Summaries literature Migration and Development
Module: Migration and Development
Academic year: 2022-2023
1
,Inhoud
Inhoud................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Week 1 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Zelinsky - The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition .................................................................................................................................... 3
Week 2 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration ........................................................................................................................................... 4
A Letter from Lesvos ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
How do Europeans differ in their attitudes to immigration? ...................................................................................................................... 12
Does population diversity matter for economic development in the very long term? ............................................................................... 16
The economic value of cultural diversity .................................................................................................................................................... 20
Week 3 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
The dueling models .................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Rethinking human capital, creativity and urban growth ............................................................................................................................. 27
What makes a happy city? .......................................................................................................................................................................... 30
The Geography of Happiness ...................................................................................................................................................................... 33
The Economic Geography of Happiness ..................................................................................................................................................... 37
Week 4 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 39
Migration and identities in the globalized world ........................................................................................................................................ 39
An atlas with a positive message for a European people united in diversity .............................................................................................. 41
Rethinking the ‘Erasmus Effect’ on European Identity ............................................................................................................................... 43
The Human Atlas of Europe: a continent united in diversity ...................................................................................................................... 48
Week 5 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50
Explaining migration: A critical view. International Social Science Journal ................................................................................................. 50
Internal migration and human capital theory: To what extent is it selective? ............................................................................................ 54
Testing the return migration element of the ‘escalator region’ model ...................................................................................................... 56
Migration in a family way ........................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Divorce as an influence in return migration to rural areas ......................................................................................................................... 65
Pettersson & Malmberg - Adult children and elderly parents as mobility attractions in Sweden .............................................................. 71
Week 6 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 76
Adolescent Intergenerational Relationship Dynamics and Leaving and Returning to the Parental Home ................................................. 76
The roles of family and friends in the immobility decisions of university graduates staying in a peripheral .............................................. 82
Week 7 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 88
Dimensions and dynamics of irregular migration ....................................................................................................................................... 88
Deciding to cross: norms and economics of unauthorized migration ......................................................................................................... 93
International Migration, Remittances and Development ........................................................................................................................... 96
Migration and Development: A Theoretical Perspective .......................................................................................................................... 101
Migrant Remittances. Journal of Economic Perspectives ......................................................................................................................... 103
Week 8 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 108
Reverse Remittances in the Migration-Development Nexus: Two-Way Flows between Ghana and the Netherlands ............................. 108
Migrant Remittance Flow: Challenges and Motivations in Isiekenesi Southern Nigeria ........................................................................... 111
Introduction: Global Migration Governance............................................................................................................................................. 113
Europe's Failed ‘Fight’ Against Irregular Migration: Ethnographic Notes on a Counterproductive Industry ............................................ 116
African Migration: Trends, Patterns, Drivers ............................................................................................................................................ 117
Turbulent Trajectories: African Migrants on Their Way to the European Union ...................................................................................... 119
2
,Week 1
Zelinsky - The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition
The Mobility Transition: Myth or Reality? Zelinsky, W. (1971). The Hypothesis of the Mobility
Transition. Geographical Review, 61(2), 219-249.
Zelinsky, W. – article (theory legacy)
3 crucial statements (out of 8): (first one most important, claims have back and forth pattern)
1. “A transition from a relatively sessile condition of severely limited physical and social mobility
toward much higher rates of such movement always occurs as a community experiences the process
of modernization” → Critics; there was no migration further back in time we go, thus this
statement is demonstrated to be wrong.
2. “For any specific community the course of the mobility transition closely parallels that of the
demographic transition and that of other transitional sequences not yet adequately described.”
8. “Such evidence as we have indicates an irreversible progression of stages.”
→ Associated with the paradigm of development. Hard to defend when you start digging.
Statement 1: (16th – 19th c.)
“A transition from a relatively sessile condition of severely limited physical and social mobility toward
much higher rates of such movement always occurs as a community experiences the process of
modernization”
→ Lucassen brothers disprove above theory from Zelinsky.
› Only 50% increase of migration rates after 1800, much less than predicted by Zelinsky.
› No “one story fits all countries”, so beware of developmental determinism and a-historical theories.
› Migrations to cities before the Industrial Revolution were underestimated by Zelinsky (and even by
the Lucassen brothers because they exclude temporary migration).
› Seasonal, labour (incl. seamen and soldiers), ‘urban – rural’ and ‘rural – rural’ migrations, all ignored
by Zelinsky, were very important already.
3
, Week 2
No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration
Stalker, P. (2008). No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration. Chapter 4. New Internationalist (e-
book, available in library).
The economic benefits of immigration
The popular myth about immigrants is that they will ‘take’ something from the country they enter –
that they will grab jobs or sponge off welfare systems. The reality is very different. Most industrial
economies would be worse off without the help of immigrant workers, and without this injection of
new blood the receiving countries will see their populations age and decline even more rapidly.
