Migration Intentions Research Articles

Global Evidence on the Relative Importance of Nonfinancial Drivers of International Migration Intentions

Using a global, individual-level survey, this article looks at the relative importance of local amenities and political institutions while controlling for other financial and nonfinancial incentives for individual plans to move between countries. Although the influence of wages and income differences has been extensively explored, less is known about specific non-income-related drivers of international migration and their relative importance. The analysis highlights that satisfaction with politics and amenities both at the origin and destination, are important drivers of migration intentions. These jointly with social networks explain about twice as much in international migration intention outcomes than employment-related incentives (such as relative individual income difference, employment, and job satisfaction), with relative income difference explaining only about 5 percent to 8 percent.

The Migration Intentions of University Staff in North Macedonia: A Potential Brain Drain?

ABSTRACT Skilled labor is an important asset for any country in its development process. The emigration of skilled personnel presents the threat of a “brain drain” which can affect a country’s growth, development and the quality of education. In this paper, brain drain is represented by the loss of academic staff and researchers from the country of North Macedonia. The intention to leave is driven by low wages and standards of living, the perception that there is “no future” in North Macedonia, a lack of promotion possibilities based on merit, and political influence in universities. Policy recommendations are suggested for institutions to develop strategies to retain academic and research staff.

Economic Deprivation as a Neuropsychological Aspect of the Formation of Frustration in Potential Migrants

The article shows the peculiarities of personal deprivation as a neuropsychological factor of emigration in the context of frustration. Persons participating in emigration focus on their future life, mainly on economic and social life. Individual thoughts about one's future life, a warning about the unknown, means about one's future work, well-being, etc. Such a volume of actions causes disappointment, as well as a neuropsychological impulse of anxiety for the future life of a person. The study is aimed at determining the impact of migration intentions on the psychological state of the individual, in particular, the determination of frustration and neuropsychological factors. The learning principle is that frustration is a neuropsychological marker of individuals facing new challenges, especially during migration. Researched military tests are studied in a study of economic commitment as a factor in the frustration of individuals who plan to migrate. The research course uses the method of abstraction, the descriptive-research method, the method of analysis and synthesis. The method of generalization and systematization was used to determine the research results. The results of the work are the basis for the formation of the structure that the factor of economic destruction in this case is personal frustration and not all aspects of the issue needing further research are exhausted.

Livelihood diversification and migration intentions among land-poor youth in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: do they correlate with livestock assets, trust, and trustworthiness?

Youth unemployment has been prevalent in Ethiopia. Over the past decades, efforts to rehabilitate degraded communal lands have been taking place in Ethiopia. This has created the opportunity to organize landless and land-poor youth and implement a policy of allocating rehabilitated lands for youth to engage in agriculture as a livelihood option. However, whether these rural youth will remain in agriculture or choose other livelihood options including migration, and how their trusting behaviors (trust and trustworthiness) and other factors influence their choices are worth investigating and are the aims of this study. This will help our understanding of what would incentivize the youth to enhance their livelihoods. We used data collected from samples of 1,138 youth group members in the 2016 survey and from 2,427 youth group members in the 2019 survey in five districts of the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. Our results from panel data multinomial logit and probit models show that the number of oxen, access to land in the land rental market, and income from youth group activity significantly correlated with youth group members' choices for livelihood options and planning for migrating out of the country. A higher number of oxen owned by the youth group members are associated with a higher likelihood that the youth choose agriculture as a livelihood. Youth group members with a larger number of oxen are also less likely to plan for migration. We also found that more trusting youth group members are more likely to choose off-farm employment relative to staying in agriculture than less trusting members. More trustworthy members are less likely to migrate and more likely to stay in agriculture because trustworthiness is associated with better access to land in the rental market. Thus, improving youth group members' access to land and their asset endowments such as oxen for increasing the productivity of youth group activity and hence income would incentivize youth group members to stay in agriculture and enhance youth group activity as a sustainable livelihood.

Investigation into the Rationale of Migration Intention Due to Air Pollution Integrating the Homo Oeconomicus Traits

Air pollution is a considerable environmental stressor for urban residents in developing countries. Perceived health risks of air pollution might induce migration intention among inhabitants. The current study employed the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) to investigate the rationale behind the domestic and international migration intentions among 475 inhabitants in Hanoi, Vietnam—one of the most polluted capital cities worldwide. We found that people perceiving more negative impacts of air pollution in their daily life are more likely to have migration intentions. The effect of perceived air pollution impact on international migration intention is stronger than that of domestic migration. Acknowledging a family member’s air pollution-induced sickness moderated the association between perceived air pollution impact and domestic migration intention, while the personal experience of air pollution-induced sickness did not. In contrast, the moderation effect of personal experience of sickness became significant in the international migration circumstance, but the effect of information about a family member’s sickness was negligible. The findings suggest that urban inhabitants’ consideration of air pollution-averting strategies reflects some characteristics of Homo Oeconomicus. Although an individual’s socioeconomic decision may seem insignificant on a collective scale, through environmental stressors as catalysts, such decisions might result in considerable social tendencies (e.g., internal migration and emigration).

The migration intention of public health professionals in Morocco: Results of a survey

The migration intention of public health professionals in Morocco: Results of a survey

Local Ties as Self-Reported Constraints to Internal Migration in Spain

The internal migration literature has identified various factors that deter migration and encourage staying, but has been less concerned with people’s own reports about what makes it difficult for them to migrate or makes them want to stay. We explore factors that make it difficult to change the place of residence—from here on denoted as constraints—reported in the Spanish survey on Attitudes and Expectations of Spatial Mobility in the Labour Force (N = 3892). These constraints were uniquely asked from all respondents through an open-ended question, regardless of their migration intentions. We find that many self-reported constraints correspond to factors that have previously been associated with decreased migration propensities. In order of frequency, respondents reported ties to family and friends, ties to their residential environment, financial limitations, and ties to work as constraints to migration. Our results further show that the likelihood of mentioning ties to family and friends as constraints decreased with age, was higher for women than for men and for people who lived close to most of their social network than for those who did not. Mentioning ties to the residential environment as constraints was positively associated with being partnered, and also with living in one’s birthplace. People who were unemployed were less likely to mention ties to work and were more likely to report financial limitations as constraints than people who had a permanent contract—whereas being self-employed was positively associated with mentioning ties to the residential environment.

Returning from greener pastures? How exposure to returnees affects migration plans

Information and networks have long been hypothesized to be crucial elements of the formation of emigration intentions. Returnees are a prime source of information about life as a migrant. In this study, we contribute to an emerging literature on the influence of returnees on the formation of migration decisions using representative geolocated data from 5,000 respondents and more than 47,000 family members and relatives from Senegal and The Gambia, two countries with high emigration rates in the past. We demonstrate that the presence of return migrants in a respondent’s vicinity is exogenously conditional on the current number of emigrants. This allows us to circumvent the endogeneity of personal networks and to estimate the effect of returnees on individual emigration intentions. Migration intentions are substantially lower when emigrants who returned from Europe are present in the area. This does not apply to returnees from another African country. Further analyses reveal that migrants who returned from another African country improve the economic situation of families, while non-family returnees from Europe have no lasting economic impact but instead salter people’s negative perceptions of migration. We infer that exposure to returnees depresses emigration plans because potential migrants become more aware of the risks of the migration journey and the stigma attached to returning unsuccessfully.

Moving in the time of COVID-19: how did the pandemic situations affect the migration decisions of Hong Kong people?

ABSTRACT Following mass social protests in 2019 and the enactment of a national security law in 2020 in Hong Kong, a significant proportion of Hong Kong people considered migrating to another country. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic had spread rapidly around the world. This study examines investigate whether the migration intention and the planned timing of migration of Hong Kong people have changed with the COVID-19 pandemic situations both locally and abroad. We also examine if the impact of the pandemic might have varied with people’s age, gender, education, and parental status. Data are from a random-sampled survey (N = 2,492) conducted in 2021–2022. We find that a more severe COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong is positively associated with one’s migration intention. The migration intention of younger and more educated people is more strongly associated with the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong. However, the COVID-19 situation in the UK is not significantly associated with one’s migration intention. Among people who intend to emigrate, a more severe local COVID-19 situation is positively associated with uncertainty about the timing of migration. We conclude by highlighting the significance of global pandemics in shaping migration decisions.

