LESSON 9 THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION

Objectives:

Explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs.

Analyze the relationship between religion and global conflict, conversely,

global peace.

Religion and Globalization

Prominent psychologists such as Sigmund Freud trained his student to view

religion as the “greatest of all neurotic illusions” and that it ends would be upon the

therapist’s couch. According to Peter L. Burger, the core idea of secularization lies with

the complete understanding that “Modernizations necessarily leads to a decline of

religion, both is society and the mind of individuals.”-the dawdling death of religion.

Globalization denotes the chronological development by which all the world’s

people gradually came to live in a social unit. In this lesson, we will look into two

possibilities that religion and globalization presents to the contemporary period. One of

these possibilities emphasizes the role of religion in globalization and the other being

the effects of globalization to religion.

Importance of Religion and Globalization

Religion and globalization persistently engage in a flexible relationship in which

the former relies on the latter in order to thrive and flourish while at the same time

challenging its (globalization’s) hybridizing effects. Globalization–due to the advent of

communication and transportation technology and the roles played by the media–has

contributed to the deterritorialization and the blurring of geographical spaces and

boundaries. This has resulted apparently in making the world a small village where

people, cultures, and identities come in daily face-to-face contact with each other.

Undoubtedly, religion is not immune from these changes and their burgeoning

effects brought about by globalization. However, religions still have their respective

homes in specific territorial spaces where they originally appeared and where their

respective shrines exist. The inner nature of religions and the purpose to be embraced

and practiced by people all over the world prompts it to spread throughout all the world’s

geographical spaces. In order to emerge and spread, therefore, religions make good

use of the technologies of globalization. Having geographical boundaries and frontiers

blurred and dissolved, religions find it easy to spread and reach every part of the world.

Since globalization, according to many scholars, is aimed at the hybridization of

the world cultures around the pattern of the Western culture; and since it entails liberal

values and norms, religion (particularly Islam) constitutes a challenge to it. This is

because Islam’s norms and values are incompatible with the liberal values of
globalization.

Globalization has played a tremendous role in providing a context for the current

considerable revival and the resurgence of religion. Today, most religions are not

relegated to the few countries where they began. Religions have, in fact, spread and

scattered on a global scale. Thanks to globalization, religions have found a fertile milieu

to spread and thrive.

Information technologies, transportation means, and the media are deemed

important means on which religionists rely in the dissemination of their religious ideas.

For instance, countless websites providing information about religions have been

created. This makes pieces of information and explanations about different religions

readily at the disposal of any person regardless of his or her geographical location. In

addition, the internet allows people to contact each other worldwide and therefore hold

forums and debates that allow religious ideas to spread.

According to Rodney stark in his Sociology of religion there are five features of

the imminent death of religion following the rise of globalization, these are as follows: • Modernizations is a casual
engine dragging the goods into retirement;

• Secularization theory not only predicted the end of religion in terms of religious

institution as expressed in the separation of church and state and the decline of

authority of religious leaders, but also in the sphere of individual piety and

religiousness; • It is explicit that science has influenced mostly the death of religions in modern

secular society;

• Secularization is an unstoppable and irreversible social force;

• Secularization as a process is not only limited to Christianity or Christendom, but

also to other world religions and the global world.

It is good to note that processes of change involving religion ang globalization has a

mutual effect on one another. In this lesson will also focus on the three religious

responses to globalization.

• Resurgence of religion in the Global Society

Berger further disputes that in many parts of the world, “people are as

furiously religious as they ever were”. He recognizes that although

secularization movements are active in some parts of the world, other

areas are not as influenced by the movement. According to research

conducted in 44 countries in 2002, religion in the USA is regarded vital by

59% of the population.

• Emergence of Religious Fundamentalism

Religious fundamental movements are regarded with three essential

factors (1)It is strongly founded on religious ideology, philosophy, goals,

and leadership is grounded on religious beliefs and practices, (2)

Fundamentalism serves as a stronghold against the invasive cultural

dramatic changes brought about by globalization, and (3) Fundamentalism

is a self-protective mechanisms which seeks to preserve or re-establish

former social order and return to the traditional sources of religious

authority.

• New Roles and Identities of Religion

Religion and globalization have always had a stake with regard to notions

of struggle and conflict, one winning triumph over the other is some

instances. In the field of international politics, religion has been regarded

as a new source of clash between and among people with different and

even similar beliefs.

Religious association and faiths arouses communities and policy makers to

advocate and campaign for peace-related acts and dogmas. Other religious perspective

believe that religion has a supreme role of influencing the creation of global positive

ethics that will combat the negativities arising from globalization like terrorism,

marginalized humanity and environmental degradation.

Advantages of Religion

• Religion gives strength

In difficult times, it is convenient to be able to turn to something or someone.

• God is always at hand, and your friend

It can be very comforting to be accompanied by someone that is always there

(for he is in your head), who is your friend, and who you can talk to.

• God is a great metaphor for 'good'

It is nice to have something at hand that stands for 'good', and to what you

can relate to in daily life.

• Religion brings together

Religion brings people together. Not only metaphorically speaking, but

physical at well (in church). That is good; so they can stand together.

• Rules bring some kind of structure

Most religions have rules, and they bring structure in people's lives, especially

the not very well educated people. 'You shall not steal' is very clear.

• Religion can change people

If people have been leading a 'bad' life, religion can help them change for the

better. • Religions give answers to intriguing and difficult questions.

Examples: where do we come from / who created mankind, what is the

purpose of life, is there life after death, does god exist.

Disadvantages of the

• Rules don't match up with feelings

This can be really very destructive; it destroys lives of people. For

instance, think about the hundreds of thousands of homosexuals, who cannot

live the life they would like, because of the rules of some kind of religion.

• 'Beliefs' don't match reality

Some religions deny important and well proven pieces of science, for

instance the dinosaurs.

• Strict following of principles can stand in the way of common sense

• Religions separate

As religions are able to bring people together, it can create a huge gap

between them – of different religions. For they all 'believe', but they still see only

the differences, and not the similarities.

• Co-responsibility for (bad) government

If you supported in any way the government of a religion, you are

responsible for their actions (be it a tiny bit). If you only sympathy with the

religion, many will treat you as if you are responsible for the actions of the

government of the religion.

Factors Affecting Religion

Family

Family One of the factors affecting religious development is family. The reason of

the search for clues about religious development in the family is that the family has a

network of relationships and interactions influencing and determining the formation of

the personality and behaviors, attitudes and perceptions, and social skills and

judgments.

Religious Socializaton

Religious development has an individual characteristics in terms of living and

feeling, and also has a social qualification in terms of its effects. Religious development,

which has a subjective character in terms of individuality, has an objective and

observable structure in terms of its social manifestations.

Religious Identification

Identification based upon the facts that the individual similarizes himself/herself

with another occurs by taking his/her parents as examples for himself/herself in

childhood and a child enters this process beginning from the moment that he/she is
born. Thus, the behavior of the parents or the person performing their duties sets a

strong imitation example for the child.

