Theories

Social Capital (defined by Robert Putnam)

"connections among individuals—social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them"

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Segmented Labor Market Theory

-Discounts decisions made by individuals and argues that international migration stems from the intrinsic labor demands of modern industrial societies. (ex: the U.S. needs cheap labor, which drives people from mexico, etc. to migrate to the U.S.) -Built in demand for inexpensive and flexible labor stems from: *structural inflation, *occupational hierarchies, *duality of labor and capital, *blending features of primary and secondary labor, *the steady supply of low-wage workers.

Pros of cumulative Causation Theory:

-Economic Growth: the sending country becomes more developed because money is being sent back to family members remaining in the sending country from those who immigrated abroad. -International wage gaps diminish, infertility rates drop, wages begin to increase, and the sending country goes from being an exporter of labor to an importer of labor. -In many of the sending countries, economic development is happening much more quickly than in receiving countries→ Vietnam, South Korea, etc. have now started to import more labor.

Forces in Developing Societies that Promote Emigration

-Penetration of Capitalist Markets -Displacement of People (Unemployment) -->Changing patterns of agriculture and land ownership. - Rise of cash economy -Risk rises with no institutional mechanisms to deal with it -Rural to Urban Migration rises -Wage Differentials increase

Structural Forces in Developed Societies that Attract Immigrants

-Post Industrial Transformations lead to Segmented Labor Markets -->Primary Labor Market: steady work, high pay -->Secondary Labor Market: low pay, little stability and few opportunities for advancement -Global Cities: high wealth inequality, high demand for services - Recruitment by Employers

Integrated Theory of International Migration (Massey 1999)

-Structural forces in developing societies that promote emigration. -Structural forces in developed societies that attract immigrants. -The varied motivations, goals, and aspirations of actors who migrate. -The social and economic structures that arise to connect in and out migration. -Worldwide patterns in the penetration of capitalist markets. ■ As economic growth in sending regions occurs, international wage gaps gradually diminish, and well functioning markets for capital, credit, insurance, and futures arise, progressively lowering the incentives for emigration ■ If these trends continue, the country ultimately becomes integrated into the international economy as a developed, capitalist nation, where upon it undergoes an migration transition: net out-migration progressively

Cumulative Causation theory (massey)

-The social capital of immigrants (coming from the same community, friends, cousins of earlier immigrants) means that these future immigrants can be helped with finding jobs, knowing what to wear, how to behave in the new country, etc. This social capital lowers the costs of immigration to these future immigrants. -Changes in Home Country --> Make it harder for an individual or family to live without migration -Changes in Receiving Country --> Lower the costs (economic and psychic) of migration for each individual -"people gain access to social capital through membership in networks and social instituations and then convert it into other forms of capital (financial, cultural) to improve or maintain their position in society -theory applies more to undocumented migration, rather than documented

Massey argues: people gain Social Capital through:

-membership in networks and social institutions and then covert it into other forms of capital—(financial, cultural) to improve or maintain their position in society -Each act of migration creates social capital among people to whom the new migrant is related, thereby raising the odds of their migration. • Acts of migration at one point in time systematically alter the context within which future migration decisions are made • Changes sending country—increases price of land, and increases relative deprivation of those who did not migrate

Zolbergs paper "why not the whole world" states his belief that:

Countries are part of a global movement regime, when one country acts, it impacts the global flows.

New Economics Migration Theory

Economic uncertainty in the origin country leads to migration from families and households that face risks and limitations to their domestic incomes.

Rawls political theory on migration

Liberal, veil of ignorance: • Equal liberty to all • Inequality permitted as long as fair conditions of equal opportunity and it is to the advantage of the least well off.

Selectivity:

Migration is selective, with the first migrants being the most highly selective • Over time it becomes less selective because the costs of migration decline • Over time network saturation occurs, wages begin to converge between sending and receiving countries.