A statistical analysis in 2001 for 15 European countries over the period 1991-95 found that for every
1 per cent increase in a country’s population through. immigration there was an increase in Gross
Domestic Product of 1.25 to 1.5 per cent1. Of course this does not mean that immigration caused the
increase in wealth – association is not the same as causation. And it could be argued that immigrants
headed for such countries precisely because they were rich, and that without immigrants these
countries would have been richer still. A more reasonable conclusion is that all these countries have
not been held back by immigration but have used immigrants to become richer.
Putting immigrants to work
Some people who protest about immigration claim that immigrants are taking the jobs of native
workers. At its most simplistic, this is based on the ‘lump of labor’ fallacy – a belief that the number
of jobs in any country is fixed, so if more people come there will be fewer jobs to go round. This is
clearly false. Each person creates work for others. So the larger the population, the more the work
that needs doing. People do not just take jobs, they also make jobs. The number of jobs and the rates
of unemployment certainly go up and down, but these fluctuations have more to do with economic
cycles and the structure of the economy. They have little relationship with population size or density.
Indeed the richest countries are generally the ones that pack in the most people.
But it is important to emphasize that adding more people, either by natural population increase or by
immigration, does not necessarily reduce average national income, and may well increase it. This is
not to say that the arrival of new workers has no impact on employment, but there is no reason why
it should necessarily be negative, and many others to suggest that it is positive: that immigration
makes the country as a whole richer.
Then you need to look more closely at the jobs they take. Would native workers have done them
otherwise? Not necessarily. The clearest indication of this is the flow of illegal workers. They have to
find work – and fast – if they are not to spend all the cash in their pockets or exhaust the patience of
the friends or relatives they live with. This means that they have to fill current vacancies. Not
surprisingly, most immigrants choose destinations where they are confident they can find work
immediately.
Professionals on the move
Migrants go to places that do not have enough local people with the skills or the willingness to do the
jobs for the wages on offer. These vacancies tend to be concentrated at the top and the bottom of
the skills spectrum. The newly industrializing countries in particular usually need more skilled people
than their education systems can provide. Singapore, for example, has been one of the most
aggressive recruiters of foreign professionals – around one fifth of its foreign workforce consists of
doctors, teachers, accountants and myriad other professionals. But the countries of settlement have
also gone out of their way to recruit skilled people. The United States has around 400,000 foreign
professionals – people granted the H-1B visas to fill jobs where there are no suitable local candidates.
This helps to boost average levels of education.
4
Module: Migration and Development
Academic year: 2022-2023
1
,Inhoud
Inhoud................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Week 1 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Zelinsky - The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition .................................................................................................................................... 3
Week 2 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration ........................................................................................................................................... 4
A Letter from Lesvos ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
How do Europeans differ in their attitudes to immigration? ...................................................................................................................... 12
Does population diversity matter for economic development in the very long term? ............................................................................... 16
The economic value of cultural diversity .................................................................................................................................................... 20
Week 3 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
The dueling models .................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Rethinking human capital, creativity and urban growth ............................................................................................................................. 27
What makes a happy city? .......................................................................................................................................................................... 30
The Geography of Happiness ...................................................................................................................................................................... 33
The Economic Geography of Happiness ..................................................................................................................................................... 37
Week 4 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 39
Migration and identities in the globalized world ........................................................................................................................................ 39
An atlas with a positive message for a European people united in diversity .............................................................................................. 41
Rethinking the ‘Erasmus Effect’ on European Identity ............................................................................................................................... 43
The Human Atlas of Europe: a continent united in diversity ...................................................................................................................... 48
Week 5 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50
Explaining migration: A critical view. International Social Science Journal ................................................................................................. 50
Internal migration and human capital theory: To what extent is it selective? ............................................................................................ 54
Testing the return migration element of the ‘escalator region’ model ...................................................................................................... 56
Migration in a family way ........................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Divorce as an influence in return migration to rural areas ......................................................................................................................... 65
Pettersson & Malmberg - Adult children and elderly parents as mobility attractions in Sweden .............................................................. 71
Week 6 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 76
Adolescent Intergenerational Relationship Dynamics and Leaving and Returning to the Parental Home ................................................. 76
The roles of family and friends in the immobility decisions of university graduates staying in a peripheral .............................................. 82
Week 7 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 88
Dimensions and dynamics of irregular migration ....................................................................................................................................... 88
Deciding to cross: norms and economics of unauthorized migration ......................................................................................................... 93
International Migration, Remittances and Development ........................................................................................................................... 96
Migration and Development: A Theoretical Perspective .......................................................................................................................... 101
Migrant Remittances. Journal of Economic Perspectives ......................................................................................................................... 103
Week 8 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 108
Reverse Remittances in the Migration-Development Nexus: Two-Way Flows between Ghana and the Netherlands ............................. 108
Migrant Remittance Flow: Challenges and Motivations in Isiekenesi Southern Nigeria ........................................................................... 111
Introduction: Global Migration Governance............................................................................................................................................. 113
Europe's Failed ‘Fight’ Against Irregular Migration: Ethnographic Notes on a Counterproductive Industry ............................................ 116
African Migration: Trends, Patterns, Drivers ............................................................................................................................................ 117
Turbulent Trajectories: African Migrants on Their Way to the European Union ...................................................................................... 119
2
,Week 1
Zelinsky - The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition
The Mobility Transition: Myth or Reality? Zelinsky, W. (1971). The Hypothesis of the Mobility
Transition. Geographical Review, 61(2), 219-249.
