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Summary ALEVEL SOCIOLOGY GLOBALISATION NOTES
- Module
- Unit 4 - Global Development
- Institution
- CIE
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The consequences of global migrationThe economic consequences of global migration
Held and McGrew 2007 - absence of large-scale migration would have caused labour market and economic
problems for many European economies.
Post-World War 2, many European societies experienced a significant shortage of labour power,
especially for unskilled and semi-skilled work. European government sought labour from less
industrialised countries, particularly countries that were former colonies. Between 1950s and 1970s
there was mass migration of labour from African and Asian countries, most of which did repetitive
work, shift work, and cleaning jobs, as the locals did not prefer these jobs.
The birth and fertility rates in Europe in 20th century greatly fell thus workers were lost to death and
retirement and the birth rate could not replace the labour force.
Many European countries, and Japan and USA have an ageing population due to a higher life
expectancy. Retired elderly are dependant on the younger population's taxes for their state pension
and health and social care. Therefore, mass migration relieves the burden by increasing the labour
force, which then pays taxes. Migrants also help by taking up jobs in the health and social care sectors
for the elderly.
An alternative argument is that migrant labour was not a necessity, rather it was preferred for its
convenience over the capital investments required for automation.
Hence, Held and McGrew argue that migrant labour helps alleviate the economic problems caused by the
demographics.
The economic consequences of global migration for the receiving country
Critics argue that global migration reduces local wages and raises unemployment amongst indigenous
workers because the supply of workers increases. However, studies have found that this is not the
case. Timothy Hatton and Jeffrey Williamson 2005 argue that migrant workers take up vacancies
rather than competing with the locals. The highly-skilled migrants take up jobs in the sectors
experiencing a shortage, e.g healthcare and IT. 22% or nurses in the UK are immigrants. George Borjas
2004 notes that global migration would harm the employment rate and wages if the natives were
competing for the same low-skilled, low-status job. However, immigrants work in low-paid casual jobs.
Dirty and hazardous work, physically demanding and seasonal agricultural work and insecure
temporary work such as cleaning, catering, elderly care, waiters, driving; these are the jobs shunned
by locals but taken by immigrants.
Lower wage levels in some industries is a tactic used by employers to keep their costs low, as they
employ immigrants who demand lesser pay and control local workers with the threat of replacing
them with immigrants (who are easily willing to take up the jobs for lower wages). Migrant wages can
boost economies through their tax payments and their expenditure on local goods and services.
In USA the Congress Commission on Immigration Reform 1997 concluded that immigration had an overall
positive effect because;
Migrants significantly contributed to tax.
Migrants spent spare cash mostly on US goods.
Production costs were reduced. (paid less than value of goods and services produced)
British Home Office study 2001 - positive impact on UK economy as immigrants paid taxes, created new
businesses and jobs, increased consumption of British goods and services and took up jobs locals were
unwilling to do.
The economic consequences of global migration for the migrants' country of origin.
,More emigrants results in reduced unemployment and lesser spending on welfare. Hanlon and Vicino
observe that a negative consequence is the lack of recognition of the educational and professional
qualifications of the emigrants, thus resulting in wasteful under-employment of talented and well-qualified
workers. A proposed solution is international education and qualifications but the fundamental problem
with this solution is that such an education may only be available to the upper classes.
Global migration contributes to remittances, and often migrants who have gained citizenship to host country
continue to send remittances to extended family.
In 2014, World Bank estimated that about 80% or $436 billion out of $583 billion global remittances were
sent to less industrialised countries, particularly India, China, Nigeria, Philippines and Mexico.
Hanlon and Vicino, 4 distinct advantages of remittances;
They alleviate poverty. Khalid Koser 2007 - 80% of rural household incomes in Lesotho are
remittances.
In households receiving remittances, children are less likely to drop out of school..
In households receiving remittances, children's health tends to be better and the average birth
weight is also higher.
Remittances provide foreign currency to the economy.
Donald and Stephen Wilson 2005 - 80% of remittance receiving Mexica households could afford personal
home whereas 30% of those not receiving could afford their own homes.
Hanlon and Vicino argue that remittances can contribute to inequalities within developing societies, and
family pressure to send money home can result in migrants indulging in criminal or illegal activities.
The brain drain
Sending societies lose potential return on investment in education and training. Receiving countries such as
in the Middle East and in Europe, and the US, benefit from the brain drain.
Peter Stalker 2008 - estimated 1.5 million skilled migrants work and live in Japan, Australia, USA and in
Western Europe. Haiti, Sierra Leone, Ghana and the UK lose skilled workers because they are sending
countries.
Developmental progress specially of education and healthcare is likely to be impeded by the brain drain.
Koser - 50 out of 600 doctors trained in Zambia since 2010, were practising in Zambia. More Malawian
doctors in Manchester than in Malawi. There is evidence that global migration worsens global inequalities.
