6 - Toward a Development Paradigm of Migration, with Particular Reference to Third World Settings

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with human migration within developing countries particularly the processes underlying these movements rather than their manifest patterns. Attention is directed to the following in the elaboration of this concern: conceptual models of the migration process which provide a framework for ordering the inquiry; actual studies of migration in the settings of developing countries from the perspective provided by operational largely economic models and then from alternative perspectives provided by the vast amount of research on the subject; and selected interrelationships between migration and development processes. The result is a development paradigm of migration that posits that the relative importance of each of the various aspects of the migration process is dependent upon certain structural characteristics of society that are altered during the course of development. The articulation of this linkage provides a paradigm that appears to be singularly applicable to migration in traditional developing or advanced societies. The operational models of migration in developing countries tend to emphasize pull rather than push factors in migration. Yet they give most attention to the role of economic activity in the modern sector and neglect both conceptually and operationally several pull factors related to the unique circumstances of the developing world. Attention is called to the informal sector of the labor market; to rural nonfarm/small scale enterprise employment opportunities; to the role of family extended family and acquaintances; and to the confounding effects of class differences and of circular and seasonal migration strategies. The fundamental theme of this discussion is that migration in 3rd world settings must be related to the structure of the society in which it occurs. The expectations concerning migration patterns and processes at different stages of development of the paradigm outlined in this chapter are borne out by comparing migration experiences of nations such as the U.S. with those of the 3rd world.