International Migration Systems Research Articles

Changes in the Croatian migration system: conceptualising the complexities of migrations, 1990-2023

ABSTRACT This article explores the recent history of labour migration in post-independence Croatia. The time period under investigation is 1990–2023, which encompasses three decades during which the country has experienced complex migrations, in particular of labour migrants and refugees. The article’s ambition is twofold. First, it identifies changing elements of the Croatian migration system, exploring how it is embedded in the wider regional and international migration systems. Second, it proposes a pioneering typology of Croatian migrations and discusses their drivers. The article argues that the Croatian migrations have been significantly affected by the country’s changing affiliations to neighbouring states and the European Union. Several historical, socioeconomic and political junctions have enabled, driven and hampered labour migrations and other migratory flows of the Croatian migration system. It is evident that the war of independence, the poor socioeconomic situation in the post-war period and increased opportunities to emigrate to more developed parts of Europe have all contributed to the depopulation of Croatia and to ongoing changes in its migration system. It is also asserted that understanding the Croatian migration system necessitates a long-term perspective on the interactions between immigrant and emigrant flows, and on how they overlap with return migrations.

International Migration and Development: The Changing Impact of Migration on Redistributing Global Population

This research note explores the impact of international migration on global population distribution since the 1990s. The impact of migration on population distribution is a function of both the intensity as well as the effectiveness of migration, that is the imbalance between flows and counter-flows. The presence of reciprocal flows is a well-recognized feature of international migration systems; however, this dimension has been difficult to capture at the global level due to a lack of origin-destination flow data. In this research note, we apply metrics developed for the analysis of internal migration to global migration flows to explore the impact of international migration on global population distribution over time, and across levels of human development. In the five years to 2020, international migration redistributed 0.39 percent of the world's population (28 million people) despite 1.38 percent (101 million) changing country of residence. This has declined from 0.56 percent of the global population in 1990–1995. This decline in impact is underpinned by a reduction in migration effectiveness, that is, the migration system is becoming more balanced over time. The impact of migration was greatest for flows between countries at Very High levels of human development, reflecting high migration intensity and exchanges between countries at Low and Very High levels of human development, reflecting significant asymmetry of flows. Our results suggest systematic shifts in both the level and pattern of flows across the development ladder, with flows becoming more intense and balanced with higher levels of human development.

The form and evolution of international migration networks, 1990–2015

AbstractPresently, there is no agreed upon data‐driven approach for identifying the geographic boundaries of migration networks that international migration systems are ultimately manifested in. Drawing from research on community detection methods, we introduce and apply the Information Theoretic Community Detection Algorithm for identifying and studying the geographic boundaries of migration networks. Using a new set of estimates of country‐to‐country migration flows every 5 years from 1990 to 1995 to 2010–2015, we trace the form and evolution of international migration networks over the past 25 years. Consistent with the concept of dynamic stability, we show that the number, size and internal country compositions of international migration networks have been remarkably stable over time; however, we also document many short‐term fluctuations. We conclude by reflecting on the spirit of our work in this paper, which is to promote consensus around tools and best practices for identifying and studying international migration networks.

Göç Çalışmaları İçin Birleşik Teorik Yaklaşım Önerisi: Uluslararası Göç Sistemlerinin Ağ Analizi

The field of migration studies has long suffered from a weak theoretical base upon which to ground its work. This article proposes a new theoretical approach – network analysis of international migration systems – to serve as a unifying theory for the study of migration. This new approach seeks to combine the best elements of the compatible approaches of network theory and the migration systems. This will also allow scholars to engage in theoretically informed concept formation and variable identification, allowing for an interdisciplinary cumulation of knowledge, thereby allowing scholars to predict future migration flows and assist in making meaningful migration policy.

Editorial

The articles included in this issue deal with a number of countries, including Malaysia, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Philippines, India, China, Mexico and Tanzania. They look at the issues of brain-drain and behavioural approach (Ramoo et al.); multi-professional collaboration in promoting migrant integration (Vanhanen and Heikkila); the distribution of income gains in labour market migration (Korpi et al.); labour market gaps between migrants and natives (Mala et al.) and at how demographic forecasts can be improved in predicting migration changes (Wilson). These different topics reflect the diversity of issues at stake in the current international migration systems. They also show how migrants put forth their own strategies to deal with marginalization that include the creation of ‘home’ through gendered memory and narrative sharing (Zulueta), the articulation of co-development in the growing diasporization of communities (Tigau et al.), and gender and youth dynamics in internal migrations (Todd et al.).

