Editorial

Abstract

This issue consists of a book review and five articles that promote the practice of original research and policy discussions and provides a comprehensive forum devoted exclusively to the analysis of contemporaneous trends, migration patterns, and some of the most important migration-related issues in Africa. The review was made by Daniel Tevera on a book entitled “Citizen and Pariah”, by Vanya Gastrow. The reviewer made a critical and scholarly evaluation of the entire book. According to Tevera, the author informs the reader about the violent crime affecting Somali shopkeepers, their ability to access informal and formal justice mechanisms, and efforts to regulate their economic activities. The reviewer further indicates that, from the different chapters of the book it becomes clear that the author uses the term “pariah” as a social and geographical metaphor. The reviewer concludes that this book is an important contribution that is divided into three parts, consisting of twenty-one essays that delicately address the marginalization and victimization of immigrant entrepreneurs. The book clearly indicates that foreign shopkeepers with business interests in urban spaces have been victims of xenophobic attacks in most parts of South Africa.The first article by D e r e k Yu is entitled “The Impact of International Migration on Skills Supply and Demand in South Africa”. Using a quantitative method of research that involved the use and analysis of data from Census 2001 and 2011 as well as Community Surveys 2007 and 2016. This is the first study in South Africa that compares natives and immigrants with emigrants. The study analyzed the most recent census and survey data of the top five emigration destination countries and examined the well-being of South African emigrants in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States of America, Australia, and Canada. The results of this study enhance the understanding of the impact of international migration on skills supply and demand in South Africa, and identify the skills needs of the country. The study also provides stakeholders and policymakers with insights to better identify the priority critical skills needs of the country – critical skills that are lost, and skills that are in great demand but in short supply – so that these skills needs can be prioritized when issuing work and residence permits to immigrants. The second article by Emmanuel Quarshie, Imhotep Paul Alagidede, Albert Duodu, and Edwin Teye Sosi is entitled “Moonlighting Behavior among Migrants: Determinants and Implications for Well-Being in South Africa”. The study applied quantitative research methods to measure the key determinants of moonlighting, defined as a “situation where an individual maintains primary employment and engages in additional work for pay”. The study also examined the differences that