the syllabus says: Explain the causes and effects of one major flow of labour between two countries.
the theory: what's the link?
How is globalisation linked to migration?
The HL Extension requirement to study migration can link very closely to the Core 1 case study of migration. However, it is important to check that the issue of global interactions is addressed:
The HL Extension requirement to study migration can link very closely to the Core 1 case study of migration. However, it is important to check that the issue of global interactions is addressed:
- the impact of international financial agreements such as trade blocs
- the new international division of labour, a theory explaining the shift of manufacturing industries from HICs to MICs and increasingly LICs
- cultural globalisation, such as the increasing number of speakers of 'killer' languages like English, Spanish and French
- the growth of transnational corporations (TNCs)
- the extent to which time-space convergence (the 'shrinking world') affects the interactions between places and therefore the validity of the distance decay theory of migration
How globalised is migration?
Migration is often perceived in wealthier countries as a major problem for the destination, i.e. the wealthier country. The video below, from the Economist in 2009, discusses the reality that in fact shows that far from a globalised movement of people, most migrations occur regionally.
Migration is often perceived in wealthier countries as a major problem for the destination, i.e. the wealthier country. The video below, from the Economist in 2009, discusses the reality that in fact shows that far from a globalised movement of people, most migrations occur regionally.
case study: migration between mexico and the usa
For an excellent summary, look at this long and detailed website about Mexican immigration to the USA.
Around 98% of Mexican migrants live in the USA. In 2013, approximately 11.6 million Mexican immigrants lived in the United States and Mexicans made up 28 percent of the USA's 41.3 million international immigrants. A quick summary of the number of migrants (both legal and illegal) can be found here. However, as the graph (right) shows, the numbers of migrants from Mexico to the USA has been declining and in the years since 2010, net migration has fallen to zero. The causes and effects of labour flow between the US and Mexico are many and complicated. This page will focus on just three causes and three effects from a global interactions perspective. The first four minutes of the video below gives a good summary of the issues. |
Source: http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/23/net-migration-from-mexico-falls-to-zero-and-perhaps-less/
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Cause: Freedom of trade - NAFTA
NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement. It was signed in 1994 between Mexico, the USA and Canada. It is a trade bloc so allows for free trade within the bloc, but this can also be seen as a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) which creates uneven trading conditions for other countries. In this way, it is very closely linked to the political agreements to aid the financial flows that are part of today's global economy.
Though NAFTA didn't allow for freedom of movement (unlike the European Union's agreements in the 1990s), it can be argued that NAFTA has created conditions where migration from Mexico to the USA is more likely. |
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The following ideas are largely taken from the University of Michegan's mini-site 'The Immigration Debate'. NAFTA has helped to encourage migration because:
- NAFTA allowed subsidies from the US government to its farmers (to protect them from the 'unfair' competition from lower cost Mexico). This led to cheaper prices for US agricultural products, and so Mexican farmers went out of business, thus encouraging migration.
- The agreement opened up Mexico to US companies such as Wal-Mart. This put an estimated 28,000 small Mexican firms out of business as they couldn't compete with the lower prices offered by the globalized production chains of major TNCs, thus creating unemployment.
This video, showing a journalist from Texas (on the border between Mexico and the USA) gives one perspective on the Mexican migration.
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This video outlines some of the problems that Mexicans suffer in their place of origin, as they try to gain income from farming after the NAFTA was signed.
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Cause: Poverty in Mexico and wealth in the USA, and closely linked push and pull factors
The USA is a very wealthy country, but in addition, its economic growth rate has been sharply above that of Mexico. The disparity between the countries is closely linked to push and pull factors for other issues. The graphs below show some issues that are linked to the overall economy in education, health and economy.
These fit very closely with Reilly's push-pull model of migration which is studied in Core 1. However, it's important to reflect that this is a world-scale disparity, but between countries that are geographically very close (they share a land border). This means that whereas in most countries a migration would not occur directly, Mexicans are much more likely to migrate to the USA. |
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These problems combine to create a perception among Mexicans, that the crime rate in Mexico is high. Crime is the highest rated concern for Mexicans, with 79% worried about it compared to political corruption (72%). Indeed, the US homicide (murder) rate is higher than Mexico's by some margin. The graph (below left) shows the intentional homicide rate per 100,000 people. This headline statistic could encourage migration. However, the less well publicised figures (see below right) show that in fact, crime in the US is not necessarily as bad.
Cause: Population pressure
Source of image: http://www.paho.org/saludenlasamericas/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=63&lang=en
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Along the US border, the population structure is heavily weighted in Mexico to a youthful population. This puts pressure on employment opportunities, so young people are more likely to migrate. Meanwhile, the ageing population in the USA border areas requires care that Mexican immigrants can provide cheaply.
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Meanwhile, the population is growing significantly. This is partly due to Mexico's strongly Catholic population amongst which contraception is discouraged, but mostly because of its youthful population.
The result is that despite land being unprofitable, there is little opportunity to expand farms to make them larger and more profitable. However, beware of generalisations. Only around 13% of Mexicans are employed in agriculture. |
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This is an important factor in the global interaction of migration, because migration remains regional for the most part. This means that people are likely to move to a nearby place where there are economic and other opportunities, rather than travel far. This means that Mexicans are more likely to migrate to the USA because it is the nearest place which has the opportunities needed.
Meanwhile, time-space convergence makes travelling the distance to the USA easier than ever before. This doesn't include the border controls, which are a focus of the Core 1 study of migration.
Meanwhile, time-space convergence makes travelling the distance to the USA easier than ever before. This doesn't include the border controls, which are a focus of the Core 1 study of migration.
Effect: Remittances to Mexico
Remittances to Mexico totalled $21.6 billion in 2013. These remittances provide income for families and help to create a positive cumulative causation effect. Another interesting effect is a possible decrease in crime. The Inter-American Development Bank's 2014 report 'Remittances and the impact on crime in Mexico' suggests that every 1 percent increase in the number of households receiving remittances reduced the homicide rate by 0.05 percent.
Image source: http://www.imtconferences.com/mexico-infographic-2013/
Effect: Mexican growth?
The value of remittances has been growing significantly for the past few decades.
Source: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigrants-united-states
Mexico can be seen to be partially dependent on the remittances from USA for further financial growth. The World Bank reported in 2013 that remittances would remain steady and not increase. Meanwhile, Mexican GDP growth was only 1% per year for the period 1994-2014. This strongly suggests that despite remittances and the opening of the border for trade, which was a catalyst for Mexican migration, the economy of Mexico has not benefitted from this labour flow.
Effect: Anti-immigration politics in the USA
Source: http://www.focal.ca/publications/focalpoint/444-may-2011-alejandro-alvarez-bejar
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The USA has a very large number of Mexican workers. This has put pressure on the ability of locals to find work. This pressure is especially large in the southern border states.
This has contributed to an anti-immigration debate, which can be seen as Hispanophobia as it is largely focused on Mexican immigrants: "In the U.S. in 2007, 1,400 bills related to the employment of undocumented persons were debated in the legislature; in 2008, there were about 800 anti-immigration bills, and last year [2012] 346 rulings were issued condemning undocumented immigration." (Source: http://www.focal.ca/publications/focalpoint/444-may-2011-alejandro-alvarez-bejar) |
Deportation is a response to this (left video), but those Mexicans who stay wish to continue to do so (right video).
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