From an Isolated State to a Migration Society - Transnationalism and Multilocality as Social Practise in Contemporary Albania

Present Albanian society is a migrant’s society. In the Socialist era Albania was almost completely confined of international migration systems. Internal migratory movements were strictly controlled and regulated. That changed abruptly with the entry into the post-Socialist transition period. First spontaneous and hasty out-migrations have been followed by an unprecedented internal and international mass migration. Emigration, life in a foreign country and multi-local ways of life served as a kind of safety valve to overcome accumulated structural socio-economic deficits in the country and to reach individual needs. Living with all facets of migration is the social norm today. Almost half of the Albanian population has a personal international migration experience. Transnationality in the Albanian case is everyday social practise. This paper shows the two and a half decades lasting way of Albania from the Communist ‘isolated state’ to a society that is heavily influenced by different forms and effects of international and transnational migration. Different periods of migratory movement and stages of national development as well as lines of continuity and change of a highly volatile migration system will be analysed on the basis of empirical findings. In order to strengthen the spatial issue in migration studies the suggestion is to broaden the concept of transnationalism by a new transregional perspective.

MEDIA DISCOURSE OF THE MIGRATION PROCESS IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERACTION BETWEEN THE HOST AND THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

Migration is an objective process that promotes the global development and integration. At the same time, migration contains a lot of contradictions, the chief being the problem of social inclusion of one group and exclusion of another. Thus, migration is a process that has a strong potential for conflict. According to the classical sociological theories immigrant has to integrate into the local culture to become part of the host community. The new paradigm of research considers migration as social process that does not imply integration of immigrants into the local culture, but tolerate the variety of results of the migration process. Such a change is not possible at the society where xenophobia is spread and immigrants are perceived as a "threat". Native population need to be adapted to the potential pluralism of interaction models with different groups of immigrants. Modern mass media play a key role in this process. Media construct images of social groups and thus influence the formation of tolerant or intolerant attitudes in the society. On the basis of data of sociological research (content-analyses, survey, focus groups) there are two discourse models of the migration process in mass media: the model of migration crisis (subjects of discourse are locals, journalists and authorities) and the model of pragmatic tolerance (subjects of discourse are employers and authorities). Both models are based on the classical sociological tradition (integration as only one result of the migration process). Modern methodological approaches that suggest the development of international migration systems and transnational activity are not represented on information and social spaces. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-11-1

The Indian and Chinese Academic Diaspora in Australia: A Comparison

The shift in international migration research away from a focus on permanent displacement and settlement to transnationalism has not been accompanied by a similar shift in international migration systems which are still based on the old paradigm. This study utilizes Australia-based secondary and primary data to show the actual nature of population movement between two of Australia's major countries of origin of migrants: China and India. It focuses particularly on one group of migrants — university-based researchers and teachers. The paper demonstrates that the mobility relationship between Australia on the one hand, and India and China on the other, is most accurately depicted as a complex system involving substantial and diverse flows in both directions. Survey data are used to explore the linkages maintained by Indian and Chinese academics in Australia with their homelands. The findings suggest that there is considerable scope from the perspectives of China and India to engage their diaspora in activities which will be beneficial to development.

Bienvenidos a Canadá? Globalization and the Migration Industry Surrounding Temporary Agricultural Migration in Canada

“Migrant workers” have become an important resource in the global economy, and not solely for employers and governments. Multilateral agreements, trade liberalization, and advancements in communication and transportation have enabled flows of the world’s poor into international labour migration systems, often mediated by a migration industry that profits from providing services to employers and migrants. Based on ethnographic case studies in Mexico, participant observation in Ontario, and interviews with migrant workers and their families, farmers, government representatives and other intermediaries, this paper examines the extent to which a migration industry has formed around the Mexican-Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program.

Research On International Migration Within Sub-Saharan Africa: Foci, Approaches, and Challenges

This article reviews the state of research on international migration within sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the international migration systems that have emerged on the subcontinent, especially in Southern and Western Africa, as well as issues pertaining to gender and migration and to migrants' incorporation in host societies. Special attention is given to conflict-induced migration and to implications of international migration for health, with a particular emphasis on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Despite the large volume and diversity of international migration in the subcontinent, the literature on the subject remains scarce and disconnected from the body of international migration research in other settings. The review identifies causes of this mismatch and discusses ways to mainstream the subcontinent's migration problematique.

