Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

What Fundamentals Drive World Migration?

  • Chapter
Poverty, International Migration and Asylum

Part of the book series: Studies in Development Economics and Policy ((SDEP))

Abstract

Stories about foreign migrants — legal, illegal and asylum seekers — appear almost daily in the news. Governments in Europe, North America and Australia note these events with alarm and grapple with policy reforms aimed at selecting certain migrants and keeping out others. Economists appear to be well armed to advise the debate since they are responsible for an impressive literature that examines the characteristics of individual immigrants, their absorption and the consequences of their migration on the sending and receiving regions involved. Economists are, however, much less well armed to speak to the determinants of the migration flows that give rise to public alarm.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adams, R. H. (1993). ‘The Economic and Demographic Determinants of International Migration in Rural Egypt’, Journal of Development Studies, 30(1): 146–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agesa, R. U. (2001). ‘Migration and the Urban to Rural Earnings Difference: A Sample Selection Approach’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 49(4): 847–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, T. and K. F. Zimmermann (1999). ‘Assessment of Migration Pressure and its Labour Market Impact following EU Enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe’, IZA Research Report, No. 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. J. (1987). ‘Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants’, American Economic Review, 77(4): 531–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. J. (1989). ‘Economic Theory and International Migration’, International Migration Review, 23(3): 457–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. J. (1994). ‘The Economics of Immigration’, Journal of Economic Literature, 32(4): 1667–1717.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. J. (1999). Heaven’s Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, S. and M. Ravallion (2001). ‘How Did the World’s Poorest Fare in the 1990s?’, Review of Income and Wealth, 47: 283–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick, B. R. (2000). ‘Are Immigrants Favorably Self-Selected? An Economic Analysis’, in C. D. Brettell and J. F. Hollifield (eds), Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick, B. R. and T. J. Hatton (2003). ‘International Migration and the Integration of Labor Markets’, in M. Bordo, A. M. Taylor and J. G. Williamson (eds), Globalization in Historical Perspective, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, X., T. J. Hatton and J. G. Williamson (2002). ‘Where Do US Immigrants Come From? Policy and Sending Country Fundamentals’, NBER Working Paper, 8998, Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cobb-Clark, D. A. (1998). ‘Incorporating United States Policy into a Model of the Immigration Decision’, Journal of Policy Modeling, 20(5): 621–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dollar, D. and A. Kraay (2000). ‘Trade, Growth, and Poverty’, Washington, DC: World Bank (October), unpublished paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faini, R. and A. Venturini (1994). ‘Italian Emigration in the Pre-War Period’, in T. J. Hatton and J. G. Williamson (eds), Migration and the International Labor Market, 1850–1939, London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, R. and K. H. O’Rourke (2003). ‘Commodity Market Integration 1500–2000’, in M. Bordo, A. M. Taylor and J. G. Williamson (eds), Globalization in Historical Perspective, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, S. and S. Sow (1998). ‘From Season to Season: Agriculture, Poverty and Migration in the Senegal River Valley, Mali’, in R. Appleyard (ed.), Emigration Dynamics in Developing Countries, Vol. 1: Sub-Saharan Africa, Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funkhouser, E. (1992). ‘Mass Emigration, Remittances and Economic Adjustment: The Case of El Salvador’, in G. J. Borjas and R. B. Freeman (eds), Immigration and the Workforce: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatton, T. J. and J. G. Williamson (1998). The Age of Mass Migration: Causes and Economic Impact, New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatton, T. J. and J. G. Williamson (2003). ‘Demographic and Economic Pressure on Emigration Out of Africa’, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 105: 465–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatton, T. J. and J. G. Williamson (2004). World Mass Migration: Two Centuries of Policy and Performance, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press (forthcoming).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamemera, D., V. I. Oguledo and B. Davis (2000). ‘A Gravity Model Analysis of International Migration to North America’, Applied Economics, 32(13): 1745–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, W. A. (1978). The Evolution of the International Economic Order, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindert, P. H. and J. G. Williamson (2003). ‘Does Globalization Make the World More Unequal?’, in M. Bordo, A. M. Taylor and J. G. Williamson (eds), Globalization in Historical Perspective, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E. B. (1985). ‘Migration among the Batswana’, Economic Journal, 95: 358–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Makanya, S. T. (1994). ‘The Desire to Return’, in T. Allen and H. Morsink (eds), When Refugees Go Home, London: Africa World Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S. (1988) ‘Economic Development and International Migration in Comparative Perspective’, Population and Development Review, 14(3): 383–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., J. Arrango, G. Hugo, A. Kouaouci, A. Pellegrino and J. E. Taylor (1993). ‘Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal’, Population and Development Review, 19(3): 431–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mincer, J. (1978). ‘Family Migration Decisions’, Journal of Political Economy, 86(5): 749–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obstfeld, M. and A. M. Taylor (2003). ‘Globalization and Capital Markets’, in M. Bordo, A. M. Taylor and J. G. Williamson (eds), Globalization in Historical Perspective, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2001a). Trends in International Migration, Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2001b). International Migration in Asia: Trends and Policies, Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Rourke, K. H. and J. G. Williamson (1999). Globalization and History, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchett, L. (1997). ‘Divergence, Big Time’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(3): 3–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos, F. A. (1992). ‘Out-Migration and Return Migration of Puerto Ricans’, in G. J. Borjas and R. B. Freeman (eds), Immigration and the Workforce: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravallion, M. (2001). ‘Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Looking Beyond Averages’, unpublished paper, Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rogge, J. R. (1994). ‘Repatriation of Refugees’, in T. Allen and H. Morsink (eds), When Refugees Go Home, London: Africa World Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotte, R. and M. Vogler (2000). ‘The Effects of Development on Migration: Theoretical Issues and New Empirical Evidence’, Journal of Population Economics, 13(3): 485–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sala-i-Martin, X. (2002). ‘The Disturbing “Rise” of Global Income Inequality’, NBER Working Paper, 8904, Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Shami, S. (1999). ‘Emigration Dynamics in Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon’, in R. Appleyard (ed.), Emigration Dynamics in Developing Countries: Vol. IV: The Arab Region, Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjaastad, L. (1962). ‘The Costs and Returns of Human Migration’, Journal of Political Economy, 70(5) (Part 2): S80–S93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. P. and B. Edmonston (1997). The New Americans: Economic, Demographic and Fiscal Effects of Immigration, Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stalker, P. (2000). Workers Without Frontiers: The Impact of Globalisation on International Migration, London: Lynne Rienner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. (1991). The Migration of Labour, Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. and J. E. Taylor (1991). ‘Migration Incentives, Migration Types: The Role of Relative Deprivation’, Economic Journal, 101: 1163–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (2001). World Population Prospects: The 2000 Revision, New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Department of Justice (2002). 1999 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, DC: US GPO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, P. Q. (1995). Post-1965 Immigration to the United States: Structural Determinants, Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zlotnick, H. (1998). ‘International Migration, 1965–96: An Overview’, Population and Development Review, 24(3): 429–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Timothy J. Hatton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeffrey G. Williamson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard University, US

    George J. Borjas (Professor) (Professor)

Copyright information

© 2005 United Nations University — World Institute for Development Economics Research

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hatton, T.J., Williamson, J.G. (2005). What Fundamentals Drive World Migration?. In: Borjas, G.J., Crisp, J. (eds) Poverty, International Migration and Asylum. Studies in Development Economics and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230522534_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation