2.2.2

• Economic push factors driving international out-migration (the 3 P’s)

  Recurring structural causes of international migration include: 

  • Poverty
  • Primary commodity prices
  • Poor access to markets within global systems
• poverty

  • Movement from the world’s poorest countries are rooted in extreme poverty of the source region
  • People living below the World Bank’s US$1.90 extreme poverty line are often unable to meet their own basic needs of food, clothing and shelter
  • These conditions lead to out-migration even if people are moving no further than neighbouring countries, where conditions may be a little better
• extreme poverty

  At the World Bank, we take the information on basic needs collected from the 15 poorest countries and then we average them. That comes out to be about $1.90 per day per person, and that is what we call the global extreme poverty line.
• Of the world’s 736 million extreme poor in 2015, 368 million—half of the total—lived in just 5 countries. 

  The 5 countries with the highest number of extreme poor are (in descending order): 

  India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh.
• LIC - less than $1,035 per capita GDP

  Low-income - $1,036 -$4,085 

  Upper-middle income $4,086-$12,615

  HIC - more than $12,615
• A country’s primary commodities (unprocessed food, timber, minerals and energy resources) provide it with the opportunity to trade with other countries, to generate income for economic development. However this does not always happen.
• primary commodity prices

  • Countries that trade only in agricultural produce and raw materials do not always gain a good income (lack of fairtrade) 
  • They have insufficient money to import  manufactured products 

  A cycle of poverty, and out-migration of skilled, ambitious and talented people (positive feedback)
• poor access to markets

  The division of the world into large trading areas called trade blocs is another reason why poverty persisted in some developing countries.

  The EU is a trading bloc that protects its own farmers by;

  • Placing import tariffs (tax) on food imports from other countries. This makes EU food cheaper, than from countries outside the bloc. 

  High levels of government financial support also allow European farmers to produce meat and vegetables cheaply. This puts other farmers at a disadvantage when selling to supermarkets, e.g. Aldi
• The World Trade Organisation (WTO) aims to reduce unfair trade barriers and government subsidies globally. However, attempts to persuade developed countries to abandon agricultural protectionism and improve market access for poorer countries have not always succeeded.
• colonial past

  As the ‘Scramble for Africa’ got underway, during the 1880s, many European nations argued over who should get which lands in Africa. They thought they were superior (better), because in Europe we were becoming rich with lots of new industries. Africa was seen as a great place to get hold of the resources we needed, and cheap labour.
• colonial past

  To stop the Europeans going to war, to see who got control of different areas of Africa, 14 nations met at the Berlin Conference in 1884-5. They divided the continent up among themselves, giving little thought to the people living there.
• global superpowers

  -The UK was a colonial power, alongside France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Germany. 

  Between approximately 1500 and 1900, these leading powers built global empires. 

  • One result was the diffusion of European languages, religions, laws, customs, arts and sports on a global scale.
• Nigeria

  In the 1960s many African countries gained their independence. Nigeria became fully independent from the UK in 1960. 

    However, bitter power struggles resulted in a series of dictatorships and a civil war between 1967 and 1970. 

     Lack of political stability affected Nigeria’s development and led to widespread corruption. 

     It is only since 1999 that the country has had a stable government. Recent elections in 2011, and 2015 were seen as free and fair.
• post colonial movement of people

  Between the 1950s and 1970s, the UK received migrants from the Caribbean (especially Jamaica), India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uganda. 

  Smaller numbers came from Nigeria, Kenya and other ex-British African territories. Today, these countries are Commonwealth members.
• post colonial movement of people

  -Migrants came to fill specific gaps in the labour force that opened up after the Second World War. Sometimes migrants were recruited directly (London Underground held interviews for bus drivers in Kingston, Jamaica).

  -There was still a large demand for workers in heavy and light industry, especially in textile mills of the Midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire.
• post colonial movement of people

  -There were gaps in the skilled labour market too, notably within the ranks of the new National Health Service. 

  UK doctors had not been trained insufficient numbers during the 1930s and 1940s to fully staff the new NHS. Many doctors travelled to the UK from India, Pakistan and parts of Africa.
• post colonial movements of people

  Other European countries that were once great world powers have post-colonial ties with states that once belonged to their own empires. 

  France is home to descendents of many Algerian and Tunisian migrants, some Belgian citizens are residents who emigrated there from DRC. 
• Cultural and political drivers of international migration

  Sometimes international migration is encouraged by particular cultural and political factors. 

  These include the existence of diaspora communities*, post-colonial links between states and political legislation permitting free movement.
• Global diaspora provide important contexts or frameworks for international migration: 

  it makes sense to migrate to a country where large numbers of one’s fellow citizens are already living. 

  Joining an established diaspora community offers many benefits: it may make finding work easier, family members may provide support during the potentially difficult initial period of relocating and settling in.
• The Indian diaspora: 

  • This is one of the world’s largest, numbering 28 million in 2016. 
  • People of Indian citizenship or descent live in almost every part of the world. 
  • Important features of the pattern are that it numbers more than 1 million in each of the 11 countries. 
  • The largest concentrations are in the USA, the UK, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and the Middle East.
• More recently, economic inequality between the north and south of Nigeria has created new religious and ethnic tensions, with the rise of the Islamic Fundamentalist group Boko Haram. This has created an unstable situation in the country, and had a negative impact on the economy, with a reduction in investment from abroad and a rise in unemployment.
• Regional variations- There are huge variations in the levels of wealth and development within Nigeria. Urban areas have a greater share of public services and facilities. 60% of urban children attend secondary school, but only 36% in rural areas. This encourages widespread rural-urban migration. GDP per person varies greatly across the country. 
• In all societies, the wealth of a nation is not equally distributed. This is the same for the quality of life. In some LICs and NEEs this inequality has worsened. 

  Nigeria has recently moved from LIC to NEE status. This is the result of wealth gained from trading. However, this wealth is not evenly distributed, in fact, Nigeria has one of the most uneven distributions of wealth on Earth.
• Nigeria, one of Africa’s two wealthiest economies, has overtaken India as home to the world’s greatest concentration of extreme poverty, amid warnings that the continent will host nine out of 10 of the world’s poorest people within 12 years.
• Nigeria

  • 14.7% of all the world’s people living in poverty
  • 105,000,000 people living in poverty
  • 51% are living in poverty (less than $1.90 a day/ £1.49), compared to 39% in Africa as a whole
  • 0.3% of the population of Europe live in poverty
• International migration (moving from one country to another) was highest in 2015. This was the result of conflict and poverty. It is highly likely that you will have seen scenes showing African migrants trying to reach Europe by boat. Many thousands of people died trying to reach the continent.
•  Commonwealth Secretariat represents the Commonwealth countries and provides advice on a range of issues including human rights, social and economic development and youth empowerment. 

     The Secretariat aims to help governments achieve sustainable, inclusive, equitable development. 

     The heads of each country meet every two years to discuss items of common interest. These are important trading and cultural links between the UK and the Commonwealth countries. 

     There are also sporting connections, with the Commonwealth Games- the so-called ‘Friendly Games’- held every 4 years.