Causality Chains in the International Migration Systems Approach

Research into international migration lacks a commonly accepted theoretical framework, which would facilitate the accumulation of knowledge. This article aims to be a first attempt to construct such a framework and to incorporate causalities in the international migration systems approach. The author presents a theoretical framework in which four groups of factors acting on international migration are distinguished: economic, social, political and “linkages.” The causalities in this framework are derived from different international migration theories. The various positions of these whole theories within the framework are shown as causality chains. In a way, these causality chains form the time dimension of an international migration system

Ethni‐cities: residential patterns in the Northern European and Mediterranean metropolises – implications for policy design

AbstractThis paper examines how the role of Southern Europe in international migration systems has changed, from that of a source to a destination region, and how this is reflected in the emergence of new patterns of ethnic segregation. Areas where immigrants cluster are also areas with relatively high levels of social and housing deprivation. As a result, ethnic residential segregation is in part an expression of social exclusion. In the first part of the paper, a statistical analysis of secondary data provides an overview of the levels and distribution of ethnic segregation in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The second part of the paper examines the implications of the spatial organisation of immigrant communities for the development of territorial policies, and explores this through a comparative study of Lisbon and Rotterdam. The analysis also deals with territorialised policies developed in areas where immigrants cluster. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Mobility of Entrepreneurs and Capital: Taiwanese Capital‐Linked Migration

Much of the literature concerning international investment focuses on the movement of capital or trade flows and does not cover the persons who migrate with the capital, even though in a globalizing economic system new conditions emerge for the international migration of capitalists. On the one hand, capital owners have been recruited directly by business migration programmes in countries such as Canada, Australia, and the US. On the other hand, global economic restructuring, one part of which entails increasing foreign direct investment from a wider range of countries, has induced the migration of an entrepreneurial/managerial class. This article analyses the relation between the mobility of capital and of entrepreneurs by investigating Taiwan’s capital‐linked migrations. It aims to show that people can integrate migration and capital investment as a strategy to best serve their interests. Although their moves are mediated and constrained by different migration channels (governmental policies, recruitment agencies, transnational corporations, etc.), capital‐linked migrants are not passive players in international migration systems. They actively position themselves with regard to migration channels and select active strategies that best suit their objectives. Sometimes immigration serves capitalists’ interest in capital accumulation, at other times capital investment serves as the means for securing a second nationality. In this way, Taiwanese capitalist mobility has been incorporated into the open‐ended logic of flexible capitalism itself. Such understanding of the processes of capital‐linked migration and its implications contribute to new theories of the relationship between international flows of capital and international migration.

Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium

At the end of the 20th century nearly all developed nations have become countries of immigration, absorbing growing numbers of immigrants not only from developed regions, but increasingly from developing nations of the Third World. Although international migration has come to play a central role in the social, economic, and demographic dynamics of both immigrant-sending and immigrant-receiving countries, social scientists have been slow to construct a comprehensive theory to explain it. Efforts at theoretical explanation have been fragmented by disciplinary, geographic, and methodological boundaries. Worlds in Motion seeks to overcome these schisms to create a comprehensive theory of international migration for the next century. After explicating the various propositions and hypotheses of current theories, and identifying area of complementarity and conflict, the authors review empirical research emanating from each of the world's principal international migration systems: North America, Western Europe, the Gulf, Asia and the Pacific, and the Southern Cone of South America. Using data from the 1980s, levels and patterns of migration within each system are described to define their structure and organization. Specific studies are then comprehensively surveyed to evaluate the fundamental propositions of neoclassical economics, the new economics of labour migration, segmented labour market theory, world systems theory, social capital theory, and the theory of cumulative causation. The various theories are also tested by applying them to the relationship between international migration and economic development. Although certain theories seem to function more effectively in certain systems, all contain elements of truth supported by empirical research. The task of the theorist is thus to identify which theories are most effective in accounting for international migration in the world today, and what regional and national circumstances lead to a predominance of one theoretical mechanism over another. The book concludes by offering an empirically-grounded theoretical synthesis to serve as a guide for researchers and policy-makers in the 21st century. Contributors to this volume - Douglas Massey, Princeton University Joaquin Arango, Complutense University of Madrid Graeme Hugo, University of Adelaide Ali Kouaouci, University of Montreal Adela Pellegrino, University of the Republic, Uruguay Edward J. Taylor, University of California, Davis

The internal dynamics of international migration systems.

