Economic development: the middle class and international migration in the Dominican Republic

"The Dominican Republic is classified as one of a group of Latin American and Caribbean countries whose international migratory flows appear to be primarily composed of the urban middle class, rather than the rural poor. It is argued that Dominican middle class international migration has emerged as a partial solution to a political economic crisis that was dramatized by the April Revolution of 1965 and deepened through the 1970s with the failure of industrialization strategies to generate significant changes in the class structure."     

Environmental concerns and international migration

"This article focuses on international migration occurring as a result of environmental changes and processes. It briefly reviews attempts to conceptualize environment-related migration and then considers the extent to which environmental factors have been and may be significant in initiating migration. Following is an examination of migration as an independent variable in the migration-environment relationship. Finally, ethical and policy dimensions are addressed."     

Environmental and ethical aspects of international migration

"U.S. immigration policy has a beneficent intent. However, recent work suggests that the signal it sends internationally--that emigration can be relied upon to relieve local (Third World) population pressure--tends to maintain high fertility rates in the sending country. This effect is counterproductive because high fertility is the primary driver of rapid population growth. In addition, it appears that the relatively open U.S. immigration policy has resulted in a rate of domestic population growth that threatens both the well-being of American labor and cherished environmental values."     

Comparing European and North American international migration

International migration is a vast, complex, and heterogeneous field of study. It requires not only knowledge about dynamic processes in the past and at present and in various regions of the world, but also interdisciplinary cooperation, not least in order to achieve a good theoretical development. Theories about international migration tend to be built on particular periods or regions. The test of these theories comes through comparative research. A comparison of North American and European immigration and immigration policy could examine 1) whether immigration is permanent or temporary, 2) the desire of Europeans for short-term immigration to allow the integration of the large numbers of immigrants from the recent past, 3) the differential development of welfare states, 4) the likely long-term outcome of large waves of immigration, and 5) the legal status of aliens.     

On interrelations between internal and international migration

International migration represents just one type of spatial population mobility, along with inter‐regional, rural‐urban, or intra‐urban migration. The possible connections among various forms of migration are, however, only rarely traced in the professional literature on the political and social determinants as well as consequences of international migration. Against this background, an attempt is made in the present paper to identify possible associations between internal and international migration in the case of Poland.     

Japan and international migration: situation and issues

The author discusses issues concerning labor migraton to Japan. Topics covered include the current debate in Japan over the role of labor migrants in supporting a population undergoing demographic aging, attitudes toward foreigners in Japan, and the economic benefits and costs of training migrants.     

Japan and international migration: challenges and opportunities

The author briefly reviews global trends and issues in migration and describes the work of the International Organization for Migration in supporting economic development in developing countries. The focus is on efforts to improve job skills among prospective labor migrants in developing countries, thereby lessening the pressure to emigrate.     

Contemporary trends in international migration study

Recent trends in international migration are reviewed. Three major trends are identified: changes in the relationships between states due to the presence of a more or less permanent minority population from one state in the other; the flow of illegal migrants despite stricter immigration laws; and the growing problem of refugees and their impact on the migration policies of developed countries. The author reviews some theories concerning international migration and the role of institutions in the international division of labor. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Irregular migration: an international perspective

Despite the heightened awareness of irregular migrations worldwide, a certain misappreciation or underestimation of the saliency of irregular migration issues persists. Conflict in the strife-torn Indian state of Assam, for example, has been widely publicized, but its roots in immigration issues linked to communal tensions are insufficiently understood. Conflict around the globe seems increasingly to involve, both as cause and effect, migrants in irregular status whose problematical or illegitimate presence itself is at issue. The global recession prompted governments in immigration-welcoming countries to adopt more restrictive stances vis-a-vis immigration at a time when global migratory pressures were expanding enormously. As if by a process of demonstration effect, 1 country after another began to view migratory flows with alarm--flows which previously had been regarded as benign or quantitatively unimportant. Part I of this special issue examines a variety of public responses to irregular migration. Part II looks at legalization issues in a number of national contexts. Part III contains 3 comparative reflections on immigration reform in industrial democracies. Part IV provides an overview and sampling of recent empirical and survey research findings on irregular status migrants, primarily in the US. This special issue is intended to encourage further research on irregular migration, foster better understanding of this complex phenomenon, and contribute to enlightened public policy-making.     