Crudelity

One of the important factors of religious development is that children have high

degree of credulity. This situation creates an environment in which the child believes

what he/she is said about religion without any question and accepts the things he

believes faithfully, too. Credulity in children and devoting to what they believe is a

spiritual condition which is peculiar to them. Because the child’s feelings are more

dominant and more prominent than their thoughts at this period, he/she accepts the

belief that is tried to be provided for himself/herself as a natural result of these

dominance and prominence.

LESSON 10 THE GLOBAL CITY

Objectives:

Identify the attributes of a global city.

Analyze how cities serve as engines of globalization.

Global City

A global city, also called a power city, world city, alpha city or world center, is a

city which is a primary node in the global economic network. The concept comes from

geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood

as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to

a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.

The most complex of these entities is the "global city", whereby the linkages binding a

city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means.

A global city is a city that has the power to effect global issues and change the

global outlook. They can do this through a varied set of systems from politics to military

and economics, controlling and adapting the route the global economy takes. Different

cities have a different amount of power and how this power and influence develops can

stem from small changes in geography, climate, language, culture and technology.

The use of "global city", as opposed to "megacity", was popularized by

sociologist Saskia Sassen in her 1991 work, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo

though the term "world city" to describe cities that control a disproportionate amount of

global business dates to at least the May 1886 description of Liverpool by The

Illustrated London News. Patrick Geddes also used the term "world city" later in 1915.

Cities can also fall from such categorization, as in the case of cities that have become

less cosmopolitan and less internationally renowned in the current era.

What makes a city “global”?

Nowadays globalization occurs in places where a mass of people work and live

in cities. However, for a city to achieve the title of being global, it must have values and

ideas that will have an impact of the rest of the world. “ Global city is a term that raises

an understanding for the cognoscenti” (Low, 2005: p218). Low (2005) further says that a

global city is a city that is well thought out to be an important node in the world’s

economic system.

A global city has wealth,

power and influence to other

countries as well as hosts the

largest capital markets.

Moreover, a city that has

wealthy multinational

companies, good

infrastructure, better economy,

well-educated and diverse

populations and powerful organizations as well as a good political structure that are

linked to the other parts of the world like nowhere else is considered to be global

(Badcock, 2002: p31).

A global city, therefore, is the world’s most important and influential city that covers

the dimensions of the globalization. These dimensions are cultural experience, business

activity, human capital as well as political engagement. London, New York, Paris, Rome

and Tokyo are one of the most well-known global cities as it provides global

competitiveness for its citizens and companies.

Some Of The World's Best-Known Global Cities

According to the A.T. Kearney’s Global Cities Index 2017, New York outsmarted

London as the world’s best-performing city while the latter ranked second. Paris, Tokyo

and Hong Kong followed respectively. The city of San Francisco topped the Global

Cities Outlook Index ahead of New York, Paris, London, and Boston respectively. New

York was ranked the best city for business activities, and human capital. Paris topped

the best cities for information exchange while London was rated the best city for a

cultural experience. Washington, D.C. the best city for political engagements. Hong

Kong boasts of being a global leader in air freights while Brussels boasts of being the

best place to set up an embassy.

Significance and Roles of the Global Cities

A. World Economy
The roles global cities (also known as world cities) perform in the world economy

is very complex and can vary from city to city but there is a general overview of how

certain cities effect the economy. This is why there are different classes of world cities

ranging from cities which have relatively low global influence to ones with a huge

amount of power to effect the systems of the global economy (Knox and Taylor, 1995).

The economy itself plays a large part in how much influence individual cities have.

In the 1970s to 1980s, the economy of the world transitioned from a largely

international economy to a truly global economy, production lines where spread across

the world by globalization and the growth of the global banking system along with

dropping of many economic regulations by western nations such as the UK helped

create a truly global economy. There are many different ranking systems for world cities

(Economist Intelligence Unit, 2012) which take into account different information,

although this may provide a small amount of variation there seems to be a recurring

pattern of the top ten cities in the rankings. New York seems to be the top in all of the

systems except economics. This maybe because although New York has a large

amount of influence on the global economy such as being the centre for the world`s

largest stock exchanges which when combined have a market cap of 38 trillion

(Relbanks, 2010).

The reason though why New York does not lead the table in economics is because

there is very little change of financial development because it is already so highly

developed meaning there is very little real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) development

in the city. This means that on the economic scale the Asian cities and even in a more

local scale mainly Chinese and Indian cities, rule the table. They have the most

flexibility as they are still developing and there are still a large amount of people moving

into these cities meaning there is an extended work force.

The power Western cities like New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris have is more

based on political blocks and political influence as they nations are very powerful in

already developed markets and military states, this means they can influence other

markets such as China (Feenstra and Wei, 2010) who want to export to them because

their economy would collapse if these nations stopped trading with them. Also because

the western nations are where many banks grew and developed there have been an

expansion of the westernization of the global economy until it has fit into an already

similar western ideal. This is generally why the top world cities are either from the

western world or are nations or areas highly influenced by the western world such as

Hong Kong or Singapore.

The way a city develops can affect how much influence they have greatly. Such as
in Brazil where they wanted to develop a new capital which would be the centre of the

Brazilian economic sphere and political sphere. Instead of trying to redevelop an

already excising city it was decided that building a completely new capital from scratch

in a geographical location was would be most beneficial and would be the best idea as

they could develop the city how they wished without the constraints of mountains or the

ocean. This is why certain cities such as Lagos which are large and have many

industries do not have enough area to develop as they are stopped on one side by

swamps and on the other by the ocean (Ogunbambi, 2010) meaning they even though

they are expanding in terms of human population the more the human population

expands they lower the living standards in general area and because of this many upper

industries like banking and retail sectors do not think it viable to develop links to the city.

B. Worldwide Networks and Central Command Functions

The geography of globalization contains both a dynamic of dispersal and of

centralization. The massive trends towards the spatial dispersal of economic activities at

the metropolitan, national, and global level that we associate with globalization have

contributed to a demand for new forms of territorial centralization of top-level

management and control functions. Insofar as these functions benefit from

agglomeration economies even in the face of telematics integration of a firm’s globally

dispersed manufacturing and service operations, they tend to locate in cities. This

raises a question as to why they should benefit from agglomeration economies,

especially since globalized economic sectors tend to be intensive users of the new

telecommunications and computer technologies, and increasingly produce a partly

dematerialized output, such as financial instruments and specialized services.

There is growing evidence that business networks are a crucial variable that is to be

distinguished from technical networks. Such business networks have been crucial long

before the current technologies were developed. Business networks benefit from

agglomeration economies and hence thrive in cities even today when simultaneous

global communication is possible. Elsewhere, I examine this issue and find that the key

variable contributing to the spatial concentration of central functions and associated

agglomeration economies is the extent to which this dispersal occurs under conditions

of concentration in control, ownership, and profit appropriation (Sassen 2001, ch. 2 & 5).

This dynamic of simultaneous geographic dispersal and concentration is one of

the key elements in the organizational architecture of the global economic system.

