Rising Economic Migration in an Interconnected World: Impacts on People and the Environment

🔗 Due to the interconnectedness of the world that we live in, there has been an ↑ in the scale and pace of migration. There are several different forms of migration:

Internal Migrant

• Someone who moves from place to place within the borders of the country. This mostly occurs from the rural to urban direction, however, in the developed and well connected world counterurbanisation is also occurring (urban to rural)

Economic Migrant

• A migrant whose primary motivation is to seek employment or even improved pay, working conditions etc

Refugee

• People who are forced to flee their homes due to things such as conflict

Rural-Urban Migration

A megacity is home to 10 million or more people

•                                                                  Rural-urban migration*
  

Causes of Rural-Urban Migration

Urban pull factors	● Employment ● FDI in urban parts of poorer countries creates more working opportunities ● Offer more hope and advancement into professional roles ● Schooling is often at a better standard
Rural push factors	● Poverty ● High population ● Strain on resources and services ● Agricultural modernisation (machinery) ↓ need for rural labour
Technology in the shrinking world	● Rural population gaining a greater insight into life in urban areas ● Transport improvements allow for the actual process of migration to be easier

Social and Environmental Challenges of Urban Growth

Social Challenges	Environmental Challenges
● Housing • Growth of shanty towns due to lack of space ● Lack fresh water and power ● Rising levels of poverty • High levels of unemployment and under-employment due to large population increase ● Lack of taxation due to high levels of informal work ● Poor health • ∴ high incidence of transmittable disease	● Urban sprawl • More land clearances to make room, inc deforestation ● Air pollution ↑ • More cars on the roads which are often old ∴ higher pollution ● Water pollution • Raw sewage (strain on services) and industrial waste = severe health issues alongside environmental impacts ● Shortage of key resources such as water and power

International Migration

Global Hub - Highly globally connected cities

•                                                               International Migration*
  

Attracts certain types of migrant

• Highly paid professionals

• Very wealthy people seeking to establish bases away from their homeland

• Low-skilled workers to provide services for the wealthy

• Low-skilled people to build homes and workplaces for the wealthy Attraction of Global Hubs for Wealthy

• Investment opportunities

• Improved education

• Better taxation rates

• Avoid issues/penalties in their previous country

Benefits and Costs for Host and Source Countries

	Host region	Source region
Benefits	● Fills particular skills shortages ● Economic migrants are willing to do labour intensive work that locals may be reluctant to complete ● Larger workforce ● Working migrants spend their wages on rent ∴ benefitting landlords and pay tax benefiting the economy ● Some migrants are ambitious entrepreneurs who establish new businesses and employ others ● Introduction of new cultures	● Migrant remittances can contribute to national earnings significantly ● Relieve population pressure & put less strain on resources ● Less public spending on housing and health ● Migrants or their children may return, bringing new skills ● Some government spending costs such as education & health are transferred to the host region
Costs	● Social tensions arise if citizens of the host country incorrectly believe migration has led to lack of jobs or affordable housing ● Political parties change their policies to address public concerns ∴ ↑ votes (eg. pledge to ↓ migration) ● New markets can develop for ethnic food bringing visible change to environment which can trigger tensions ● Migrants may need supporting services such as health	● The economic loss of a generation of human resources (skilled workers) ● Loss of workforce ● Migrants may bring back western cultures ∴ diluting the source country's culture ● ↓ economic growth as consumption falls ● Increase in the proportion of aged dependents and the long-term economic challenge it creates ● Closure of some university courses due to lack of students ● The closure of urban services and entertainment with a young adult market, bringing the decline and dereliction of the urban built environment