"In this paper I provide a conceptualization of international migration networks, which can be used to identify and integrate the internal components of migration systems, and formalize the relationships in an analytic model of the internal network dynamic. With the use of the operationalized model, and microlevel and macrolevel data for guestworkers in Germany during the period 1970 to 1989, we can empirically test the relative influence of internal network variables versus external forces on the attraction of immigrants over time. The empirical results suggest that--as the system matures--network variables have an increasing impact on the attraction of immigrants, while the impact of economic factors declines. The research is concluded with a series of simulations that further highlight the internal dynamic of international migration systems."

Information, communication and networks in international migration systems

Information, communication and networks in international migration systems

Information, communication and networks in international migration systems.

"This paper focuses on the role of information and communication in international migration by means of a survey which covers economic and broader perspectives, both at the micro and macro levels. The human capital model of migration is reviewed and the likely impact of recent and anticipated developments in telecommunications technology is noted. The job search model is reformulated in the context of international migration but extensive modification is required to describe the potential sampling of job offers and other informational needs of international migrants. It is argued that spatial selectivity is to a large extent influenced by migration networks in which information flows play a critical role. This is further elucidated by offering an analytical framework based on the systems approach to migration."

Migrating to learn and learning to migrate: a study of the experiences and intentions of international student migrants.

"The research reported here evaluates whether students come to the UK mainly for educational reasons, and therefore perceive their stay as temporary, or whether emigration for study is being used as part of a conscious strategy by people intending to become future labour migrants.... The simplest interpretation of the results appears to be that migration, experienced as a result of international moves for study purposes, does not influence planning of further migration moves. But the research also indicates that migration for education is closely tied to other types of population redistribution and should be treated by population geographers as an integral part of international migration systems." Data were collected by questionnaire survey from 349 engineering students at Hong Kong universities and 82 Hong Kong students studying engineering in the UK.

Migrating to Learn and Learning to Migrate: A Study of the Experiences and Intentions of International Student Migrants

This paper addresses the under-researched issue of international student migration by focusing on two samples of Hong Kong undergraduates, one studying in the UK, the other in Hong Kong. With the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in mid-1997, the colony provides an excellent arena for migration studies in the context of economic opportunities clouded by socio-political uncertainty. Sending children abroad for education is sometimes used by parents as a strategy for protecting their children, and indirectly themselves, against any undesirable eventuality associated with the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. The research reported here evaluates whether students come to the UK mainly for educational reasons, and therefore perceive their stay as temporary, or whether emigration for study is being used as part of a conscious strategy by people intending to become future labour migrants. A major aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the migration intentions and perceptions of students studying at universities in Hong Kong with those of Hong Kong students based in the UK. The simplest interpretation of the results appears to be that migration, experienced as a result of international moves for study purposes, does not influence planning of further migration moves. But the research also indicates that migration for education is closely tied to other types of population redistribution and should be treated by population geographers as an integral part of international migration systems. The paper concludes by presenting three paradoxes associated with the presence of Hong Kong students in the UK.

International Migration Systems: A Global Approach.

Global interactions, migration systems, processes, and policies, Mary M. Kritz and Hania Zlotnik. Part 1 Global and regional migration systems: empirical identification of international migration systems, Hania Zlotnik international migration in the South Pacific region, Richard Bedford the West African migration system, Paulina Makinwa-Adebusoye migration and interdependence - the migration system between France and Africa, Jean-Pierre Garson Caribbean exodus and the world system, Alan B. Simmons and Jean Pierre Guengant the role of migration policies and social networks in the development of a migration system in the Southern Cone, Jorge Balan. Part 2 Processes linking origin and destination countries: international labour movements - a perspective on economic exchanges and flows, Lin Lean Lim migration networks and the shaping of migration systems, Douglas T.Gurak and Fe Caces the use of social networks in Turkish migration to Germany, Czarina Wilpert the mobilization of labour migrants in Thailand: personal links and facilitating networks, Anchalee Singhanetra-Renard the contribution of remittances to economic and social development, Fred Arnold science and technology transfers and migration flows, Mary M. Kritz and Fe Caces. Part 3 Policy issues underlying international migration: laws and policies regulating population movements: a European perspective, Tomas Hammar contemporary labour migration from Asia: policies and perspectives of sending countries, Manolo I. Abella institutional and policy interactions among countries and refugee flows, Jacqueline Desbarats evolution of policy modes for regulating international labour migration, Mark J. Miller labour migration and international economic regimes - Bretton Woods and after Aristide R. Zolberg.