While there is no space to discuss it here, this systemic feature also enables particular

types of struggles and implementations linked to environmental sustainability (Sassen

2006b; Marcotullio and Lo 2001). Let me first give some empirical referents and then
examine some of the implications for theorizing the impact of globalization and the new

technologies on cities.

Advantages of a Global City

1. Significant growth in the economy - both localized and as a whole

Global City’s economy grows faster as it is the center of trading. Moreover, it has

varieties of things to offer, from food, clothing, accessories, etc.

2. Better infrastructure

Global City has advanced technologies,

knowledge, and diverse advancement in

architecture and engineering that can create a

new and modern infrastructures.

3. Higher levels of tourism

Considering the diversity of global cities in terms of its food, clothing, and

accessories, etc., tourists often visits them to learn, have, or experience varieties of

things.

4. Better public transport

The more advanced science and

technology in a global city is the main

reason of it having a better transportation

for its rising population.

5. More Work Opportunities

Global cities have rising population and advanced way of living. Therefore, it needs ore

people to work and to contribute to the development of that particular city.

Disadvantages of a Global City

1. Pollution/Smog

Rising population in a global city results to more wastes and more irresponsible

citizens. Also rising numbers of factories contributes to so much pollution. A dangerous

form of pollution specially to go hand in hand with urbanization caused mainly due to

chimneys, factory stacks, vehicles and others smoke releases making the air toxic.

2. Over population

A global city usually considered by many as a “place/city of dreams” as it offers a lot

of great things to live for. Hence, many people dreamed of living in a global city.

3. Slums/ housing problem

Due to overpopulation, people face housing problem. Thus, making it hard for them to

live.

4. PovertyGlobal city is considered home of the richest and the poorest. This is due to
the intense competition in a global city that caused by the rising population. If you are a

weak or a negative-thinking person you are prone in living a poor life.

5. Cost of living

The higher cost of living is the first disadvantage that people typically think of when

considering moving to a city.

6. Noise

In general, the noise level in major cities is higher than in the suburbs. Cities have

more people and more traffic that contribute to the noise, as well as trains and nearby

airports with loud planes flying in and out. Special events such as concerts and ball

games can also make a neighborhood louder and more congested. Downtown areas in

some major cities like New York are loud and busy almost 24 hours a day.

7. Lack of Space

Moving from the suburbs to the city almost always involves downsizing your living

space. Most people in major cities live in apartments and in some cities, the apartments

can be very small. It is also rare to have an outside space like a yard or patio. There

are homes in major cities, some with decent sized yards, but they are much more

expensive than in the suburbs. If you want to move to the city, you must accept that

you will be living in an apartment building with neighbors on the other side of your walls.

8. Lack of Parking

The parking situation in a major city is a huge hassle compared to the suburbs. In

the suburbs, people can park in their driveways or on their residential streets and most

businesses have parking lots for their customers to use.

Five (5) Big Challenges Facing Big Cities of the Future

The UN estimates that 55% of the global population lives in urban areas – a

figure that is projected to rise to 68% by

2050. With few exceptions, cities are

expected to become bigger and more

numerous.

As urbanization speeds up, particularly

in Asian and African countries, here are five

of the biggest challenges confronting the future of cities:

1. Environmental threats

Rapid urbanization, which strains basic infrastructure, coupled with more frequent

and extreme weather events linked to global climate change is exacerbating the impact

of environmental threats. Common environmental threats include flooding, tropical

cyclones (to which coastal cities are particularly vulnerable), heat waves and epidemics.
Owing to the physical and population density of cities, such threats often result in

both devastating financial loss and deaths. Making cities more resilient against these

environmental threats is one of the biggest challenges faced by city authorities and

requires urgent attention.

2. Resources

Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. Urban sprawl

reduces available water catchment areas, agricultural lands and increases demand for

energy. While better application of technology can boost agricultural productivity and

ensure more efficient transmission of electricity, many cities will continue to struggle to

provide these resources to an ever-growing urban population.

Beyond these basic requirements, haphazard growth will see the reduction of

green spaces within cities, negatively affecting live-ability. As fresh water becomes

scarce and fertile lands diminish, food prices may escalate, hitting the poorest hardest.

3. Inequality

When it comes to both the provision of basic resources and resilience against

environmental threats, the forecast is uneven for different groups of urban inhabitants.

As the number of urban super-rich grows, many cities will also see increased numbers

of urban poor.

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots will be accentuated in the

mega cities of the future. Such inequalities, when left unchecked, will destabilize society

and upend any benefits of urban development. There is a critical need for policy-makers

to ensure that the fruits of progress are shared equitably.

4. Technology

Technology will be increasingly used in the development and running of cities of the

future. Smart planning used in Singapore can harness solar energy for use in housing

estates and create man-made wetlands for ecological balance. Smart mobility

technology can alleviate traffic gridlocks which plague many cities.

The use of environmental technologies which can cool buildings more efficiently

or run vehicles that are less polluting

will also lead to better future cities.

Installing sensors in the homes of

ageing seniors living alone can

connect them to the community and

summon help when they are unwell or

hurt.
However, technology can exclude urban inhabitants who cannot afford it or lack

the capability required for its adoption. As future cities become more digitized, care

must be exercised to prevent the emergence of a new form of social divide rooted in the

technological.

5. Governance

Future cities offer immense possibilities to enrich the lives of their inhabitants even

as the challenges are stark. To make the best out of inevitable urbanization, good

governance is imperative. Cities will increase in size and their populations become more

diverse. Governing these cities will, therefore, be progressively complex and require the

most dedicated of minds.

Increasingly, cities around the world are learning about the best governance and

planning practices from one another, even as they remain accountable to their

respective national governments. The broad goals of urban governance should address

issues of equity, live-ability and sustainability in cities of the future.

Characteristics/ Factors in Considering a Global City

1. A variety of international financial services, notably in finance, insurance, real

estate, banking, accountancy, and marketing.

2. Headquarters of several multinational corporations.

3. The existence of financial headquarters, a stock exchange, and major financial

institutions.

4. Domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area.

5. Major manufacturing centers with port and container facilities.

6. Considerable decision-making power on a daily basis and at a global level.

7. Centers of new ideas and innovation in business, economics, culture, and politics.

8. Centers of media and communications for global networks.

9. Dominance of the national region with great international significance.

10. High percentage of residents employed in the services sector and information

sector.

11. High-quality educational institutions, including renowned universities, international

student attendance, and research facilities.

12. Multifunctional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical, and

entertainment facilities in the country.

High diversity in language, culture, religion, and ideologies.

LESSON 11 GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY

Objectives:

Explain demographic transition as it affects global population. Describe the concept of global demography.
GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY

In the past 50 years, the world accelerated its transition out of long-term

demographic stability. As infant and child mortality rates fell, populations began to soar.

In most countries, this growth led to falling fertility rates. Although fertility has fallen, the

population continues to increase because of population momentum; it will eventually

level off. In the meantime, demographic change has created a ‘bulge’ generation, which

today appears in many countries as a large working-age population. This cohort will

eventually become a large elderly population, in both developed and developing

countries. Population growth has been the subject of great debate among economists

and demographers. Until recently, most have agreed on a middle ground, in which

population growth per se has no effect on economic growth. New evidence suggests

that changes in the age structure of populations – in particular, a rising ratio of working age to non-working-age
individuals – leads to the possibility of more rapid economic

growth, via both accounting and behavioral effects.

