What Affects Migration Patterns in Developing Countries

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Introduction

There are various reasons for which some processes occur. Internal and external migration in developing countries for instance happen for certain reasons for example better living conditions in terms of attractive salaries and wages, favourable climatic conditions and security. The migration process is also affected by many factors one of it being the economic prospects for the global economy.

Internal migration entails movement of a country’s citizens within the country for instance rural- urban migration while external migration involves movement of a country’s citizens to another country in most cases the reason being the search for greener pastures. The economic prospects of global economy affect different countries, developing and developed, differently depending on the economic status of a particular country.

The fiscal situation of various high income countries presents either positive or negative impacts to the developing countries and the world economy at large for instance the market instability present in most of the European countries is a challenge to the world economy. The emerging financial developments in Europe affects the financial conditions of developing countries for instance in terms of capital flow although this is only to a very small extent (Mussa 2008: 7).

Factors That Lead To Migration

Globalization and urbanization are some of the factors that promote both internal and external migration especially in developing countries. People find themselves on the move to cities and towns or even to other countries for various reasons for instance in search for employment opportunities, better living standards and even better educational opportunities running away from places that cannot in one way or another support their specific needs satisfactorily ( World Bank 2005: 25).

Although urbanization has major positive impacts for example social and economic growth and development, excessive migration to the urban centres usually strains the countries economy due to the unequal distribution of the population and resources and makes it difficult for local, national and international governments to provide sufficient facilities and services like, water, proper sewerage and electricity to the population as the people in the particular areas exceed the services.

This leads to formation of slums as a result of rural crisis. External migration is also a common aspect in developing countries even with the presence of restriction of movements within borders. There are a lot of people moving from their countries of origin to the developing countries and also from the developing countries to other developed countries.

The immigrants include refugees who come to the developing countries in search of peace and settlement. The external migration may be either permanent or temporary also known as labour migration. Proximity enhances migration as the financial, political and cultural costs of migration are minimized. The presence of networks among individuals for instance families also makes migration easy (Ratha and Shaw 2007: 1).

Reasons for Migration

People move or migrate for a variety of reasons mainly after the consideration of the benefits and drawbacks accrued to either staying in their country of origin or moving to another or even from one particular section of the country to the other. Factors like cultural differences, transportation and communication efficiency and cost are also influential in making the migration decision.

There are both the push and pull factors in migration where the push factors entail reasons for moving from a place for example because of some difficulties while pull factors entail reasons for moving into a place due to desirable aspects like favourable climate and security (Pomfret 1997: 2).

The search for a better life is mainly the major reason for migration whether internal or external the difference in living conditions being as a result of income disparities among different regions and countries. The migration and labour policies involved in the sending and receiving countries affect the smoothness of the process of migration.

Political unrest is another contributing factor towards migration as people feel insecure and move either within or across borders in search of peace and security. Degradation of the environment in the mother country or a particular section of the country may also promote the process of migration for instance where there is inadequate pastures and farms.

There is also the movement of skilled and educated people mostly the youths from the developing countries to the more developed and industrialized countries to fill employment gaps. This leads to brain drain in the developing countries and some of the migrants to the developed countries are posted to low status and poor paying jobs and are exploited contrary to their expectations (World Bank 2003: 38).

Impacts of Migration

Irrespective of the reasons for migration, the process of migration usually disrupts the population patterns and characteristics, the physical atmosphere, cultural and social patterns, the economic status, among other things.

This is because as people move, they carry along their traits, interests and needs and at the same time absorb what they get in their new areas or countries leading to diffusion especially in terms of social and cultural concepts (National Economic Expeditions 2005: 3).

Effects of the Economic Prospects for the Global Economy on Internal and External Migration in Developing Countries

From the discussion above, it is evident that economic prospects for the global economy can affect internal and external migration in developing countries. This is because people tend to move from their place of origin mainly to search for better living conditions. There have been a lot of changes in the global markets due to technological and other developments and factors like changes in population patterns, urbanization and globalization, and institutional diversity. All these are aspects that in one way or another affect the migration patterns in various countries.

