Migration in a World Economy

Abstract

Large scale migration to the U.S. emerges as a consequence of a significant presence of the U.S. in a limited number of countries, economic and/or politico-military. This would explain why in the past, emigration to the U.S. occured always from a limited number of countries in a very specific context, for example, the transatlantic economy of the 1980s. Secondly, the types of bridge-building we see in the case of those countries has contributed to a growing incorporation of women into the migration stream. A major policy implication is that U.S. immigration policy needs to recognize that certain U.S. activities abroad establish bridges to the U.S. and that U.S. immigration is one consequence. This would shift the « responsability » for immigration somewhat away from the individual migrant and onto the U.S. government and multinational corporations.