The rate of global population increase was at its highest between 1955 and 1975

due to the very reason that nations were finally able to return to normalcy after the

devastation brought by the scourge of war.

In 1950 there were 2.5 billion people on the planet. Now in 2019, there are 7.7

billion. By the end of the century the UN expects a global population of 11.2 billion. This

visualization of the population pyramid makes it possible to understand this enormous

global transformation.

Population pyramids visualize the demographic structure of a population. The

width represents the size of the population of a given age; women on the right and men

to the left. The bottom layer represents the number of newborns and above it you find

the numbers of older cohorts. Represented in this way the population structure of

societies with high mortality rates resembled a pyramid – this is how this famous type of

visualization got its name.

In the darkest blue you see the pyramid that represents the structure of the world

population in 1950. Two factors are responsible for the pyramid shape in 1950: An

increasing number of births broadened the base layer of the population pyramid and a

continuously high risk of death throughout life is evident by the pyramid narrowing

towards the top. There were many newborns relative to the number of people at older

ages.

At a country level “peak child” is often followed by a time in which the country

benefits from a “demographic dividend” when the proportion of the dependent young

generation falls and the share of the population in working age increases.
This is now happening at a global scale. For every child younger than 15 there

were 1.8 people in working-age (15 to 64) in 1950; today there are 2.5; and by the end

of the century there will be 3.4.4

Richer countries have benefited from this transition in the last decades and are

now facing the demographic problem of an increasingly larger share of retired people

that are not contributing to the labor market. In the coming decades it will be the poorer

countries that can benefit from this demographic dividend.

The change from 1950 to today and the projections to 2100 show a world

population that is becoming healthier. When the top of the pyramid becomes wider and

looks less like a pyramid and instead becomes more box-shaped, the population lives

through younger ages with very low risk of death and dies at an old age. The

demographic structure of a healthy population at the final stage of the demographic

transition is the box shape that we see for the entire world for 2100.

IMPORTANCE OF DEMOGRAPHY:

The importance of demography lies in its contribution to helping government and

society better prepare to deal for the issues and demands of population growth, aging

and migration. The statistics and predictions resulting from demographic studies can, for

example, aid in the development of adequate school systems, estimate the required

funding for senior services and develop workable healthcare systems. A wide variety of

social outcomes are impacted by demographic processes and distributions.

The importance of demography is clear for its scope. Since its scope is

increasing which already leads to it importance. Demography is concerned with the

growth and distribution of population in less developed countries as well as

underdevelopment and developed countries. The importance of demography is clear

from the following points.

Health Planning

Due to high fertility rate, health problems are created both for mother and child.

In most of the developing countries, married women are facing pregnancies problem

due to malnutrition. Also due to ill health of mother, infant mortality rate is high in our

country. High fertility is connected to the child development. So, demography is

concerned with the fertility and mortality and studies the birth and death rates. These

health problems are solved by the demographer in the establishment of health planning

of the country. All the problem related to health and its causes as well as its possible

solutions is the work of social demography.

Planning for Food Supply

Planning for food supply means availability of adequate food for the total
population. The inadequate food results in the poor health, low growth, high mortality

rates and low physical activity. Food supply grows with the growth of population. The

undeveloped and underdeveloped countries are unable to meet the demands of food

supply. They depend on other countries for fulfilment of their basic food needs. So,

population study is important to meet the demands of food of the poor countries through

the aid of national as well as international agencies.

Housing Planning

When the size of population is increasing, the demand for housing is also

increasing. Therefore, data collected about fertility, mortality, migration, urbanization

and family formation gives basis for the estimation of housing planning. Demography is

concerned that how the problem of housing of a large population should be solved

according to the estimates prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia

and the pacific (ESCAP). The number of persons in the age-group 15-24, in 1970 are

likely to increase from 379 million to 469 in 1980. So, the population increasing rapidly

which creates. So many problems of housing and these are undertaken by the field of

social demography.

Employment Planning

Unemployment is a social and international problem. From developed to

underdeveloped as well as undeveloped countries, the unemployment problem growing

rapidly. A demographic factor is the high dependency ratio in less developed countries.

For example; In Pakistan, four or five persons depends on the income of one person.

So, for employment planning, population study and dependency ratio must be studied.

Therefore demography studies all aspects of population where it make planning for

employment and unemployment problem.

Educational Planning

Today every nation is concerned with providing proper education to children. The

numbers of children are constantly increasing which creates educational problems. The

demographers are interested to make planning for these children of a specific area or

the whole country. Due to educational planning by demographers, these children should

be provided proper educational facilities. Abdul education is also provided to a large

number of population and demography has estimated the future plan for education.

Migration Planning

Most of the people are migrated to western countries. It is necessary to estimate

the trends of migration, the immigrants, the emigrants and the heavy burden on other

countries. It is the study of social demography to make plans, to stop the problem. A

large number of emigrants from a country affects a population adversely and a

qualitative change occur. Because these emigrants may be experts as well as skilled

and qualified persons which affects the economy of a country very badly. Due to

immigration to a country, the population growth takes place which is a hurdle for the

development of a country. For example; A large number of people who are illiterate and

poor are coming from Bangladesh to India which creating difficulties particularly in the

states of west Bengal and Assam. So, the migration planning is made by the govt. as

well as non-governmental organization and agencies to overcome the problem of

migration. It is the main study of social demography.

It has been concluded from the above discussion on the “importance of

demography” that, demography studies all aspects of the people’s population. The data

about population is gathered and collecting by the UN agencies and other local

organization. So, that data show the problems regarding to population are pointed out

by the demography.

ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGES:

Crude birth and death rates

One of the simplest ways to consider population growth is through crude birth

and death rates. These are the number of birth s and deaths per 1,000 people. On a

worldwide basis, the difference between these rates is the rate of population growth.

Within regions or countries, population growth is also affected by emigration and

immigration.

Total fertility rate

The total fertility rate, that is the number of children born per woman, fell from

about 5 in 1950 to a little over 2.5 in 2005 (see Figure 5). This number is projected to

fall to about 2 by 2050. This decrease is attributable largely to changes in fertility in the

developing world. In 1950, the total fertility rate among developed countries was already

below 3 children per woman; the rate among developing countries was over 6. Fertility

in the latter is now below 3 children per woman. The fertility decline in low-income

countries can be ascribed to a number of factors, including declines in infant mortality

rates, greater levels of female education and increased labour market opportunities for

women, and the provision of family planning services.

Life expectancy and longevity

For the world as a whole, life expectancy increased from 47 years in 1950–1955

to 65 years in 2000–2005. It is projected to rise to 75 years by the middle of this

century, with considerable disparities between the wealthy developed countries, at 82

years, and the less-developed countries, at 74 years (see Figure 8). As a result of the

global decline in fertility, and because people are living longer, median age is rising (see
Figure 9). The proportion of the elderly in the total population is rising sharply. The

number of people over the age of 60, currently around half the number of those aged

15–24, is expected to reach 1 billion (overtaking the 15–24 age group) by 2020. It is

projected to reach almost 2 billion by 2050. The proportion of individuals aged 80 or

over is projected to rise from 1 per cent to 4 per cent of the global population by 2050.

