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Migration: causes, impacts and management
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More people live outside their country of birth than ever before. Why do they move, and what happens when they do?
Push and pull
Push factors drive people away: unemployment, poverty, war, persecution, natural disasters.
Pull factors attract people: jobs, higher wages, safety, education and family.
Voluntary migrants choose to move, often for work; forced migrants, such as refugees, flee danger.
Over the past 50 years, cheaper transport and better communications have made migration easier, and more people move from poorer to richer countries.
Pull factors attract people: jobs, higher wages, safety, education and family.
Voluntary migrants choose to move, often for work; forced migrants, such as refugees, flee danger.
Over the past 50 years, cheaper transport and better communications have made migration easier, and more people move from poorer to richer countries.
Impacts
Source country: remittances (money sent home) support families; but it loses young workers and skilled people (brain drain), leaving an older population.
Host country: migrants fill labour shortages, pay taxes and add cultural diversity; but there may be pressure on housing and services and sometimes social tension.
Migrants themselves: higher incomes, but possible exploitation and discrimination.
Host country: migrants fill labour shortages, pay taxes and add cultural diversity; but there may be pressure on housing and services and sometimes social tension.
Migrants themselves: higher incomes, but possible exploitation and discrimination.
Managing migration: Australia
Australia uses a points-based system for skilled migrants: points are given for age, skills, qualifications and English language.
This aims to attract workers the economy needs.
It also runs family and humanitarian (refugee) programmes. Its strict policies towards asylum seekers arriving by boat have been widely debated.
This aims to attract workers the economy needs.
It also runs family and humanitarian (refugee) programmes. Its strict policies towards asylum seekers arriving by boat have been widely debated.
Explain one positive and one negative impact of emigration on a source country.
- Positive: migrants send remittances home, which pay for food, school fees and housing.
- Negative: the country loses young and skilled workers, such as doctors, which is called a brain drain.
Answer: Remittances, but a loss of young and skilled workers.
Migration is driven by push and pull factors; migrants may be voluntary or forced. Source countries gain remittances but lose workers (brain drain); host countries gain workers and taxes but may face pressure on services. Australia manages skilled migration with a points-based system.
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