Living conditions in a particular country or area is to a greater percentage dependant on the economic status or conditions of the country. People are more likely to move to places where there are better opportunities for instance in terms of employment, health facilities, electricity and even education facilities.

People usually move in search of higher incomes for example from densely populated and exploited countries to sparsely populated countries where there is availability of adequate natural resources and hence good economic status (International Organization for Migration 2008: 112).

The economic prospects for global economy is likely to reduce the internal and external migration of people in the developing countries as their economies are expected to grow through the support of the developed countries as they invest in the less developed countries making the living conditions better.

For instance there has been rapid technological development in developing countries which in a great way has improved the income status of the countries and its population hence reducing the level of poverty among the citizens. Economic growth in any country is likely to reduce movement of people from the country as it attracts movement of people from other places to the country.

According to the 2010 global economic prospects, the crisis and regulatory actions advocated for in regard to financial excesses of earlier years have a number of impacts on the economies of various countries for instance, the increasing in the borrowing costs the decreasing levels of credit and international capital flows.

This may in a way reduce the growth rate of developing countries although to a small percentage (World Bank 2010: 20). The economic prospects for the global economy may in some ways increase the internal and external migration in developing countries and also reduce it in some other ways depending on the effects it brings.

For example some people decide to migrate due to lack of proper information of where they are going or having greater expectations and when the correct information is provided, the uncertainty is reduced and people are able to make informed decisions on migration. Restrictions on migration imposed by the high income countries may reduce the possibility of people moving from their countries of origin or the developing countries to the developed countries.

World Bank and World Bank Group (2007: 15), asserts that in most cases, external migration leads to enormous improvements in people’s live as it raises the living standards making life more comfortable.

The immigrants usually enjoy higher salaries and wages as compared to what they would get in their countries of origin while the receiving countries also benefit from the increased supply of labour. The developing countries also benefits from the support they receive from their people in the high income countries.

The migration patterns in the developing countries are bound to be affected by the global economic prospects in different ways depending on the way the economic conditions in a given country favours its citizens or attracts people from other countries.

For example, if the economic growth is higher in the developed countries, the standards of living are better and even the opportunities are greater therefore it could attract external migration of people from the developing countries.

The economic growth will also come along with other processes like industrialization which will bring about the need for additional labour force which would render the movement of different people to the places of need necessary.

Development of technology and other aspects of the economy in the developing countries are also likely to attract foreigners from developed and other developing countries with the aim of exploiting the natural recourses which could have been left underutilized due to lack of information and technology on their usefulness.

Conclusion

The process of migration has both positive and negative effects and it is therefore advisable to consider all the impacts associated with both internal and external migration and draw a balance among them. The governments in different countries especially the developing countries should invest in coming up with migration policies and strategies that take into consideration the economic constraints of the receiving countries plus the impact of migration on host communities and its impacts on the countries of origin.

Reference List

International Organization for Migration, 2008. World Migration 2008: Managing Labour Mobility in the Evolving Global Economy. IOM world migration report series (Vol. 4). London: Hammersmith Press.

Mussa, M. 2008. Global Economic Prospects for 2010 and 2011: Global Recovery Continues. Peterson Institute for International Economics. Web.

National Economic Expeditions, 2005. What is Human Migration? Human Migration Guide (6-8).National geographic society.

Pomfret, R. 1997. Population and Migration: Development economic. pp. 205 -215, New York: Prentice Hall.

Ratha, D and Shaw, W. 2007. Causes of South-South Migration and Its Socioeconomic Effects. Migration information source Web.

World Bank, 2003. Global Economic Prospects 2004: Realizing the Development Promise of the Doha Agenda. New Delhi, World Bank Publications.

World Bank, 2005.Global economic prospects 2006: Economic Implications of Remittances and Migration. New Delhi, World Bank Publications.

World Bank and World Bank Group, 2007.Global Economic Prospects: Managing the Next Wave of Globalization. New Delhi, World Bank Publications.

World Bank, 2010. Global Economic Prospects: Crisis, Finance, and Growth. Site Resources Web.

Click Here To Order Now!