(Figure 10 shows the history and projections for the actual number of individuals aged

80 or above.) Population ageing is occurring in both developed and developing

countries, although more rapidly in the former. In the developed world, the proportion of

people aged 60 or over will increase from 20 to 32 per cent by 2050. In the developing

world, it will rise from 8 to 20 percent. There are gender differences in life expectancy.

Figure 11 shows that life expectancy for women tends to be around 4 to 6 years longer

than for men, although there is considerable variation across countries.Age

distribution: working-age population

Baby booms have altered the demographic landscape in many countries. As the

experiences of several regions during the past century show, an initial fall in mortality

rates creates a boom generation because high survival rates lead to more people at

young ages than in earlier generations. Fertility rates fall subsequently, as parents

realize they do not need to produce as many children to reach their desired family size,

or as desired family size diminishes for other reasons. When fertility falls and the baby

boom stops, the age structure of the population then shows a ‘bulge’ – the baby-boomage cohort – created by the
nonsynchronous falls in mortality and fertility.

Migration

Migration also alters population patterns. Globally, 191 million people live in

countries other than the one in which they were born. On average, during the next 45

years, the United Nations estimates that over 2.2 million individuals will migrate annually

from developing to developed countries (see Figure 13). (The UN estimates regarding

future migration are not very informative, a reflection of the inherent difficulty of

constructing accurate projections of migration flows.) According to the UN Population

Division, the United States will receive by far the highest number of immigrants (1.1

million a year), and China, Mexico, India, the Philippines and Indonesia will be the main

sources of emigrants.

FACTORS AFFECTING DEMOGRAPHY:

Suicide and Self-directed Violence

Demographic factors, including gender, age, race, and ethnicity, provide a

general indication of those groups in the general population that are at the highest risk

of suicide. As indicated, in almost all countries the risk of suicide is greater among
males than females, and globally for both genders the suicide risk increases with age.

The prevalence of suicide varies across racial and ethnic groups. In the United States in

2010, the prevalence of suicide among Caucasians was almost three times higher than

that observed in all other races, and American Indian and Alaska Natives had the

highest suicide rates of all ethnic groups in the country. In Australia, suicide among

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has increased dramatically from low rates

in the late 1980s to levels substantially higher among young indigenous males than

among their nonindigenous counterparts (Hunter and Milroy, 2006). In 2011 in Australia

the suicide rate among the Indigenous population was 2.5 times higher than in the

general population (25.7 per 100 000 vs 9.6 per 100 000), with the suicide rate in

Indigenous males as high as 36.6 per 100 000 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013).

Pathological Gambling and Gambling Disorder:

Demographic Correlates

Several demographic factors appear to be associated with a higher risk of PG

(see Petry, 2005 for a review). Age, for example, appears to be inversely related to

gambling problems, as indicated by prevalence studies cited above that find higher

rates of PG among younger individuals. Gender is also a contributing factor, as men

have traditionally been at substantially higher risk for developing PG than women,

although there is also some evidence that the gap between men and women has been

narrowing with the proliferation of legal gambling venues.

Cyber bullying:

Gender

Another demographic factor that has been examined in relation to cyberbullying

prevalence rates is gender. Gender differences in experiences with cyberbullying, either

as perpetrator or victim, are currently fervently debated. Males are typically thought to

engage in more direct forms of aggression, whereas females may prefer to engage in

more indirect forms of aggression (Kowalski et al., 2012b). Because cyberbullying has

been identified as a form of indirect aggression, the finding in several studies that

females are more likely than males to engage in cyberbullying behavior is relatively

unremarkable (Kowalski and Limber, 2007; Robers et al., 2010; Tokunaga, 2010).

Injuries and Accidents:

Psychosocial Aspects and Demographic Factors

Age is a demographic factor associated with accident liability. Both older

(>64 years) and younger (<30 years) age-groups have greater frequency of accidents

and injuries compared to middle-aged people. It is a common assumption that younger

people are accident-involved because they are immature risk-takers, while older people
are more accident-involved because of the decline in their mental faculties. However,

research suggests that both views may be stereotypes and not fully supported by

research.

As we grow older, our liability to suffer accidents and injuries tends to increase.

For example, older drivers experience an increased probability of accidental injury of up

to 45% compared to other drivers. This increased injury liability is not necessarily linked

to a loss of driving skills, but may be related to other psychological mechanisms

associated with aging, such as changes in circadian and sleep systems. For example,

older drivers tend to have more accidents in afternoons due to drowsiness than younger

drivers (Smolensky et al., 2011). Moreover, the effect of higher accident liability is

reduced if driving distance is taken into account.

Higher accident rates among younger drivers (<30 years) are often viewed as

resulting from reckless behavior, which tends to be outgrown as individuals mature.

Indeed, research indicates that younger drivers and young men, in particular, commit

the highest levels of driving violations. However, overtly risky behaviour only accounts

for a small proportion of young people's accidents, which occur largely as the result of

errors (McKnight and McKnight, 2003). Higher crash rates tend to disappear rapidly with

increasing experience, suggesting that the majority of accidents are caused by

inexperience rather than dangerously risky behaviour.

Judaism:

5.1.1 The Holocaust

First let us consider the demographic factor. The most productive sector of world

Jewry perished, and the social and political and cultural conditions that put forth the

great systemic creations vanished with the six million who died. Judaic systems in all

their variety emerged in Europe, not in America or in what was then Palestine and is

now the State of Israel, and, within Europe, they came from Central and Eastern

European Jewry. We may account for the systemopoia of Central and Eastern

European Jews in two ways: (a) the Jews in the East, in particular, formed a vast and

coherent population, with enormous learning and diverse interests; (b) the systems of

the nineteenth and twentieth centuries arose out of a vast population living in self-aware

circumstances, not scattered and individual but composed and bonded. The Jews who

perished formed enormous and self-conscious communities of vast intellectual riches.

Assumptions, Research Gaps and Emerging Issues: Implications for Research,

Policy and Practice:

INCREASING IMMIGRATION AND WORK-FAMILY INTEGRATION

One of the major demographic factors that is changing social structures in the
21th century is international migration. According to McGovern (2007), the number of

people living outside their usual country of residence has increased from 75 million in

1960 to more than 191 million in 2005. The number of countries hosting more than half

a million immigrants has also doubled to more than 64 countries and there is greater

diversity and visibility among recent waves of immigrants. While immigrants are seen as

a welcome source of new citizens and new labor force participants in countries like

Canada where fertility rates are low, immigration can also be problematic, especially

when newcomers have difficulty finding appropriate employment, securing a stable

income, and settling into their new community. Immigration is a central concern among

policy-makers who recognize the greater prevalence of poverty and stress among

recent immigrants, incidents of racial discrimination and hostility, and the likelihood of

significant social exclusion reflecting an underclass of immigrants with accompanying

social problems. It is also a concern of larger cities, especially when municipalities are

responsible for providing appropriate health, education, social services, and settlement

supports with limited funding.

