GLOBAL MIGRATION

The Contemporary World

Jan Lorenzo G. Alegado
 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1.Identify the reasons for the migration of people;
2.Explain why states regulate migration; and
3.Discuss the effects of global migration on the
economic well-being of states

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 What is Migration?
▪ Internal migration – refers to people moving from one
area to another within one country
▪ International migration – refers to people crossing
borders of one country to another.
▪ Demographers estimate that 247 million people are
currently living outside the countries of their birth

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 International Migration
▪ Immigrants – those who move permanently to another country
▪ Overseas workers – workers who stay for a fixed period in
another country for work
▪ Illegal migrants – undocumented overseas workers
▪ Petitioned migrants – migrants whose families are petitioned
to move to the destination country
▪ Refugees – a.k.a. asylum-seekers

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 Benefits for the Sending Country
▪ Even if 90% of the value generated by migrant workers
remain in their host countries, they have sent billions
back to their home countries (e.g., in 2014, remittances
totaled $580 billion.

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World & Google Images
 Costs for the Sending Country
▪ According to Asian Development Bank, in countries like
the Philippines, remittances “do not have a significant
influence on other key items of consumption or
investment such as spending on education and health
care.”
▪ Remittances may help in lifting “households out of
poverty…but not in rebalancing growth, especially in the
long run.”

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World & Google Images
 Costs for the Sending Country
▪ According to the McKinsey Global Institute, countries in
sub-Saharan Africa and Asia have lost one-third of their
college students.
▪ Fifty-two percent of Filipinos who leave for work in the
developed world have tertiary education, which is more
than double the 23 percent of the overall Filipino
population.

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 The Problem of Human Trafficking
▪ The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation lists
human trafficking as the third largest criminal activity
worldwide.
▪ In 2012, ILO identified 21 million men, women, and
children as victims of “forced labor,” an appalling three
out of 1,000 people worldwide.

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 The Problem of Human Trafficking
Fig. 1: Distribution of "Forced Labor" Victims Worldwide, ILO, 2012

10%
22%

68%

Sexually-Abused Agriculture, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Domestic Activities Others

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 The Problem of Human Trafficking
▪ According to ILO (2014), syndicates, smugglers, and
corrupt state officials earned profits as high as $150
billion a year.
▪ Governments, the private sectors, and civil society
groups have worked together to combat human
trafficking, yet the results remain uneven.

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 Integration
▪ How do migrants interact with their new home countries?
▪ Chinese, Indians, and Western Europeans often have
more success integrating into foreign communities while
those from the Middle East, North Africa, and sub-
Saharan Africa face greater challenges in securing jobs.

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World

 Conclusion
▪ Like globalization, global migration is an uneven process
– there are winners and losers.
▪ Migration produces different and often contradictory
responses from countries involved.
▪ Different forms of global interdependence will ensure
that global migration will continue to be one of the
major issues in the contemporary world.

Source: Claudio, L. E. and P. N. Abinales (2018): The Contemporary World