nGlobalisation is the growing economic interdependency of countries through increasing cross border transactions,
capital flows and technology diffusion. Can also be applied to people due to migration and incentives and pressures.
Rural to urban migration with emerging economies
1. Chinese rural to urban (pull factors)
2. Democratic republic of Congo (push factors)
3. EU and Schengen Area (modern communications and customs union)
Chinese rural to urban migration experiences the largest Push factors
internal migration ever recorded Globalisation and free trade have caused
mechanisation and automation of agriculture
229.8 million rural migrant workers with 2/3 working reducing the need for rural labour. It depresses
in manufacturing and construction industry incomes and reduces quality of life in rural areas
Pull factors Hukou policy
Driven by demand factors like the global shift in Created massive inequality and significant rural-
manufacturing to South and East Asia urban divide
Higher wages in secondary industry Intense pressure on city population growth as 100
Possibility at a better-quality life and attractiveness million migrant workers are expected to have their
of city life hukou transferred to cities by 2020 creating
Tired of school overcrowding and pollution
Remittances to family Citizens are often denied access to housing,
healthcare and education due to the strict Hukou
regulations
Democratic Republic of Congo rural to urban migration is signs of inner migration growing significantly in developing
countries.
2nd largest nation in Africa with a growing population of 70 million but is very poor due to corruption and civil war
Push factors have been the main reason for rural to urban migration
1990s migration to Kinshasa meant it has doubled in size every 5 years since the 1950s and causing urban sprawl and
overcrowding – no formal census to show the level of development currently
African Development Bank revealed 72% of rural households are poor with 40% of children suffering malnutrition
Corruption was exacerbated after independence from Belgium where the democratic republic was given huge loans,
but the president squandered the money on elaborate projects and much of the country’s source of income from
mining disappeared in tax havens. Country couldn’t repay debts and was forced in drastic austerity by structural
adjustment programmes imposed by the IMF
Migration within the EU and Schengen Area
Modern transport and communications have meant increased migration within and between wealthier nations
Based on the free movement of goods and the ‘four freedoms’
Increased economic and social incentives for economic migration
EU migrants account for 38% of total migrant stock in EU countries
Germany has the largest number of EU migrants with 3.7 million
Migration in the EU is even easier for the 26 countries part of the Schengen Area who have abolished passport and
border controls so they can function as a single country
However, since 2016, France, Germany and other countries have imposed controls on some or all of their borders
with other states due to increased migration from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan
International migration between interconnected economies
,1. Singapore migration policy (low skilled vs high skilled discrimination)
2. Elite migration controlled by the UK and US (low skilled vs high skilled discrimination)
3. Japan’s non-immigration policy (resistance to immigration)
4. Australia’s controversial migration policy (resistance to immigration)
Singapore migration policy
Island state and 5th most globalised country in the world attracting large international migration flows from China and
India and self-governance in the 50s meant it could pass new laws to limit migration
Rapid economic growth and featuring as one of the four East Asian Tigers, it attracted waves of migration
According to the 2010 Singapore census, non-resident population accounted for 25.7% of the total population with
2/3 of them being low skilled migrants working in construction and low skilled migrants are maintained as a transient
workforce whist highly skilled migrants are encouraged through intensive recruitment and a liberalised criterion
May not marry Singaporeans without the approval of the controller of work permits with failure meaning repatriation
Elite migration controlled by the UK and US
UK Tier 1 Investor Programme requires £2 million in investment and to live no fewer than 185 days in the country.
Gain permanent residency after 5 years
US scheme requires $500,000 investment in a business that would employ 10 or more Americans with a residency
requirement of 6 months a year
However, the disadvantages to these systems was highlighted after the EU encouraged ‘wealthy immigrants’ after the
severe recession and job loss post 2009. Citizenship for sale increases vulnerability to money laundering and passports
for convenience for small criminal applicants
Canada’s immigrant investor programme also appeared too easy cause rising property prices in place like Toronto and
Vancouver and fragmented astronaut families sending remittances. Tax evasion also decreased these benefits
Japan’s non-immigration policy (social cohesion)
Japanese culture is based on a homogenous population and racial unification and government policies reflect this
Many politicians and citizens believe restrictions have brought harmony and cooperation to their society
2014 opinion poll highlighted the lack of enthusiasm for immigration to solve their ageing population issue and their
solution was to increase the number of working women and encourage the elderly to work. Robotics may also play a
role in fixing this issue
In 2015, 40% of foreign workers were from China enrolled in a foreign trainee programme to help with construction
for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, however, it has been criticised for exploiting a cheap workforce rather than for
development
Australia’s controversial migration policy (sovereignty and right to refuse entry)
3 waves of immigrants like the Vietnamese, Cambodian and Middle Eastern wave
Restrictions began in the Cambodian wave as the Australian government detained and processed them through court.