LESSON 12 GLOBAL MIGRATION

Objectives:

Demonstrate an understanding of the global migration.

Discuss the causes and effects of global migration.

Analyze the political, economic, cultural and social factors underlying the

global movements of people.

Display first-hand knowledge of the experiences of OFWs.

Nowadays, many people decide to migrate to have a better life. Employment

opportunities are the most common reason due to which people migrate. Except this, lack

of opportunities, better education, construction of dams, globalization, natural

disaster (flood and drought) and sometimes crop failure forced villagers to migrate to cities.

Migrants

People who move from one place to another in search of work or shelter are

called migrants. Most of the times migrants people are not skilled or educated therefore

they usually employed as daily wagers (workers who are paid at the end of each day, for

their services). Daily wagers do not get enough money for the survival of their families and

suffering from many problems such as they do not have enough food to eat,

sanitation, hygiene, a proper place to live etc

History of Migration

Human society is founded on a long history of migration. Concurrently, migration is

one of the most widely studied topics in the social sciences. It garners interest from its
basis in human development, livelihood and existence. Migration is often studied from a

sociological and theoretical point of view, or through geographical examinations of an

empirical nature. Yet despite political leaders longstanding obsession with invading

countries on one hand – and building walls to protect their own sovereignty on the other

– politics and understanding the drivers to control migration been divorced until recently.

The unprecedented nature of global flows in goods, services, and people today

which is most markedly embodied under the term ‘globalization’ has also resulted in a

growing attention to the issues arising from this process in relation to concerns over

economic and human development in both immigration and emigration countries. In an

age of growing international flows there has been a surge in control over human

migration – particularly in migrant receiving states.

\https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2018/05/09/new-issue-review-migration-anddisplacement/

A Brief History of the Republic of the Philippines

➢ The Philippines is an archipelago composed of 7,107 islands in Southeast Asia. The

capital of the Philippines is Manila, which is located on the mainland Luzon.

➢ The estimated population of the Philippines is 94,013,200 according to the mid-2010

census conducted by the National Statistics Office. This figure makes the

Philippines the world’s 12th most populous country.

➢ The official languages of the Philippines are Filipino (Tagalog) and English.

➢ The Philippines was colonized by Spain in the sixteenth century.

➢ After the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American War, the Philippines was

ceded by Spain to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris

➢ After the 1899 Battle of Manila, the Philippine-American war broke out resulting in

the United States taking control over the Philippines which was then administered

as an ‘insular area.

➢ In 1942, the Japanese invaded the Philippines. During World War II, the Japanese

occupied the Philippine islands.

➢ In 1946, the Philippine attained its independence.

➢ The Philippine Government is Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic.

➢ The current President of the Philippines is Rodrigo Roa Duterte

A Timeline of Important Dates in Philippine History

A Brief History of Philippine Emigration

The long history of Philippine emigration can be divided and discussed in different

waves:

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~baron22p/classweb/briefhistory.html
The Prehistoric Period

Historians believe the first inhabitants of the Philippines descended from various ethnic

groups from across Southeast Asia, the nearby islands and the mainland, in waves of

migration starting over 300,000 years ago. No historical documentation exists of these

early migrations. However, scientists have found distinct similarities between the

fossilized remains of the Philippines and that of their neighboring countries.

The earliest found human remains in the Philippines is that of a metatarsal of Callao

Man, which was dates to be around 67 thousand years old using uranium series

ablation. Henry Otley Beyer, a noted social scientist, believed:

“The first migrants were the “Dawnmen” (or “cavemen” because they lived in caves.).

The Dawnmen resembled Java Man, Peking Man, and other Asian Home sapiens who

existed about 250,000 years ago. They did not have any knowledge of agriculture, and

lived by hunting and fishing. It was precisely in search of food that they came to the

Philippines by way of the land bridges that connected the Philippines and Indonesia.

Owing perhaps to their migratory nature, they eventually left the Philippines for

destinations unknown.”

The Spanish Period

The Philippines was a colony of Spain for 333 years. During the Hispanic rule, Filipinos

frequently migrated along the Spanish trade and exploration routes – to Guam,

Indonesia, other nearby islands and Mexico. Filipino seafarers were recorded to have

ridden trading ships going down the Manila-Acapulco galleon route. But seafarers were

not the only ones who immigrated. The migrant wave of 1565-1815 included slaves,

prisoners, soldiers, adventurers as well as refugees. The few privileged individuals

migrated to Spain – mostly to get an education. The national hero, Jose Rizal, is the

epitome of such an individual.

The American Period

The first Filipinos came to North America as sailors on the Spanish-Filipino-Mexico

Galleon trade of the 14th century. The Filipino sailors landed in what is now California

and Louisiana, where they jumped ship and established colonies by the water in as

early as 1565. In 1903, the first documented group of Filipinos arrived. The second

major migrant wave to America began after the Spanish-American War in 1899, when

the Philippines officially became a colony of the United States. They were mostly farm

workers and students (Pensionados). In 1940, over 98,000 Filipinos were documented

to have lived in the United States.

After attaining it’s independence on July 4, 1946, Filipinos continued to immigrate to the

United States. The United States had become the ‘golden land’ for most aspiring
immigrants. From 1946 up until 1965, Filipinos immigrants were able to become

naturalized U.S. citizens. This marked the arrival of various Filipino professionals. The

1970 US Census documented the population of Filipinos to be at “336, 731.”

Two other events that caused waves of immigration were the elimination of national

origin quotas in 1965 and the Immigration act of 1990. Between 1980 and 2006, the

number of Filipino immigrants tripled.

Impacts of Migration

Migration is becoming a very important subject for the life of cities. Many

opportunities and attraction of big cities pull large numbers of people to big cities.

Migration can have positive as well as negative effects on the life of the migrants.

Famine, High Unemployment Rate, and Minimal Income are push factors of migration.

Positive Impact

⚫ Unemployment is reduced and people get better job opportunities.

⚫ Migration helps in improving the quality of life of people.

⚫ It helps to improve social life of people as they learn about new culture, customs,

and

languages which helps to improve brotherhood among people.

⚫ Migration of skilled workers leads to a greater economic growth of the region.

⚫ Children get better opportunities for higher education. ⚫ The population density is reduced and the birth rate
decreases.

Negative Impact

⚫ The loss of a person from rural areas, impact on the level of output and

development of rural areas.

⚫ The influx of workers in urban areas increases competition for the job, houses,

school facilities etc.

⚫ Having large population puts too much pressure on natural resources, amenities

and services. ⚫ It is difficult for a villager to survive in urban areas because in urban areas there is

no natural environment and pure air. They have to pay for each and everything.

⚫ Migration changes the population of a place, therefore, the distribution of the

population is uneven in India.

⚫ Many migrants are completely illiterate and uneducated, therefore, they are not only

unfit for most jobs, but also lack basic knowledge and life skills.