Assessment of the Relationship Between Intention to Migrate With Workload and a Healthy Work Environment of Nurses

Background: Like other countries in the world, Iran is facing the problem of a shortage of nurses. Meanwhile, many Iranian nurses migrate to other countries every year. The present study aims to assess the relationships between migration intention, workload, and a healthy work environment for nurses. Methods: This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted in 2020 using a proportional stratified sampling of 360 nurses working in the Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) teaching hospitals. The study data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the nurses’ intention to migrate questionnaire, the NASA task load index, and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Healthy Work Environment Assessment. In this study, we used the independent t-test, analysis of variance, and the Pearson correlation coefficient for data analysis at a significance level of <0.05 in SPSS software, version 16. Results: The Mean±SD intention to migrate score was 65.59±33.51. A weak but significant positive correlation existed between the intention to migrate and workload (r=0.166, P=0.002). There was an inverse and weak relationship between the intention to migrate and a healthy work environment (r=-0.160, P=0.002). There was also a significant relationship between the intention of nurses to migrate and their work experience (P=0.048) and employment status (P=0.001). Conclusion: The prevention of nurses’ migration must be investigated thoroughly to determine the reasons. But according to the results of this study, providing a healthy work environment and maintaining the current workforce by providing the indicators desired by nurses may partly prevent excessive migration of nurses.

Reasons for sedentarism of shrinking cities in public opinion (evidence from Volgograd city)

The shrinking of cities has become a mass phenomenon, both in foreign countries and in Russia, since the end of the twentieth century. Until now, the question of why some old-industrial cities succeed in the modern global network of comparative advantages and specializations, while others fail and face population decline, seems to be of no small importance. The article attempts to fill the existing gap in the study of the reasons forcing residents of shrinking cities to stay in them. They were defined as “reasons for sedentarism”, which the authors propose to consider as circumstances that keep residents from moving to another city/region/ country in the presence of stable migration intentions. In order to identify the causes of sedentarism, the authors conducted a survey of students of educational institutions in the city of Volgograd and its region using an online questionnaire created on the Google Forms platform. The study used a non-random sample (the “snowball” method). The present study confirms the primacy of the economic causes of sedentarism in shrinking cities and the need to implement an adequate and systematic economic policy that promotes the innovative development of territories. The analysis of the answers shows that the second most important reasons, following material ones, that keep students of shrinking cities from changing their place of residence, are socio-psychological: the desire to preserve social ties (family, friends, relatives) and the fear of changing the situation.

Healthcare in cumulatively caused migration: Hong Kong residents’ perceived Mainland healthcare quality and migration intentions in the Greater Bay Area, China

The complex role of healthcare in migration has not been fully understood in existing studies, which are largely limited to the simple examination of migration behaviors associated with the uneven distribution of healthcare services. This study provides a more nuanced understanding by considering the subjective dimension of healthcare quality as an important part of the cumulative causation of migration thesis. We argue that migration behaviors and perceived healthcare quality in the destination are mutually constitutive, entailing a continuous reproduction process of migrations with heterogeneous patterns across social groups. These ideas are explored in the context of the Greater Bay Area, wherein Mainland healthcare quality has long been a major concern for Hong Kong residents' migration decisions. Based on structural equation modeling analysis of 3,500 responses from a survey of Hong Kong residents conducted in 2020, we found significant conditional mediating effects of perceived Mainland healthcare quality in reproducing HK-to-Mainland migrations. Recent living experiences and migration networks in Mainland are associated with positive perceptions of Mainland healthcare quality, which further enhance future migration intentions. This effect was uneven among HK residents and conditional upon individuals’ socio-economic status – weakened by a higher education level while non-linearly affected by household incomes. This study enriches the understanding of healthcare-impacted migrations and foregrounds the fundamental role of social infrastructure in facilitating and consolidating regional development.

Depression, anxiety, stress levels and five-factor personality traits as predictors of clinical medical students' migration intention: A cross-sectional study of brain drain.