In the Middle Eastern wave, ¾ of them were turned away
Places them in offshore detention facilities in 2 Pacific Island nations: Nauru and Papua New Guinea and process
asylum claims but there is no limit to their stay and the average will spend a year in the camps. The PNG’s Supreme
Court ruled these detention facilities were a violation to human liberties
Tampa affair in 2001 highlighted the issues with enforcing sovereignty as Australia refused permission for a freighter
carrying predominantly 433 Afghanistan’s despite common regulation stating to bring them to the nearest port. The
military was dispatched after the Captain decided to take the sick, pregnant and children to the port
The Pacific Solution was designed to grant the government power to remove foreign ships but didn’t get votes and
instead supported Nauru and paid to operate the camps, with Nauru receiving £20 million in aid (1/3 of GDP)
Kevin Rudd government decided to do away with offshore camps, but this led to rising boat numbers and smuggling
Julia Gillard expanded the migration zone meaning migrants could be sent to facilities wherever they landed
Patterns of migration are highlighted through the Lee Model which explains migration is the result of push and pull
factors with intervening obstacles between them. They change to environmental, economic and political factors.
, Environmental factors Economic
1. Natural hazards 1. Reduced employment due to mechanisation and
2. Pollution of water sources automation
3. Impacts of climate change making some areas drier 2. Urban areas have increasing demand for labour
while low lying coastal areas flood. Environmental 3. Europeans colonising the ‘new world’ of the
refugee movements have been the strongest in Americas and Oceania
island nations like Kiribati to New Zealand which will 4. Forced migration of Africans to the Americas
increase 5. Economic migration from the developing to
European countries
Political
1. Barriers to entry
2. Regional conflict causing unrest leading to internally displaced people with Syria having the highest at 7.6 million
3. Some refugees are escaping persecution due to their ethnicity and religious beliefs and seek asylum – many make
risky journeys and approximately 10,000 deaths occurred in the Mediterranean Sea
However, as more countries become more economically developed, this movement may decrease. Modern
communications and transport have decreased the number of intervening obstacles. Ageing populations will increase
demand for more labour
5 main causes of migration
1. Neoclassical economic theory suggests the most significant push/ pull factors are wage differences
a. Relative deprivation theory suggests awareness of the income differences is important as successful migrants
can afford better schooling and homes
2. Dual labour market theory suggests the most significant pull factor is the demand to fill lowest skilled jobs as the
domestic population don’t wish to do this work
3. The new economics of labour migration suggest it cannot be solely determined by the individual’s push and pull
factors but relies on the household or social group in the source country who are in need of remittances (astronaut
families)
4. World systems theory suggests globalisation is a zero-sum game meaning more developed countries are benefitting
whilst it is causing decline in others. This encourages people to move to more successful areas. Even after
decolonisation, former colonies remain economically dependent on the former colonial superpower which may
encourage migration along trading routes
5. Enforced displacement of people due to conflict and poverty where there is a total of 31 million people of concern
Regional conflicts – the mass exodus from Syria
Syrian civil war began in 2011 and pushed millions to leave their homes and challenged the sovereignty of
neighbouring countries
In 2015, more than 250,000 had been killed, 13.5 million in need of humanitarian assistance and 6.5 million internally
displaced. 1,000 groups opposing the government with 100,000 aggregate fighters
More than 4 million hosted by Egypt, Iraq and Turkey in the MENA region
Many apply for asylum with the UNHCR reporting nearly 40,000 asylum applications to 28 European countries in 2014
for Eritrean asylum seekers which is 7% of their total population
Escalating conflicts have increased the number of internally displaced peoples like in Yemen
In 2016, more than a million refugees decided to take the dangerous sea routes
These European routes are a struggle for European countries to deal with
Challenges and consequences of international migration on national identity and sovereignty
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