Why do people

MIGRATE?
International migration is such a diverse and complex third country migrants in the EU, and, second, that the
phenomenon that no single theory has been able to distinction between forced and voluntary migration has
provide a satisfactory all-encompassing explanation. The become increasingly blurred.
causes of international migration are better understood by
incorporating a variety of perspectives and factors.
Outlined below are eight of the main theories developed Theories can be Macro Equilibrium
by experts to explain the main drivers behind the decision characterized based on
Theories of migration to migrate. The two charts at the bottom show, first, the
different reasons for the authorization permits granted to
the level at which their
components operate
Meso
Micro
Structural

Neoclassical New Economics Migration Systems and Networks

This theory assumes that labor markets and economies move towards A variation of the Neoclassical, this theory incorporates the societal This theory focuses on the nexus between people at origin and destination.
equilibrium in the long run through trade and migration. It considers dimension in the decision to migrate. The migration decision is often taken Migratory movements are often connected to prior long-standing links between
migrants as purely rational actors. Migrants move from societies where collectively, especially within households. Migration of selected family sending and receiving countries, like commercial or cultural relationships. These
labor is abundant and wages are low, to societies where labor is scarce and members may be used to mitigate risks and diversify income resources for give birth to migration systems, i.e. two or more countries exchanging migrants,
wages are high. Decisions to migrate are taken at the individual level and the entire family. If things go well for the ones who migrate, they will and migration networks, such as circular and diaspora-based migrations. People
consider that higher earnings in the long run compensate for the cost and provide support for their families in the country of origin, and vice versa. move where they can rely on someone they know. The processes are cumulative
risk of relocating. and do not necessarily tend to an equilibrium: the more the diaspora expands
the more it will attract new migrants.

SOCIETY 1 SOCIETY 2
Big labor force Small labor force
Low wages High wages

ORIGIN DESTINATION

Institutional Dual or Segmented Labour Market

According to this theory, organizations that developed alongside Stock of migrants in 2015 The need for cheap workers in modern societies is the main factor explaining
international migration started to play a role in nurturing and encouraging based on citizenship migration, according to this theory. The demand for labor in developed
further migration. The imbalance between the scarcity of visas or other economies pulls migrants independently from the labor or wage conditions at
Mobility from within EU

15.3 million
legal channels to enter destination countries and the amount of people the origin societies. At the receiving economy, the labor market is segmented:
who wish to migrate helped to create a migration economy and a specific the native-born have access to careers, good pays and safe working conditions;
market whose actors range from immigration attorneys, travel and migrants are channeled to labor-intensive secondary or tertiary sectors that
recruitment agencies, to smugglers. provide precarious jobs, low pays and hazardous working conditions.
Migrants from Third Countries

19.8 million
representing 3.9% of the
EU-28 population

World System Mobility Transition Policy

This theory emphasizes migration from peripheral developing countries to The focus here is on the transition of countries through a series of In addition to the ‘classic’ theories outlined above, experts have
core capitalist ones. Migrants flow from the periphery to the core while demographic and societal stages. In the early stages featuring strong progressively stressed the role played by immigration policies. Especially
capital, machinery, and goods flow from the core to the periphery. This demographic growth there is mostly rural-to-urban mobility followed by after World War II, international migration has been taking place within an
often creates a loop: capital and machinery, for instance, may increase high net migration towards developed countries. As countries become increasingly complex set of national and international policies aimed at
agricultural productivity, forcing people to move internally to cities and advanced economies, rural-to-urban mobility shrinks, demographic growth regulating and controlling immigration, admissions and flows.
cause high youth unemployment in urban areas. These youths may end up slows down, while urban-to-urban mobility and circular migration increase
migrating to more advanced economies. significantly. Advanced economies often become net importers of
low-skilled labor from less developed countries.

DEVELOPING DEVELOPED
COUNTRY COUNTRY
STAGE 1 STAGE 2

Forms of migration: Third countries to the EU (2015) Voluntary and forced migration flows are
For the nearly 2.5 million migrants from third countries into the EU, here are the reasons used to obtain
their authorization permits becoming blurred. The case of Sub-saharan Africa
Residence permits and first asylum applications from Sub Saharan Africa to the EU. Thousands per year
Occupation 791,232
300
Family 772,962
255 Residence permits
250
Education 508,132
204
200
Other 394,071
190
150
SOURCES: EUROSTAT First time asylum applications by citizenship and residence permits (bottom graphs
and migrant stocks by citizenship (center graph) last update November 2016
100 First asylum applications
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. 67
“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 ” 50
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 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015