37 out of 47 sub-Saharan countries do not meet the WHO recommended target of 20 doctors per 100,000
people. This is due to the emigration of health professionals.
Kevin O'Neil 2003 - Taiwan and India are losing thousands of IT experts to Silicon Valley based companies in
the US.
Julian Simon 1989 - overall effect of global migration on the average living standards is positive, because
workers become more productive after emigrating into countries with more/better opportunities.
Political consequences of global migration
Martell 2010; immigration has become a political debate, specially in Europe and the USA and sociologists
must examine its political consequences. Immigration is socially constructed as a social problem to be solved
through stricter social controls. The concern is that the controls, through the nation and its citizens, may
abuse human human rights.
Held (4 economic advantages) - global migration affects autonomy and sovereignty of the nation. Flow of
illegal immigrants shows Europe and USA inability secure its own borders. He notes that extended border
surveillance (fences and checkpoints hasn't stopped illegal immigrants.
The clash of civilisations
Hanlon and Vicino - European leaders and their populist opponents are most likely to view Muslims as
potential aggressors and a threat to national security. It has even been said that the Islamic world and
Christian Europe face a fundamental clash of cultures/civilisations.
, Douglas Murray 2018 - criticises liberal democratic nations for overlooking mass Muslim migration problems.
He claims that the European migrant crisis involves a clash between Islam and secular Europe, the outcome
of which would be Islamisation of Europe and end of European civilisation. This is because Muslim migrants
birth rate is relatively much higher than that of Europeans. Murray's view is shared by many European
far-right nationalist groups and some populist politicians, e.g Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban. But
Murray's view is criticised by Gray 2018, who argues that Murray is biased in use of facts and not only
Europe but other Muslim countries close borders for Muslims, e.g Turkey and Syria, Iran and Pakistan, and
Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He believes that Islam is too divided to overthrow Christian Europe, thus Islamised
Europe is merely a fantasy.
Huntington 2004 - claims that USA will have a 'loss of national identity' if Mexican immigrants are not
stopped. He argues that Hispanic culture threatens Anglo-American identity, and if current birth rate trends
of Mexicans continue, American Hispanic Spanish speakers will outnumber English speaking Americans in
many parts of the US.
Gray points out that global migration results from war, globalisation, and environmental collapses, rather
than a need to dominate over a culture. He argues that rapid global capitalism and production has destroyed
livelihood, resulted in uneven global development and global inequality. Migrants are incentivised to seek
opportunities in richer countries. However, poorer people who are experiencing the same global pressures
and inequalities in these richer countries' societies, may be unwelcoming of migrants.
Immigration control as securitisation
Although in 2016, only 2% of the world's population lived as migrants, immigration control has become a
central issue of many European and Western nations. Many European countries have imposed stricter
controls for non-EU immigrants. EU open border rules are now being opposed. Visegrad Group of Eastern
European countries - Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia - intend to allow no non-EU immigrants
in 2018. Austria and Italy are deporting non-EU immigrants (Italy refused to allow NGO rescue boats on its
ports) and Germany's interior minister has threatened to close country's borders in 2018, after allowing a
million Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugees.
Visa requirments and law process has become more difficult for asylum seekers, and police and immigration
officers have been given more power to halt migrant flow.
President Trump has increased funding to US immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and has also
build a 'wall' against the US-Mexican border. There is evidence that the UK in 2016 set out to create a hostile
environment for immigrants, threatening unskilled and skilled migrant labour with deportation. There is also
evidence of civil rights abuse, e.g ICE separates children from their parents on the Mexican border.
Gray 2016 - EU faces an unresolvable trilemma of open borders, liberal democracy and high-developed
welfare states. He claims that these 3 are not simultaneously sustainable, and that open borders in pre-1914
Europe was easy because of a lack of democracy and welfare systems. Where democratic vote is present,
voters oppose immigrants in fear of the possible effects on wage levels and cost of welfare systems. They
demand limits on migration and if their demands are not accepted by main-stream politicians, they resort to
populist, authoritatrian leaders as a form of protest. Consequently, Gray argues that European democracy is
on the approaching extinction. Tony Judt 2010 - argued that democracy works best in smaller, homogeneous
countries where individuals trust each other to work towards mutual benefit. Where immigration and
minorities change demographics, suspicion arises and enthusiasm for welfare states is lost. Voters flock to
right-wing parties who promote nationalist ideas. Hungary, Poland, Turkey and USA all provide examples of
populist politicians securing their power, with promises of restoring national pride. They promise to do this
by changing the constitution, limiting independence of judiciary, and controlling or threatening the media.
Gray argues that illiberal democracies are likely to result from these trends. The toxic politics of global
migration is a result of terror attacks and threat to national security being blamed on poor immigration
controls. Paris, Nice and Brussels 2015 and 2016 attacks have been blamed on the inadequacy of national
borders and security routines in protecting the host country's populations.
The social consequences of global migration
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