Migration, Theory of

Abstract

Social scientists have theorized about four basic aspects of human migration: the structural forces that promote ‘out-migration’; the structural forces that attract ‘in-migrants’; the motivations, goals, and aspirations of people who respond to these structural forces; and the social and economic structures that arise to connect areas of out- and in-migration. The forces that promote emigration are analyzed in terms of world systems theory and neoclassical economics; the forces attracting immigrants are modeled by neoclassical economics and segmented labor market theory; and the motivations of migrants are discussed in terms of neoclassical economics, the new economics of labor markets, and segmented labor market theory. Finally, the social structures that arise to connect sending and receiving areas have been most systematically discussed in terms of social capital theory. The various propositions of these theories are explained and then synthesized to construct a general theory of migration.