Comp. by: VPugazhenthi Stage : Revises1 ChapterID: 9781405132879_4_M Date:1/4/
09 Time:15:19:41 Filepath:H:/00_Blackwell/00_3B2/Gregory-9781405132879/appln/3B2/
revises/9781405132879_4_M.3d
time, providing multiple possibilities should
life become difficult in any particular place
(Massey, Arango, Hugo, Kouaouci, Pellegrino
and Taylor, 1993). Economic theories of
migration, old and new, are often used to gen-
erate predictions of thescaleand direction of
migration. For this reason, they are considered
to be highly relevant by governments that are
interested in regulating migration. Critics
charge that these models make invalid
assumptions (e.g. that individuals are fully
informed about opportunity structures in
other countries), and produce highly simpli-
fied results.
The second major strand of migration the-
ory is based in the logic ofworld systems
theory. According to this view, migration is
generated by the expansion of thecapitalist
system throughout the world, which destabil-
izes traditional ways of life – both econo-
mically and environmentally – in an ever-
expanding periphery (Black, 1998). People
move because their livelihoods are comprom-
ised, especially when they also become captiv-
ated by the lure of high wages and consumer
capitalism in affluent countries. However,
affluent countries create barriers to migration
in an effort to preserve their privilege. They
therefore allow the selective admission of
highly skilled individuals (such as trained
medical professionals or high tech engineers)
and relatively small numbers of individuals
who are deemed to be unskilled, who are
expected to accept jobs that are shunned by
domestic citizens (Castles and Miller, 2003).
Typically, members of the first group are
granted permanent residence, while those
belonging to the latter are expected to return
home when their labour is no longer required
(e.g. the guestworker programs in Europe
from the 1950s to the 1970s). In this sense,
migration is a key ingredient in the develop-
ment of dual, or segmented,labour markets,
with migrants, who are typically racialized cul-
tural minorities, employed in ‘3D’ jobs (dirty,
dangerous and difficult) and members of
mainstream society in better-remunerated
jobs that are protected by professional associ-
ations or unions. Migration regulations are
therefore implicated in a continuing process
ofdevelopmentversusunderdevelopment,
both across societies and within them
(Massey, Arango, Hugo, Kouaouci, Pellegrino
and Taylor, 1993).
The third major body of theory emphasizes
social aspects and is especially concerned with
the relationship betweensocial networks
and migration. Individuals make migrationdecisions in the context of imperfect infor-
mation that is shared across social networks,
which often include people who have migrated
(Tilly, 1990b; Weiner, 1995). Migrants tend
to follow those who have gone before them, in
a process that is calledchain migration. This
is a rational process, since new migrants bene-
fit from the experiences of their predecessors.
Newcomers are also assisted when they arrive
in the destination country. As this process
gains momentum, immigrant communities
emerge and gradually build in-group sociocul-
tural institutions. Frequently, these communi-
ties are geographically concentrated and may
be seen by mainstream society asghettos,
places that are both isolated from mainstream
society and also disadvantaged – though there
are important exceptions to this tendency
(cf.underclass). The network approach to
migration has led to three particularly power-
ful insights. First, chain migration leads to a
process of cumulative causation; that is, each
move helps build pathways that facilitate add-
itional migration. Migration begets migration
(Massey, Arango, Hugo, Kouaouci, Pellegrino
and Taylor, 1993). Gradually, people in the
source society become convinced that migra-
tion is ‘normal’ and even expected as a rite
of passage. Second, social networks become
stretched between source and destination soci-
eties, with people who are closely connected
on both sides. Echoing the point first made by
Ravenstein, people begin to move back and
forth across these networks in a process of cir-
cular migration.frequently, these moves are
linked to significantlife-cycleturning points,
such as entering tertiary education, looking
for work, raising a family and retirement.
Moreover, information flows quickly across
these stretched social networks, as people
communicate on a regular basis and economic
links also intensify. People in thesetrans-
nationalnetworks develop new, combinator-
ial identities that include elements of both
source and destination societies, and are con-
scious of political and social developments in
both societies (Vertovec, 1993; Levitt and
Glick Schiller, 2004). Geographers have con-
tributed significantly to understanding these
forms of transnational behaviour and identity.
Finally, scholars who study migration net-
works highlight the significant differences
between men and women in all aspects of
migration, including: the reasons for migra-
tion; migration pathways; and the conse-
quences of migration for the individuals
involved (Pessar, 1999; Silvey, 2006; Yeoh,
2006).Gregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_M Final Proof page 463 1.4.2009 3:19pmMIGRATION