Globalisation and migration

• Migration


  The movement of people from place to place, which can be internal, within a society, or international
• Immigration


  The movement of people into a society
• Emigration


  The movement of people out of a society
• Net migration


  The difference between the numbers of immigrants and the number of emigrants, and is expressed in a net increase or decrease in migration
• Migration can impact the statistics of a population, such as age, race, gender, etc.
• Immigrant groups in the UK from 1900-WW2

  • Irish for economic reasons
  • Eastern/Central European Jews fleeing persecution
  • Canadians/Americans with British descent
• Very few immigrants were non-white during this period
• Immigrant groups in the UK from 1950s-1970s


  • Black immigrants from the Caribbean
  • South Asian and East African Asians (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda)
• This has made UK society more ethnically diverse, with minority ethnic groups accounting for 34% of the population by 2011
• More people left the UK than entered it until the 1980s, and most immigrants were white
• Despite this, immigration and nationality acts in 1962/1990 put restrictions on non-white immigration, so by the 1980s, non-whites were around 25% of all immigrants, with the rest being from white EU countries
• Reasons for emigration from the UK

  • Push factors (e.g. unemployment and economic recession)
  • Pull factors (e.g. higher wages or better opportunities)
• These factors are different from other groups who migrated due to being driven by political or religious persecution
• Population size


  Currently growing due to immigration, with net migration being high (260,000 in 2014) and almost half of immigrants being non-EU citizens
• Age structure


  Immigration lowers the average age, as immigrants are usually younger than the UK population, and their higher birth rates also contribute to a younger population
• Dependency ratio


  Immigrants help lower the ratio as they are more likely to be working age, but their higher birth rates can also increase the ratio in the short term
• The longer a group settles in the country, the closer their fertility rate is to the national average, reducing their overall impact on the dependency ratio
• Globalisation


  The idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries
• Globalisation is seen as producing rapid social changes, including increased international migration
• Acceleration


  The rate of migration has been speeding up, with the number of international migrants increasing by 13% between 2000 and 2015
• Differentiation


  Before globalisation, migrants mainly only came from former British colonies, but now there is increased diversity of migrants, including permanent settlers, spouses, temporary workers, and forced migrants/refugees, with some having legal entitlement to enter and others not
• Class differences among migrants

  Citizens have full citizenship rights, denizens are privileged foreign nationals, and helots are a disposable, poorly paid reserve army of labour
• Transnational identities


  Migrants are less likely to see themselves as part of just one country/culture, and instead develop identities that span multiple countries and cultures, facilitated by modern technology
• Feminisation of migration


  The increase in female migrants, leading to the globalisation of the gender division of labour where female migrants are stereotyped into roles as carers or providers of sexual services
• Politicisation of migration


  The increased global flow of migrants has made migration a big political issue, with states having policies to control immigration, absorb migrants into society, and deal with increased ethnic/cultural diversity
• Assimilationism


  A policy approach that aims to encourage migrants to adopt the language, values and customs of the host culture
• Multiculturalism


  An approach that accepts that migrants may wish to retain a separate cultural identity, but this acceptance may be limited to superficial differences rather than more fundamental ones