changes in the operation of professions. Formal procedures for recognizing the skills of permanent immigrant professionals are breaking down as "fast-track" processes for assessing the skills of temporary professional migrants are put in place. The increasing globalization of firms and the internationalization of higher education are encouraging professions to internationalize. In this article, four professions are cited as case studies to show that professional inclusion/exclusion is no longer defined by national professional bodies alone. The operation of professions has become a transnational matter although the extent of internationalization varies with professions. Typologies for analysing professional migration flows are discussed and a sixth means of categorization, by profession or industry, is introduced to allow for the nature of interactions between the market, the state and the profession/industry. The question whether states should continue to be concerned about self-sufficiency in national professional labour markets in an increasingly globalized environment is also addressed. [source]


A tale of networks and policies: prolegomena to an analysis of irregular migration careers and their developmental paths

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 3 2010
Martina Cvajner
Abstract In recent decades, large-scale irregular migration flows and systems have developed across Europe. Although such systems involve most European countries and are often treated as being similar, their structures and dynamics are quite different. Some irregular migration systems have developed through clandestine entries, while other systems are almost entirely the result of overstaying. Some systems have been structured around a sequence of self-contained spells of irregular work, while others have involved long-term irregular residence. Some have coupled specific flows with specific niches in the occupational structures, while others have shown no significant connections with specific sectors of employment. This paper is based on what has been learned from an immigrant life-history project carried out in Italy in recent years, and describes three different types of irregular migratory systems that are themselves rooted in three different kinds of migration careers: atomistic, volume-based and structured. The paper argues that the distinction between different irregular migration systems is crucial both for structural and developmental analysis. Differences in the structure of irregular migration systems should also be taken into account in the analyses of the impact of different migration control policies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Demographic variation in housing cost adjustments with US family migration

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 4 2008
Suzanne Davies Withers
Abstract This paper examines the demographic variation in housing-cost adjustment associated with family migration in the United States. The American population continues to migrate away from very large metropolitan areas down the urban hierarchy towards smaller metropolitan and micropolitan areas, an exodus that is frequently attributed to the push effects of diseconomies and congestion, increasing presence of foreign-born population, and housing affordability problems, particularly in the large gateway cities. Yet, there is no empirical study of the housing-cost adjustments associated with migration. This study addresses this gap by empirically assessing whether migration is associated with housing affordability adjustments, whether migrating families increase or decrease their housing costs, whether demographic variations occur in these adjustments, and whether there are significant differences in the geographies of housing-cost adjustments among migrant families. These questions are addressed using the Census 2000 county-to-county migration flows merged with Census measures, and the 2000 Public Use Micro-Sample 5% National file. The results indicate significant changes in housing costs associated with migration, and interstate migration in particular. On average, the direction of migration is to more affordable places. Families migrating from the traditional gateway cities with a relatively high percentage of foreign-born populations are the most likely to make enormous shifts in affordability. However, these moves do not correspond neatly with regional white-flight theory. Hispanics are far more likely to decrease housing costs with migration, as are non-citizens and naturalised citizens. This research makes an important contribution to debates within the family migration literature, including conjectures of regional white flight and gendered theories of migration. Family migration towards greater housing affordability appears strategic and embedded in larger issues of family work,life balance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


LABOUR MOBILITY AND TRANS-TASMAN CURRENCY UNION,

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 1 2006
ADAM CREIGHTONArticle first published online: 7 MAR 200
The prospect of a common currency for Australia and New Zealand has been canvassed by senior poli-ticians and bureaucrats, and has been the subject of academic debate. According to Mundell (1961), a high degree of internal labour mobility is a desirable feature of currency unions. This study looks at the extent to which long-term migration between Australia and New Zealand responds to output shocks. Estimated VAR models and panel Granger-causality tests demonstrate that shocks to relative per capita output have a significant and symmetrical impact on migration flows between Australia and New Zealand, and most of the impact is felt after about one year. Separating the shocks to Australia and New Zealand shows that ,pull' effects are more important than ,push' effects. Additionally, the trajectory of the Australian economy proves particularly influential for the choice of New Zealand emigrants. Although permanent migration responds intuitively to the state of the economy in Australia and New Zealand, the level of these migration flows is low in comparison to Australian inter-state migration; yet it is high in relation to any third country. [source]