Managing international migration in developing countries

IOM's research project on emigration dynamics in developing countries, launched in 1993, brought together teams of researchers in four regions of the developing world: Sub-Saharan Africa; South Asia; the Arab region; and Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The article reports the findings of team members as reported to, and discussed by, 180 participants, including those from 57 governments, at IOM's twelfth Migration Seminar held in Geneva during April 1997.
The research had been carried out under a common conceptual framework which addressed emigration dynamics through changing economic, demographic, political and ecological circumstances in each country or subregion; the role of networks already established between persons in sending and receiving countries; and the nature of entry restrictions imposed by receiving countries.
A central objective of the research was to try and measure interaction between the variables in specific country and subregional situations and, as far as possible, provide results that could assist policy makers in both developing and developed countries. This objective had been facilitated by workshops held in each region during 1995–96 comprising researchers, officials and policy makers.
Although economic, demographic, political and ecological circumstances varied considerably between countries in the four regions, conference delegates agreed that the approach adopted by the researchers, including contact with officials and policy makers, had provided new insights into the emigration dynamics process.
Recommendations made during conference discussions included the need to establish an effective system of migration information exchange between and across regions; that on the basis of results achieved so far research on emigration dynamics should be continued and broadened; and that there should be sustained dialogue between policy makers, officials, researchers and NGOs.     

The future of international labor migration

"The article reviews the nature of international labor migration today and the economic and political rationale for its occurrence. It suggests that while the developed economies will continue to attract and exchange highly skilled labor, they will have little need for mass immigration by those with low skill levels. In contrast, poorer countries with rapid population growth and low living standards will encourage emigration, except by the highly skilled. One consequence will be more illegal immigration."     

Immigration history and the future of international migration

"International migration must be understood as a permanent phenomenon rather than as a temporary movement. In this article, the author proceeds from the premise that in appreciating the relation between the past and the present, we may be able to draw on 'lessons of the past' to modify our definition and perception of current problems and to analyze possible policies and decisions. The article is divided into several sections, historical changes within migration patterns including different categories of migrants, various phases within the migration process in recent history, theoretical considerations in analysis, distinct types of immigration policies pursued by various states, and current and possible future trends."     

Opportunities, information networks and international migration streams

Theoretically, the basis for the continuance of international migration streams lies in the free flow of information between origin and destination. The people best informed about possible opportunities at the destination are most likely to emigrate.This idea is expressed as a simple linear equation and tested in predicting the size of migration streams from eight regions in Japan to each of four major Hawaiian Islands. A destination tends to attract new immigrants from an origin in direct proportion to the previously established amount of migration from that origin to that destination. In general, previous migration may have considerable relevance to continuation of streams in the future.     

International migration,international relations and foreign policy

Recent literature on migration, international relations, and foreign policy is reviewed in this article, stressing applications of global systems paradigms, studies of state entry and exit rules, and anatomies of domestic policy-setting processes on migration. After a concise assessment of the contemporary theory of global political economy, the paper argues for seeking mid-range generalizations on the international relations of migration. It also suggests that analysis begin with the policy-setting processes of the state. Especially through the use of comparative perspectives available from domestic policy making studies and from the field of international comparative public policy, this approach offers the opportunity to fix empirically the political roles of transnational social forces, which often present themselves as participants in domestic policy contests. Promising future directions in the study of state-to-state relations are also evaluated, with the anticipation that verifying regional or other intermediate patterns of world migration politics may contribute to more general theories of international political economy.     

Organizational portfolio theory and international not-for-profit organizations

The organizational portfolio theory is used to explain performance-driven organizational changes in international not-for-profit organizations. The forces that push international not-for-profit organizations to adapt are those that exacerbate the effect of the downward swing in organizational performance that results from misfit. On the other hand, the forces that retard adaptive change in these organizations are those that counteract the effect of the downward swing in organizational performance that results from misfit. Each of seven factors analyzed may push the international not-for-profit organizations to adapt or to not adapt, depending on their effect on organizational performance.     

Socio-economic stratification generated by international migration loops

This paper analyzes the migration phenomenon within a framework that treats migration movements as continuous loops, from the country of origin to the destination and back. Significant social-psychological factors at each step of the loop process contribute to the development of migration streams along a predictable pattern. The general model of the loop process shows that the migration stream is 1st sparked when labor is recruited from less developed countries for work in developed industrialized countries. Once the social process of migration has begun, it tends to acquire a self-feeding character. Social and economic change in sending and receiving societies brought about by migration make further migration more likely. The case of the Mexico-US-Mexico loop process is analyzed. This case illustrates the effects of socioeconomic stratification that occurs in communities where the migration loop process reaches a certain level of maturity. The majority of a town's population may become committed to migration as a way of life. Eventually, wealth becomes concentrated in the hands of those that are most able to migrate. Thus, migrants may become a new elite segment of rural populations that were once relatively homogenous societies. Further research of the migration loop process should be conducted. At least in the case of Mexico, the socioeconomic stratification in the villages and towns acting as sources of migration loops with destinations in the US have significant internal economic, social, and political implications.