⚫ Poverty makes them unable to live a normal and healthy life.

⚫ Children growing up in poverty have no access to proper nutrition, education or

health.

⚫ Migration increased the slum areas in cities which increase many problems such as
unhygienic conditions, crime, pollution etc.

⚫ Sometimes migrants are exploited.

⚫ Migration is one of the main causes of increasing nuclear family where children

grow up without a wider family circle.

Factors Affecting Global Migration

Economic Factors

Economic factors relate to the labour standards of a country, its unemployment

situation and the overall health of its economy. If economic conditions are not

favourable and appear to be at risk of declining further, a greater number of individuals

will probably emigrate to one with a better economy. Often this will result in people

moving from rural to urban areas while remaining within the confines of their state

borders. As the low- and middle-income countries of today continue to develop and the

high-income countries experience slower economic growth, migration from the former

could decline.

Economic migrants are drawn towards international migration because of the

prospect of higher wages, better employment opportunities and, often, a desire to

escape the domestic social and political situation of their home country. These migrants

are most likely to come from middle-income countries where the population is becoming

increasingly well educated. Salaries and wages, however, are likely to remain relatively

low compared to those of individuals with a similar educational background in other,

higher-income countries. This disparity has the potential to lead to some highly-skilled

individuals from developing countries migrating to more developed countries. This form

of migration is known as south-north migration and has historically been the main form

of economic migration.

Political Factors

According to the Organization for International Migration there are approximately

192 million people who live outside their place of birth. A majority of these people are

migrant workers and they make up 3 percent of the world’s population. Human beings

have always migrated from one place to another in search of better economic

opportunities. But apart from economic factors, there are political factors that cause

people to move from their home country to another country. War, persecution and the

absence of political rights are the predominant political factors in migration.

State Persecution

State persecution involves the harassment, discrimination and torture of people who

disagree with their government, have minority religious beliefs or ethnic backgrounds.

Because conditions in their country are unsafe, these people are forced to migrate to
safer countries. Asylum seeking is a direct result of the outflow of political migrants from

an oppressive state to a more democratic country. For example, the Migration Policy

Institute indicates that the United Kingdom received the highest asylum applications:

555,310 or 15 percent of the total global asylum applications in 2002. These numbers

which remain roughly the same, reflect the rise in claims of persecutions in countries

such as Iraq, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Afghanistan and China.

Lack of Political Liberties

The lack of political liberties and rights, and endemic corruption act as push factors

for migrants seeking greater freedoms. Even though they are not persecuted in their

places of birth, concerns that limit people’s freedoms causes them to leave. If the

political environment is hostile, then the economic situation is likely to be poor. This

triggers migration for political and economic reasons. Most migrants leave for more

democratic countries where they can pursue better careers, education and freedom.

War

According to the National Geographics’ Earth Pulse there are approximately 42

million people worldwide who have been forced to migrate due to war. War and armed

conflict have diverse causes but all these factors are influenced by political issues. War

migrants not only migrate to the usual countries such as United States, United Kingdom,

Canada and Australia, they also migrate within their own geographical areas such as

within their continent. Most war migrants become refugees or asylum seekers.

Refugees International indicates that in 2009, there were 15.2 million refugees globally.

Socio-Cultural Factors

Social push factors can include ethnic, religious, racial, and cultural persecution.

Warfare, or the threat of conflict, is also a major push factor. In the Australian context,

most asylum seekers arriving by boat in the last decade have come from Afghanistan,

Iran, Iraq and Sri Lanka. All of these countries, apart from Iran, have undergone

extremely destabilizing conflicts in recent years. On the other hand, while it is free of

violent conflict, Iran has one of the worst human rights records in the world leading

many of its citizens to seek asylum outside of its borders.

The politicization of religious and ethnic identities has the potential to cause

significant levels of conflict within states. Empirical evidence suggests that states

undergoing a political transition from authoritarian rule to democracy are at greater risk

of instability and internal conflict. Often these states lack the ability to properly respond

to social instability. Several states within the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including

Burma, have recently begun to democratize while failing to simultaneously develop a

shared national identity capable of tying together the various groups within their
borders. In socially diverse states the potential for conflict may be greater than in more

homogenous or inclusive societies. The future level of migration from these countries is

wholly dependent upon the longevity and severity of any conflict that could arise from

social grievances.

Individuals migrating due to social or cultural conditions are more likely to do so as

humanitarian migrants. This will have an impact upon where they settle as some

countries have more liberal approaches to humanitarian migrants than others. In the

first instance, these individuals are likely to move to the nearest safe country that

accepts asylum seekers. This does not, however, prevent them from undertaking a

second migration to a country that provides a broader range of legal rights to asylum

seekers and refugees.

Migration may assist or hinders development

The issue: The relationship between migration and development and the possible

role of policy.

There has been increasing recognition during the last few decades that migration

can be a factor in the promotion of international development. Migrants typically do not

cut ties with their country of origin and their interaction with the household back home

and the home community is the main channel by which migration could benefit

development. There can be an important exchange of money, knowledge and ideas

between host and home countries through migrants.

Remittances, the most concrete consequence of international migration for

developing countries, have reached a significant dimension at global levels. In 2010,

remittances to developing countries reached over USD 320 billion (World Bank 2011) –

and this is just those officially recorded. These flows have become an important source

of foreign exchange and financing for many developing countries. These international

flows are arguably less volatile than other capital flows such as portfolio investment,

foreign direct investment and official foreign aid (Ratha 2003, Vargas-Silva 2008).

Not every aspect of migration is beneficial for developing countries. Migration may

impose a high cost for developing countries by leaving the country without the human

capital necessary to achieve long-term economic growth. This human capital flight may

impose a significant economic burden for developing countries as migrants take with

them the value of their training, which is often subsidized by governments with limited

resources.

While migration impacts development, economic conditions are important drivers of

migration. People migrate for a variety of reasons including the search for better

economic opportunities, education, family reunion and escaping violence. People often
migrate for a combination of these and other reasons. However, the expected income

gap between developed and developing countries is a strong incentive for people to

migrate (Czaika and de Haas 2011a). As such, migration affects development, but

development also affects migration.

As explained below, these are not simple relationships. Development does not

always lead to less migration; the brain drain may not be bad for the human capital

levels of the migrant-sending countries and remittances may not always be beneficial to

the receiving economies.x

even when migration would imply a significant income gain for a large majority. Africa,

the poorest continent on the globe, has generated relatively small migration flows

considering the massive gain that migration would bring to its inhabitants (Hatton and

Williamson, 2002). An explanation for this puzzle is found in the constraints on the

migration of people. One such limitation is immigration policy restrictions in developed

countries. With varying degrees of success these policies limit the level of migration

flows globally (Czaika and de Haas 2011b).

While immigration restrictions could potentially be a limiting factor, there is another

constraint that is likely to be even more important: money. Migration is not free and

whatever the reason for moving, migrants need a certain minimum level of resources in

order to finance their move. A simple economics model would suggest that people

migrate for economic reasons if expected lifetime income in the host country, less the

cost of migrating, exceeds expected lifetime income in the home country. However, if

the individual cannot access the funds necessary to finance the move, the expected

income gap becomes irrelevant.