Zelinsky, W. – article (theory legacy)
3 crucial statements (out of 8): (first one most important, claims have back and forth pattern)
1. “A transition from a relatively sessile condition of severely limited physical and social mobility
toward much higher rates of such movement always occurs as a community experiences the process
of modernization” → Critics; there was no migration further back in time we go, thus this
statement is demonstrated to be wrong.
2. “For any specific community the course of the mobility transition closely parallels that of the
demographic transition and that of other transitional sequences not yet adequately described.”
8. “Such evidence as we have indicates an irreversible progression of stages.”
→ Associated with the paradigm of development. Hard to defend when you start digging.
Statement 1: (16th – 19th c.)
“A transition from a relatively sessile condition of severely limited physical and social mobility toward
much higher rates of such movement always occurs as a community experiences the process of
modernization”
→ Lucassen brothers disprove above theory from Zelinsky.
› Only 50% increase of migration rates after 1800, much less than predicted by Zelinsky.
› No “one story fits all countries”, so beware of developmental determinism and a-historical theories.
› Migrations to cities before the Industrial Revolution were underestimated by Zelinsky (and even by
the Lucassen brothers because they exclude temporary migration).
› Seasonal, labour (incl. seamen and soldiers), ‘urban – rural’ and ‘rural – rural’ migrations, all ignored
by Zelinsky, were very important already.
3
, Week 2
No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration
Stalker, P. (2008). No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration. Chapter 4. New Internationalist (e-
book, available in library).
The economic benefits of immigration
The popular myth about immigrants is that they will ‘take’ something from the country they enter –
that they will grab jobs or sponge off welfare systems. The reality is very different. Most industrial
economies would be worse off without the help of immigrant workers, and without this injection of
new blood the receiving countries will see their populations age and decline even more rapidly.
A statistical analysis in 2001 for 15 European countries over the period 1991-95 found that for every
1 per cent increase in a country’s population through. immigration there was an increase in Gross
Domestic Product of 1.25 to 1.5 per cent1. Of course this does not mean that immigration caused the
increase in wealth – association is not the same as causation. And it could be argued that immigrants
headed for such countries precisely because they were rich, and that without immigrants these
countries would have been richer still. A more reasonable conclusion is that all these countries have
not been held back by immigration but have used immigrants to become richer.
Putting immigrants to work
Some people who protest about immigration claim that immigrants are taking the jobs of native
workers. At its most simplistic, this is based on the ‘lump of labor’ fallacy – a belief that the number
of jobs in any country is fixed, so if more people come there will be fewer jobs to go round. This is
clearly false. Each person creates work for others. So the larger the population, the more the work
that needs doing. People do not just take jobs, they also make jobs. The number of jobs and the rates
of unemployment certainly go up and down, but these fluctuations have more to do with economic
cycles and the structure of the economy. They have little relationship with population size or density.
Indeed the richest countries are generally the ones that pack in the most people.
But it is important to emphasize that adding more people, either by natural population increase or by
immigration, does not necessarily reduce average national income, and may well increase it. This is
not to say that the arrival of new workers has no impact on employment, but there is no reason why
it should necessarily be negative, and many others to suggest that it is positive: that immigration
makes the country as a whole richer.
Then you need to look more closely at the jobs they take. Would native workers have done them
otherwise? Not necessarily. The clearest indication of this is the flow of illegal workers. They have to
find work – and fast – if they are not to spend all the cash in their pockets or exhaust the patience of
the friends or relatives they live with. This means that they have to fill current vacancies. Not
surprisingly, most immigrants choose destinations where they are confident they can find work
immediately.
Professionals on the move
Migrants go to places that do not have enough local people with the skills or the willingness to do the
jobs for the wages on offer. These vacancies tend to be concentrated at the top and the bottom of
the skills spectrum. The newly industrializing countries in particular usually need more skilled people
than their education systems can provide. Singapore, for example, has been one of the most
aggressive recruiters of foreign professionals – around one fifth of its foreign workforce consists of
doctors, teachers, accountants and myriad other professionals. But the countries of settlement have
also gone out of their way to recruit skilled people. The United States has around 400,000 foreign
professionals – people granted the H-1B visas to fill jobs where there are no suitable local candidates.
This helps to boost average levels of education.
4