NeoClassical Theory of Migration

Neoclassical economic theory of immigration ● Looks at wage differentiation between poor and rich countries ○ Movement does not always work that way ■ Circular movement for labor, etc. ● Individual level, rational, cost-benefit calculations of wage differentials based on absolute deprivation ● Predicts movement of individuals from capital poor and labor rich countries to capital rich and labor poor countries. ● Not good at explaining actual migration routes which are not from the poorest countries to the richest ones. ● Explains permanent decisions to immigrate, but not good at explaining circular or temporary Immigration ● Disjuncture between US immigration policy and the reality of Labor Migration ○ Stephen Castles: The beliefs of neoclassical economic theory are most influential in immigration policy formation. ○ Economic theory of migration based on wage differentials, later expanded to access to welfare benefits. ○ Belief that regulations designed to categorize immigrants and to regulate their admission and residence effectively shape their aggregate behavior. ○ In other words, make the costs of migrating higher and the benefits of migrating lower and fewer migrants will come here. ● Also not good at explaining why emigration increases, not decreases, with economic development. ○ Why? ○ Extreme poverty makes it impossible to move. ○ Changes associated with economic development create uncertainty and pressures for households that result in emigration. ○ Early emigration creates opportunities and lowers the cost for later migration.

Political arguments about open borders

Political Theory o Carens: citizenship in Western liberal democracies is the modern equivalent of feudal privilege - an inherited status that greatly enhances one's life chances. Like feudal birthright privileges, restrictive citizenship is hard to justify when one thinks about it closely. o Nozick: libertarian, individual property rights o Rawls: liberal, veil of ignorance Equal liberty to all Inequality permitted as long as fair conditions of equal opportunity and it is to the advantage of the least well off o Utilitarian: maximizing the greatest good for the greatest number o Opposing view Walzer: communitarian. People create community, shared values and culture and can exclude. Carens: what about states within a nation? Why privilege nations? • Zolberg o Cosmopolitan optimists vs. pessimist nationalists o A very important distinction arises also from the choice of unit of reference; this pits "cosmopolitan" liberals such as Charls Beitz, who espouses the perspective of a global community founded on the unity of the human species, against "communal" liberals, who espouses the perspective of a particular national community (and take the existence of such communities as a desirable state of affairs and even as a necessity for the realization of liberal regimes). Although both are led to make compromises, the "cosmopolitans" in effect place the burden of proof on those who would limit immigration, whereas the "communitarians" place it on candidates for entry

World Systems Theory

The penetration of capitalist economic relations into non-capitalist countries (economic globalization) creates a mobile population that is prone to migrate. These individuals become driven by a desire for higher profits.

Opposing view on migration (Walzer + Carens)

Walzer: communitarian. People create community, shared values and culture and can exclude. • Carens: What about states within a nation? Why privilege nations? ○ Miller ○ two good reasons that states may have for restricting immigration. ■ One has to do with preserving culture, the other with controlling population. ■ their presence will also change the public culture in various ways ■ Immigration, in other words, is likely to change a society's public culture rather than destroy it. ■ What this overlooks. however, is that the public culture of their country is something that people have an interest in controlling:

Nozick political theory on migration

libertarian, individual property rights

Utilitarian political theory on migration

maximizing the greatest good for the greatest number.

Zolbergs view on Migration (think control vs. will)

what looks like a failure to control immigration sometimes reflects a fundamental ambivalence about whether the state really wants to control immigration. The Front door and the back door. • Gun Control • TrafficControl

Economic arguments about open borders

• Economic o Gaps in real earnings for identical low skill workers are 1,000 percent between the US, Haiti, Nigeria, and Egypt o Gains in reducing emigration barriers are likely to be enormous, measured in tens of trillions of dollars o Economists have not done a great deal of research on the costs of borders

Motivations, Goals and Aspirations of Actors who Migrate

• Households try to Manage Risk • Accumulate cash for large purchases, retirement, investment • Cope with market failures by moving overseas temporarily to send money home