Why do people migrate? A review of the theoretical literature

Hagen-Zanker, Jessica (2008): Why do people migrate? A review of the theoretical literature.

Abstract

Massey et al. (1994) is a ground-breaking paper in the migration literature that discusses and unifies different migration theories. However, their review and synthesis is incomplete and fairly brief for researchers interested in a deeper understanding of the migration theory literature. This paper therefore aims to review the complete spectrum of economic migration theory from the 1950s until today and to show the differences and complementarities between the different approaches.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: migration; migration theory

References

Bigsten, A. (1988). "A Note on the Modelling of Circular Smallholder Migration." Economics Letters 28: 87-91.

Bordieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Boyle, P., K. Halfacre, et al. (1998). Chapter 3: Contrasting conceptual approaches in migration research. Exploring contemporary migration. Harlow, Longman.

Crawford, T. (1973). Beliefs About Birth Control: A Consistency Theory Analysis. Representative Research in Social Psychology, 4, 53-65.

Dercon, S. (2005). Insurance Against Poverty. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Faist, T. (1997). The Crucial Meso-Level. International Migration, Immobility and Development. T. Hammer, G. Brochmann, K. Tamas and T. Faist. Oxford, Berg Publishers

Faist, T. (2000). The Volume and Dynamics of International Migration and Transnational Social Spaces. Oxford, Clarendon Press.

Fischer, P. A., R. Martin, et al. (1997). Should I Stay or Should I Go? International Migration, Immobility and Development. T. Hammer, G. Brochmann, K. Tamas and T. Faist. Oxford, Berg Publishers

Foster, A. D. and M. R. Rosenzweig (2001). "Imperfect Commitment, Altruism, and the Family: Evidence from Transfer Behaviour in Low-Income Rural Areas." The Review of Economics and Statistics 83(3): 389-407.

Goss, J. and B. Lindquist (1995). "Conceptualizing International Labour Migration: A Structuration Perspective." International Migration Review 29(2): 317-351.

Guilmoto, C. Z. and F. Sandron (2001). "The Internal Dynamics of Migration Networks in Developing Countries." Population: An English Selection 13(2): 135-164.

Haan, A. d., Brock, K., & Coulibaly, N. (2002). Migration, livelihoods and institutions: contrasting patterns of migration in Mali. Labour Mobility and Rural Society, 38(5), 37-58.

Harbison, S. F. (1981). Family Structure and Family Strategy in Migration Decision Making. Migration Decision Making. G. d. Jong and R. Gardner. New York, Pergamon Press.

Harris, J. and M. Todaro (1970). "Migration, Unemployment and Development: A Two-Sector Analysis." The American Economic Review 60: 126-142.

Haug, S. (2000). "Klassischere und neuere Theorien der Migration (Classical and newer theories of migration)." Arbeitspapiere- Mannheimer Zentrum fuer Europaeische Sozialforschung(30).

Hoffmann-Nowotny, H.-J. (1981). A Sociological Approach Toward a General Theory of Migration. Global Trends in Migration. M. Kritz, L. L. Lim and H. Zlotnik. New York, Centre for Migration Studies.

Hollifield, J. F. (2000). The Politics of International Migration. Migration Theory Talking Across Disciplines. C. B. Brettell and J. F. Hollifield. New York, Routledge.

Jong, G. D. and J. Fawcett (1981). Motivations for Migration: An Assessment and a Value-Expectancy Model. Migration Decision Making. G. D. Jong and R. Gardner. New York, Pergamon Press.

Kritz, M. M. and H. Zlotnik (1992). Global Interactions: Migration Systems, Processes, and Policies. International Migration Systems A Global Approach. M.Kritz, L. L. Lim and H. Zlotnik. Oxford, Clarendon Press.

Lall, S., H. Selod, et al. (2006). "Rural-Urban Migration in Developing Countries: A Survey of Theoretical Predictions and Empirical Findings." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper(3915).

Lee, E. (1966). "A Theory of Migration." Demography 3(1): 47-57. Lewis, W. A. (1954). Economic Development with Unlimited Supply of Labour. The Manchester School, 22(2), 139-191.

Mabogunje, A. L. (1970). "Systems Approach to a Theory of Rural-Urban Migration." Geographical Analysis 2: 1-18.

