Motives for Moving: Global Inequities and Migration

<< Previous Panel | Next Panel >>

Panelists:

Farid Azfar
EPIIC '98, A '98

Laura Buffoni
Former UNHCR Officer, Sudan, Rwanda; Ph.D. Candidate, University of Pisa, Italy

David Dapice
Professor of Economics, Tufts University; Fellow, Harvard Institute for International Development

Erin Kelly
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University

Morris Miller
Former Executive Director, World Bank

Sharon Stanton-Russell
Director, NGO's & Forced Migration Program, Mellon Foundation/MIT

Moderators:
Michael Margolis and Tomoko Yokoi
EPIIC Colloquium

Interlocutor:
John Field
Professor of Nutrition and Political Science, Tufts University

What motivates people to move from country to country? It is generally believed that people move to places where they hope to be better off. But such a simple explanation fails to capture the complexities that often underlie the migration phenomenon. There are, in fact, a myriad of reasons and factors which induce people to voluntarily and/or involuntarily uproot themselves from their established communities. These motivations and factors are different according to each migration.

Yet despite the differences that exist with each migration flow, migration studies dedicates itself towards the construction of migration models. These models are designed to facilitate understanding of the migration process and are ultimately used to create effective migration policies. Models of international migration can be largely divided into two perspectives: individual and structural. The individual perspective considers each migrant as a rational human being who assesses the costs and benefits of wages, job security and travel costs abroad. The structural perspective, on the other hand, perceives the migrant's fate as determined by social, economic and political structures.

The individual approach to international migration consists of three models. Perhaps the oldest and best-known theory is that which points to the geographic differences in the supply and demand of labor. The wage differential is believed to cause workers from low-wage countries to move to high-wage countries. Another approach is the model which emphasizes that individual rational actors decide to migrate because of a cost-benefit calculation which leads them to expect a positive net return from migration. The third approach, the "new economics of migration," points to the larger unit of people who surround the individual actor -- typically families or household -- who assist in maximizing expected income and minimizing the risks of migration.

The structural approach consists largely of two theories: the dual labor market theory and the world systems theory. The dual labor market theory argues that international migration stems from the intrinsic demands of modern industrial societies. It posits that characteristics of the industrialized societies, such as structural inflation, occupational hierarchy, economic dualism, serve as the pull factors which generate migration. The world systems theory, on the other hand, focuses on the structure of the world market. In this scheme, the penetration of capitalist economic relations into peripheral, noncapitalist societies creates a mobile population that is prone to migration abroad.

In addition to these dominant models, there are several factors which perpetuate international migration. One factor is social networks between migrants, former migrants and nonmigrants in the country of origin. Another factor is the increase in institutions, both private and voluntary, who seek to perpetuate migration for the profit it yields. Moreover, the development of communication and transportation technologies has enabled easier and quicker migrations.

The migration models outlined above fail to capture the characteristics of every migration phenomenon. The migration phenomenon itself can be analyzed through the lens of anthropology, ethics, sociology and political science. Although economic models remain dominant in the field of migration studies, it is important to recognize that understanding the motive for international migration ultimately requires a multidisciplinary approach.