Physician migration has a profound impact on healthcare systems and can be caused by many reasons. One of the most important healthcare-related problems in Turkey recently is the increasing migration trends of physicians. Although many studies have investigated physician migration's social and political determinants, the psychological factors that may yield this trend have not been adequately studied. It is aimed to examine the relationship between clinical term medical students' intention to migrate and temporary factors such as depression, anxiety, stress, as well as persistent factors such as personality traits in this study. After questioning the migration intentions and possible related determinants of 575 students participating in our study, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 and Five-Factor Personality Inventory were applied. While 46.3% of the participants had the intention to migrate, 53.7% planned to live in Turkey in the long term. Higher depression and stress levels are significantly associated with migratory intention. Identifying oneself as man, having a partner, high-stress levels, high openness, and low agreeableness traits were found to be major predictors of migration intention. Our study shows that besides many sociological studies on this subject, the investigation of psychological factors has an important role to understand the recent physician migration.

The Double Burden of Work and Life and Turnover Intention Among Migrant Garment Workers: A Case Study From an Industrial Zone in Vietnam

This study aims to determine the prevalence and associated factors of turnover intention among interprovincial migrant workers in garment companies in a rapidly urbanizing area of Vietnam. This study employed a mixed method approach, beginning with in-depth interviews with 12 migrant garment workers to develop survey instruments, which were then used in a quantitative survey. The survey recruited and interviewed 328 inter-provincial migrant workers working in garment factories using a social mapping sampling method. Multivariable backward stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with worker turnover intention. The results show a high prevalence of turnover intention (46.3%) among the survey participants. High psychological demand (OR = 2.5, 95% CI [1.4, 4.4], p < .001), low job control, income dissatisfaction (OR = 3, 95% CI [1.5, 6], p < .01), migration intention (OR = 13, 95% CI [7, 24], p < .001) and male gender (OR = 2.5, 95% CI [1.3, 4.8], p < .01) are factors significantly associated with turnover intention among migrant workers. This study provides a model for understanding migrant laborers’ turnover intentions in the garment industry, as well as critical data for developing needs-based intervention programs for this vulnerable group, such as appropriate resettlement strategies and the creation of a healthy working environment, both of which could play essential roles in the garment industry’s workforce retention.

Climate change and coastal megacities: Adapting through mobility

Climate change poses threats to individuals, communities, and cities globally. Global conversations and scholarly debates have explored ways people adapt to the impacts of climate change including through migration and relocation. This study uses Lagos, Nigeria as a case study to examine the relationship between flooding events, migration intentions as a preferred adaptation, and the destination choices for affected residents. The study draws on a mixed-methods approach which involved a survey of 352 residents and semi-structured interviews with 21 residents. We use a capability approach to analyze mobility decisions following major or repetitive flood events. We found that the majority of affected residents are willing to migrate but the ability to do so is constrained by economic, social, and political factors leading to involuntary immobility. Furthermore, intra-city relocation is preferred to migration to other states in Nigeria or internationally. These findings challenge popular Global South-North migration narratives. Indeed, some residents welcome government-supported relocation plans but others remain skeptical due to lack of trust. Community-based relocation may therefore be preferred by some Lagosians. Overall, this study contributes a nuanced understanding of mobility intentions in response to climate-induced flooding in one of the world’s largest coastal cities.

Specialty preferences of studying-abroad medical students from low- and middle-income countries