Massey, D. (1999). Why Does Immigration Occur? A Theoretical Synthesis. The handbook of international migration : the American experience C. Hirschman, P. Kasinitz and J. DeWind. New York, Russell Sage Foundation.

Massey, D., J. Arango, et al. (1994). "Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal." Population and Development Review 19(3).

Massey, D. S. (1990). "Social Structure, Household Strategies, and the Cumulative Causation of Migration." Population Index 56(1): 3-26.

Massey, D. S., J. Arango, et al. (1998). Worlds in Motion. Oxford, Clarendon Press.

McDowell, C. and A. d. Haan (1997). "Migration and sustainable livelyhoods: a critical review of the literature." IDS Working Paper(65).

Mincer, J. (1978). "Family Migration Decisions." Journal of Political Economy 86(5): 749-773.

Mora, J. and J. E. Taylor (2005). Determinants of Migration, Destination, and Sector Choice: Disentangling Individual, Household, and Community Effects. International Migration, Remittances, and the Brain Drain M. Schiff and Ç. Özden, Palgrave Macmillan

Morokvasic, M. (1984). "Birds of Passage are also Women." International Migration Review 18(4): 886-907.

Morrison, A. R. (1994). "Capital Market Imperfections, Labor Market Disequilbrium and Migration: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis." Economic Inquiry 32(2): 290-302.

Piore, M. J. (1979). Birds of passage: migrant labor and industrial societies: Cambridge University Press.

Stark, O., & Lucas, R. E. B. (1988). Migration, Remittances, and the Family. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 36(3), 465-481.

Ritchey, P. N. (1976). "Explanations of Migration." Annual Review of Sociology 2: 363-404.

Ranis, G., & Fei, J. C. H. (1961). A Theory of Economic Development. The American Economic Review, 51(4), 533-565.

Ravenstein, E. G. (1885). The Laws of Migration. Journal of the Statistical Society of London, 48(2), 167-235.

Rosenzweig, M. R. (1988). "Risk, Implicit Contracts and the Family in Rural Areas of Low-Income Countries." The Economic Journal 98(December 1988): 1148-1170.

Sandell, S. H. (1977). Women and the Economics of Family Migration. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 59(4), 406-414.

Sjaastad, L. (1962). "The Costs and Returns of Human Migration." Journal of Political Economy 70(5): 80-93.

Stark, O. (1984). "Migration Decision Making: A Review Article." Journal of Development Economics 14: 251-259.

Stark, O. (1991). The Migration of Labour. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers.

Stark, O. and D. E. Bloom (1985). "The New Economics of Labour Migration." American Economic Review 75: 173-178.

Stark, O. and D. Levhari (1982). "On Migration and Risk in LDCs." Economic Development and Cultural Change 31(1): 191-196.

Stark, O. and W. Q. Wang (2002). "Migration dynamics." Economics Letters 76: 159-164.

Taylor, J. E. (1999). "The New Economics of Labour Migration and the Role of Remittances in the Migration Process." International Migration 37(1).

Taylor, J. E. (2001). Migration: new dimensions and characteristics, causes, consequences and implications for rural poverty. Food, Agriculture and Rural Development. K. G. Stamoulis. Rome, Food and Agricultural Organisation.

Taylor, J. E. and P. L. Fletcher (2001). "Remittances and Development in Mexico: The New Labour Economics of Migration: a Critical Review." Rural Mexico Research Project 2.

Taylor, J. E. and P. L. Martin (2001). Human Capital: Migration and Rural Population Change. Handbook of Agricultural Economic. B. Gardner and G. Rausser. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science. 1.

Todaro, M. (1969). "A Model of Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries." The American Economic Review 59(March 1969): 138-148.

Wallerstein, I. (1974). The Modern World-system: Academic Press New York.

Wolpert, J. (1965). "Behavioural Aspects of the Decision to Migrate." Papers of the Regional Science Association 15: 159-169.

Zelinsky, W. (1971). "The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition." Geographical Review 61(2): 219-249.

Zipf, G. (1946). The PP/D hypothesis: on the Intercity Movement of Persons. American Sociological Review, 11, 677-686.

Zolberg, A. (1981). International Migration in Political Perspective. Global Trends in Migration. M. Kritz, L. L. Lim and H. Zlotnik. New York, Centre for Migration Studies.