There are several implications of this cost restriction for migration. First, the desire

to migrate is higher than actual migration levels, especially among those with fewer

resources. Gallup’s Potential Net Migration Index suggests that several developed

countries would be extremely overcrowded and some developing countries would be

almost empty if all the people in the world who would like to migrate were actually able

to move where they wanted (Esipova et al. 2009).

Second, increases in GDP per capita in many developing countries may lead to an

increase rather than a decrease in migration (Hatton and Williamson 2002). As income

rises, those who have a lot to gain from moving but were not previously able to move

will be able to migrate. This is likely to continue until the home country reaches a certain

level of income, migration stabilizes and potentially decreases thereafter.

The third implication of the cost restriction on mobility is that those who migrate are

not likely to be the poorest. Therefore, development related policies designed to assist
migrants and their families back in the home country do not necessarily benefit the

poorest.

Brain drain or brain gain?

People who leave developing countries are not randomly selected among the

population. It is often the case that those who migrate from developing countries are

among the most educated people. This has caused great concern about a “brain drain”

process in developing countries, where the brightest minds leave for other countries.

Developing countries complain that scientists, nurses, doctors, engineers and other

professionals, who were educated with the limited resources available, go to work in

and benefit developed countries. There are arguments that developed countries should

compensate developing countries for the migration of their most educated professionals

(House of Commons 2004).

Other evidence has dismissed the brain drain theory and has instead adopted the

notion of a brain gain (Gibson and McKenzie 2011). The main idea is that acquiring

human capital (i.e. getting an education) is not free. Individuals have to forgo earning

income (or at least some portion of their income) while they are in school, and in many

cases they have to pay significant tuition fees, study hard and put much personal effort

into their education. Many individuals will make the sacrifice necessary to acquire

human capital only if they are able to be rewarded financially in the future. Salaries for

educated people in developing countries are often low and not sufficient to encourage

the acquisition of an education.

The possibility of migrating abroad increases the expected salary in some

professions. In this case, individuals also look at the salary expectations in other

countries when making human capital investment decisions. The fact that some may be

able to migrate encourages more people to become educated. Not all people who

acquire an education will migrate. As such, the possibility of migrating may result in a

brain gain for the country (Stark et al. 1997). Beine et al. (2011), for instance, present

evidence that in countries where the skilled emigration rate is not overly large (i.e. 20 to

30%), the net effect of skilled emigration on the country’s human capital level is positive.

The departure of the most educated individuals from a country may also result in the

creation of a brain bank that provides locals access to knowledge built up abroad

(Agrawal et al. 2008). Previous studies also suggest that migrants are in a superior

situation to invest in their home countries because they have specific knowledge that

other foreign investors lack. Non-migrant locals also have this knowledge, but they often

lack the valuable business expertise that can be acquired abroad.

Finally, it is often the case that migration is a two-way occurrence, with many
migrants returning back home after a few years abroad. The return of highly skilled

migrants with specialized knowledge and skills (e.g. engineers and scientists) can help

improve research and development programs in the home country. These migrants may

include, among others, those who obtain additional education abroad and return back

home.

The impact of remittances

Remittances are transfers of money from an individual in one country to an

individual in another country. The majority of these transactions involve small amounts

of money. However, for households in receiving countries these money flows may

represent an important share of their budget.

Migrants send money for many reasons. In some cases migrants are behaving

altruistically toward the household back home. In other cases, migrants have some selfinterested reason for remitting,
such as maintaining their household status for

inheritance or other purposes. There is evidence that some migrants also remit for

investment purposes. Finally, some migrants may be paying loans and other debts to

the household, potentially including the money they used to finance their move abroad.

It has also been argued that remittances could serve as a risk-sharing mechanism

for household members who are separated by international borders (Yang and Choi

2007). By leaving the household and moving to another region or country, the migrant

will be subjected to risks that are mostly uncorrelated to those that the household faces;

hence, the migrant and the household are able to diversify their risks.

The jury is still out on the overall impact of remittances in remittance-receiving

countries and on receiving households. Some of the evidence suggests that remittances

have beneficial impacts on receiving countries and households. For instance, at the

household level there is evidence that remittances increase human capital acquisition

(Cox and Edwards 2003). Receiving remittances may relax the budget constraint of the

receiving household potentially allowing the household to send children to school.

Remittances may also provide the capital necessary to start a small business

(Woodruff and Zenteno 2007) or may simply cover household expenses during the

period when the business is not generating profits. Receiving remittances may allow the

household to enter more profitable but riskier businesses, given that remittances can be

used as a source of support for the household. This role of remittances is especially

important in those countries where credit markets are not well developed.

One the negative side, there is evidence that many remittance-receiving households

decrease their labour market participation. People may tend to rely on these flows and

reduce their participation in the labour market, which ultimately could create
dependency on these flows similar to some type of international “welfare” system.

Nonetheless, in many instances a reduction in the labour supply can lead to a

significant increase in quality of life and allow some members of the household to

acquire additional human capital. Hence, the potential reduction in the labour supply is

not necessarily a negative aspect of remittances.

One of the arguments of those suggesting that remittances may harm receiving

economies is that remittances can generate inflationary pressures or appreciate the

receiving country’s currency. The latter impact may potentially have a negative effect on

the country’s export sector. For more information about remittances see our briefing on

‘Migrant Remittances to and from the UK‘.

Making migration more development friendly

Evidence from different studies suggests that migration results in significant global

welfare increases (e.g. Clemens 2011, Rodrik 2002, Winters 2003). As such, developed

countries could simply increase global welfare by opening their doors to more

immigration. However, development is not a key factor (and in most cases not a factor

at all) when developed countries determine the “desired” level of immigration. In most

cases, including the UK, the government takes immigration policy decisions based on

based on social, cultural, political and economic impacts on the host country. However,

for any given level of immigration (flow or stock) and some given characteristics of

migrants (e.g. skills, origin, etc.), there are policies that host country governments can

adopt in order to maximize developmental benefits.

these policies could include initiatives such as programmes that match funds collected

by migrant organizations for social investments in home countries. The contribution of

governments in host countries does not have to be limited to monetary support but

could include helping these organizations to better define their goals and implement

strategies. Collecting and providing information on members of the diaspora from a

certain country and their skills relevant to development could also support the initiatives

of home countries. Finally, it is possible to include the perspectives of migrant

organizations into the host countries policy planning on development issues. These are

just a few examples of ways in which governments can affect development through

migrants without increasing immigration levels.

An idea that has been popular in recent times is the creation of government

sponsored websites where migrants can compare prices on remittances services from

different providers and select the best deal to maximize the amount of money received

by their families. An example is the websitewww.sendmoneypacific.org created as a

joint initiative by the Australian and New Zealand Governments. The website provides
information on remitting choices for migrants living in Australia and New Zealand and

remitting to Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu

and Vanuatu. These types of websites do not require a major monetary investment on

the part of host country governments, but can have a major impact on the remittances

market