Mobility from within EUMobility from within EU
Stock of migrants in 2015
based on citizenship
Migrants from Third Countries
Mobility from within EUMobility from within EU
Migrants from Third Countries
15.3 million
Migrants from Third Countries
19.8 million19.8 millionrepresenting 3.9% of the
EU-28 population
MIGRATE?
Why do people
Theories of migration
International migration is such a diverse and complex
phenomenon that no single theory has been able to
provide a satisfactory all-encompassing explanation. The
causes of international migration are better understood by
incorporating a variety of perspectives and factors.
Outlined below are eight of the main theories developed
by experts to explain the main drivers behind the decision
to migrate. The two charts at the bottom show, first, the
different reasons for the authorization permits granted to
third country migrants in the EU, and, second, that the
distinction between forced and voluntary migration has
become increasingly blurred.
Residence permits and first asylum applications from Sub Saharan Africa to the EU. Thousands per year
50
100
150
200
250
300
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
204
190
255
67
First asylum applications
Residence permits
Neoclassical
This theory assumes that labor markets and economies move towards
equilibrium in the long run through trade and migration. It considers
migrants as purely rational actors. Migrants move from societies where
labor is abundant and wages are low, to societies where labor is scarce and
wages are high. Decisions to migrate are taken at the individual level and
consider that higher earnings in the long run compensate for the cost and
risk of relocating.
New Economics
A variation of the Neoclassical, this theory incorporates the societal
dimension in the decision to migrate. The migration decision is often taken
collectively, especially within households. Migration of selected family
members may be used to mitigate risks and diversify income resources for
the entire family. If things go well for the ones who migrate, they will
provide support for their families in the country of origin, and vice versa.
MigrationSystemsandNetworks
This theory focuses on the nexus between people at origin and destination.
Migratory movements are often connected to prior long-standing links between
sending and receiving countries, like commercial or cultural relationships.These
givebirthtomigrationsystems,i.e.twoormorecountriesexchangingmigrants,
and migration networks, such as circular and diaspora-based migrations. People
move where they can rely on someone they know. The processes are cumulative
and do not necessarily tend to an equilibrium: the more the diaspora expands
the more it will attract new migrants.
Institutional
According to this theory, organizations that developed alongside
international migration started to play a role in nurturing and encouraging
further migration. The imbalance between the scarcity of visas or other
legal channels to enter destination countries and the amount of people
who wish to migrate helped to create a migration economy and a specific
market whose actors range from immigration attorneys, travel and
recruitment agencies, to smugglers.
DualorSegmentedLabourMarket
The need for cheap workers in modern societies is the main factor explaining
migration, according to this theory. The demand for labor in developed
economies pulls migrants independently from the labor or wage conditions at
the origin societies. At the receiving economy, the labor market is segmented:
the native-born have access to careers, good pays and safe working conditions;
migrants are channeled to labor-intensive secondary or tertiary sectors that
provide precarious jobs, low pays and hazardous working conditions.
World System
This theory emphasizes migration from peripheral developing countries to
core capitalist ones. Migrants flow from the periphery to the core while
capital, machinery, and goods flow from the core to the periphery. This
often creates a loop: capital and machinery, for instance, may increase
agricultural productivity, forcing people to move internally to cities and
cause high youth unemployment in urban areas. These youths may end up
migrating to more advanced economies.
Mobility Transition
The focus here is on the transition of countries through a series of
demographic and societal stages. In the early stages featuring strong
demographic growth there is mostly rural-to-urban mobility followed by
high net migration towards developed countries. As countries become
advanced economies, rural-to-urban mobility shrinks, demographic growth
slows down, while urban-to-urban mobility and circular migration increase
significantly. Advanced economies often become net importers of
low-skilled labor from less developed countries.
Policy
In addition to the ‘classic’ theories outlined above, experts have
progressively stressed the role played by immigration policies. Especially
after World War II, international migration has been taking place within an
increasingly complex set of national and international policies aimed at
regulating and controlling immigration, admissions and flows.
Macro
Meso
Micro
Equilibrium
Structural
SOCIETY 1
Big labor force
Low wages
SOCIETY 2
DESTINATIONORIGIN
Small labor force
High wages
Voluntary and forced migration flows are
becoming blurred. The case of Sub-saharan Africa
ORIGIN DESTINATION
and do not necessarily tend to an equilibrium: the more the diaspora expands
DESTINATIONDESTINATION
Occupation
Family
Education
Other
791,232
772,962
508,132
394,071
Forms of migration: Third countries to the EU (2015)
For the nearly 2.5 million migrants from third countries into the EU, here are the reasons used to obtain
their authorization permits
EUROSTAT First time asylum applications by citizenship and residence permits (bottom graphs
and migrant stocks by citizenship (center graph) last update November 2016
EUROSTAT First time asylum applications by citizenship and residence permits, last update November 2016.
Massey, Douglas S., Joaquin Arango, Graeme Hugo, Ali Kouaouci, Adela Pellegrino, and J. Edward Taylor. 1993.
“Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal.” Population and Development Review 19 (3): 431–66. doi:10.2307/2938462.
Haas, Hein de. 2010. “Migration Transitions: a theoretical and empirical inquiry into the developmental drivers of international migration ”
http://demografi.bps.go.id/phpFileTree/bahan/kumpulan_tugas_mobilitas_pak_chotib/Kelompok_10/Referensi_paper/
de_Haas_2010b_Migration_Transitions_A_Theoretical_and_Empirical_Inquiry_into_The_Developmental_Drivers_of_International_Mig.pdf
SOURCES:
DEVELOPING
COUNTRY
DEVELOPED
COUNTRY
STAGE 1 STAGE 2
migrating to more advanced economies.
Forms of migration: Third countries to the EU (2015)
DEVELOPING
COUNTRY
DEVELOPED
COUNTRY
Theories can be
characterized based on
the level at which their
components operate