BackgroundThis study explored the specialty preferences of China-educated international medical students (IMSs), who are mainly from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and constitute a potential medical workforce both for their home countries and foreign countries, and the influence of migration intentions on their specialty preferences.MethodsA cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was conducted at 5 universities in China. The questionnaire link was distributed electronically among the IMSs at the 5 universities via emails. The questionnaire enquired IMSs’ demographic information, migration intentions and their specialty preferences. The Chi-square test was applied to determine the influence of the respondent’s gender, intention to practise in the home country and intention to practise in a high-income country on their specialty choices. The Chi-square test was also applied to determine the influence of the respondent’s gender, year of study and country of origin on their preferences for generalist-orientated or non-generalist orientated specialties.ResultsAltogether, 452 IMSs returned their responses, yielding a response rate of 64.1%. Approximately half of the IMSs planned to not return to their home country. The most selected specialty was general surgery and the least selected specialty was physical medicine and rehabilitation. No significant differences were evident in most specialty preferences between those who intended to return home and those who intended to stay abroad. Among the IMSs having intentions of returning to their home country, male students tended to choose a generalist-orientated specialty, while female students tended to choose a non-generalist-orientated specialty.ConclusionChina-educated IMSs could play important roles in the primary care services as well as other shortage specialties both for their home countries or foreign countries. Therefore, it is recommended that governments in these countries plan migration and recruitment policies that cater for these studying-abroad medical students from LMICs, especially in this challenging time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Does access to credit alter migration intentions?

Does access to credit alter migration intentions?

The Dynamics of Refugee Return: Syrian Refugees and Their Migration Intentions

AbstractWe study the drivers of refugees' decision making about returning home using observational and experimental data from a survey of 3,003 Syrian refugees in Lebanon. We find that the conditions in refugee-hosting countries play a minor role. In contrast, conditions in a refugee's home country are the main drivers of return intentions. Even in the face of hostility and poor living conditions in host countries, refugees are unlikely to return unless the situation at home improves significantly. These results challenge traditional models of decision making about migration, where refugees weigh living conditions in the host and home countries (“push” and “pull” factors). We offer an alternative theoretical framework: a model of threshold-based decision making whereby only once a basic threshold of safety at home is met do refugees compare other factors in the host and home country. We explore some empirical implications of this new perspective using qualitative interviews and quantitative survey data.

Exploring migration intention among registered pharmacists in Kerala: a mixed-methods study.

This study investigated the intention to migrate among pharmacists in Kerala and explored the factors driving pharmacist migration in Kerala. A sequential mixed-methods study was carried out to explore the intention to migrate among pharmacists in Kerala, India. A survey of 256 registered pharmacists and in-depth interviews with 15 pharmacists having high migration intentions were undertaken. Quantitative data were analysed employing univariate approaches and binary logistic regression. Qualitative data were analysed employing thematic analysis. About 44.5% (n = 114) of pharmacists expressed a high intention to migrate. Younger age of up to 30 years (AOR = 8.31, 95% CI = 2.24-30.82), more opportunities abroad (AOR = 4.28, 95% CI = 1.87-9.80), better salaries (AOR = 2.48, 95% CI = 1.04-5.95) and a general negative outlook towards a pharmacy career in Kerala (AOR = 2.83, 95% CI = 1.22-6.56) predicted a high level of intention to migrate among pharmacists. Lower incomes, working conditions, respect and recognition in the society, professional conflict and social connections were observed to be major push factors influencing pharmacists' migration intentions. Just under half of the registered pharmacists in Kerala has a high intention to migrate abroad. Economic factors, workplace factors, lack of opportunities, social status and so on, were influencers of the intention to migrate among pharmacists. Ensuring implementation of equitable wage policies, preventing unlicensed pharmacy practice, improving societal awareness and providing clear job roles for pharmacists with PharmD and MPharm degrees are needed.

Development and International Migration: The Effect of Income on Regular and Irregular Migration Intentions to Europe

AbstractIn recent years, the development‐migration debate has re‐gained popularity in policy circles, especially after the so‐called “migration crisis” in Europe and the following approval of the European Agenda on Migration. Much of the empirical literature supports the idea that the relationship between international migration and incomes at origin follows hump‐shaped patterns. A growing number of studies find that increasing economic development and financial resources in developing countries would allow a greater number of individuals to afford the costs of emigrating. However, this evidence heavily relies on measures of regular migration only. Using nationally representative data from 12 Middle East and North Africa countries, this study adopts a multinomial logit model to frame migration intentions, distinguishing between regular and irregular routes. The main finding is that the level of household income is associated negatively with the demand for irregular migration to Europe. Predictive margins clearly show that higher household incomes increase the probability of planning only regular migration, while decreasing that of considering also irregular migration. The policy implications are not negligible: improving economic conditions in countries of origin may be effective at deflecting migrants from irregular to regular routes.