Migration and Development: A Theoretical Perspective

doi:10.1111/J.1747-7379.2009.00804.X

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Migration and Development: A Theoretical Perspective

Journal Article•DOI•

Migration and Development: A Theoretical Perspective

Hein de Haas¹•Institutions (1)

University of Oxford¹

05 Mar 2010-International Migration Review (Wiley-Blackwell)-Vol. 44, Iss: 1, pp 227-264

Abstract: The debate on migration and development has swung back and forth like a pendulum, from developmentalist optimism in the 1950s and 1960s, to neo-Marxist pessimism over the 1970s and 1980s, towards more optimistic views in the 1990s and 2000s. This paper argues how such discursive shifts in the migration and development debate should be primarily seen as part of more general paradigm shifts in social and development theory. However, the classical opposition between pessimistic and optimistic views is challenged by empirical evidence pointing to the heterogeneity of migration impacts. By integrating and amending insights from the new economics of labor migration, livelihood perspectives in development studies and transnational perspectives in migration studies – which share several though as yet unobserved conceptual parallels – this paper elaborates the contours of a conceptual framework that simultaneously integrates agency and structure perspectives and is therefore able to account for the heterogeneous nature of migration-development interactions. The resulting perspective reveals the naivety of recent views celebrating migration as self-help development “from below”. These views are largely ideologically driven and shift the attention away from structural constraints and the vital role of states in shaping favorable conditions for positive development impacts of migration to occur.

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Journal Article•DOI•

The Internal Dynamics of Migration Processes: A Theoretical Inquiry

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Hein de Haas¹•Institutions (1)

University of Oxford¹

29 Jun 2010-Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

TL;DR: This paper proposed a conceptual framework on the internal dynamics of migration processes by elaborating a set of hypotheses on the various migration-facilitating and migration-undermining feedback mechanisms at play in the various trajectories and stages of migration system formation and decline.

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Abstract: The migration literature has identified various feedback mechanisms which explain why, once started, migration processes tend to become partly self-perpetuating, leading to the formation of migrant networks and migration systems. However, existing theories on the internal dynamics of migration processes are characterised by three fundamental weaknesses. First, their focus on migrant networks coincides with a neglect of indirect feedback dynamics that operate through the impact of migration on the sending and receiving contexts, changing the initial conditions under which migration takes place. Second, existing theories are unable to explain why most initial migration moves do not lead to network migration and migration system formation. Third, their largely circular logic reveals an inability to conceptualise which migration-undermining feedback mechanisms may counteract migration-facilitating feedback dynamics and which may explain the endogenous decline of established migration systems. By drawing on various disciplinary strands of migration theory and by applying insights from the critical social capital literature, this paper proposes a conceptual framework on the internal dynamics of migration processes by elaborating a set of hypotheses on the various migration-facilitating and migration-undermining feedback mechanisms at play in the various trajectories and stages of migration system formation and decline.

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420 citations

Cites background from "Migration and Development: A Theore..."

...…http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjms20 The Internal Dynamics of Migration Processes: A Theoretical Inquiry Hein de Haas To cite this article: Hein de Haas (2010) The Internal Dynamics of Migration Processes: A Theoretical Inquiry, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36:10, 1587-1617, DOI:…...
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...…by Massey has strong conceptual parallels with neo-Marxist theories on migration and development, according to which migration undermines the economies of sending communities by depriving them of their human and material resources and increasing their dependence on the outside world (de Haas 2010)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

The Migration and Development Pendulum: A Critical View on Research and Policy

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Hein de Haas¹•Institutions (1)

University of Oxford¹

01 Jun 2012-International Migration

TL;DR: A review of empirical evidence yields a much more nuanced picture as discussed by the authors, showing that migrants alone can not remove more structural development constraints and migration may actually contribute to development stagnation and reinforce the political status quo.

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Abstract: At the dawn of the new millennium, international development agencies and governments have “discovered” the potential of migration and remittances to stimulate development in poor countries. However, migration and development is anything but a new topic. The debate about migration and development has swung back and forth like a pendulum, from optimism in the postwar period to deep “brain drain” pessimism since the 1970s towards neo-optimistic “brain gain” since 2000. Influenced by growing policy disappointment, we might now be at the beginning of a backswing towards more pessimistic views. While these shifts are rooted in deeper ideological and paradigmatic shifts, a review of empirical evidence yields a much more nuanced picture. Despite the often considerable benefits of migration and remittances for individuals and communities involved, migrants alone can generally not remove more structural development constraints and migration may actually contribute to development stagnation and reinforce the political status quo. Despite their development potential, migrants and remittances can therefore neither be blamed for a lack of development nor be expected to trigger take-off development in generally unattractive investment environments. Recent views celebrating migration as self-help development “from below” are partly driven by neoliberal ideologies that shift the attention away from structural development constraints and, hence, the responsibility of migrant-sending states to pursue political and economic reform. Immigrant-receiving countries can increase the development potential of migration by creating legal channels for high- and lower-skilled migration and integration policies that favour socio-economic mobility of migrants and avoid their marginalization.

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302 citations

Cites background from "Migration and Development: A Theore..."

...These ideologies have links with neoclassical economic theory and the functionalist paradigm in social theory of which it is part, which in their focus on individual actors and markets largely neglects structural constraints such as ingrained socio-economic and power inequalities (de Haas, 2010a)....
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...International Migration 2012 IOM which both positive and negative development responses were possible, depending on the degree to which sending countries and regions provided attractive environments in which to invest and to which to return (de Haas, 2010a)....
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...…in view of evidence that aspiration- and capabilities-increasing development processes tend to increase migration propensities, and that highly developed societies tend to have structurally higher levels of mobility and migration (de Haas, 2010b), this issue lies beyond the scope of this paper....
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...The migration optimists are generally inspired by neoclassical migration economy and ⁄or ‘‘developmentalist’’ modernization theories (I elaborated the theoretical foundations and assumptions of these theories in de Haas, 2010a)....
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...Migration and development has been the subject of continuous and sometimes heated debate in the social sciences for over half a century at least (Bauer and Zimmermann, 1998; de Haas, 2010a; Russell, 1992)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Migrant Balancing Acts: Understanding the Interactions Between Integration and Transnationalism

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Marta Bivand Erdal¹, Ceri Oeppen²•Institutions (2)

Peace Research Institute Oslo¹, University of Sussex²

17 May 2013-Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

TL;DR: The authors explored ways of understanding the interactions between migrant integration and transnationalism, based on a review of quantitative and qualitative literature and developed a typology for understanding these interactions, with an acknowledgment of migrants' agency in straddling two societies.

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Abstract: In this article, we explore ways of understanding the interactions between migrant integration and transnationalism, based on a review of quantitative and qualitative literature. Integration is taken as the starting point, and the assumption that integration and transnationalism are at odds with one another is questioned. When considered as constituents of a social process, we argue that there are many similarities between integration and transnationalism. A typology for understanding these interactions is developed, based on an acknowledgment of migrants’ agency in straddling two societies—as a balancing act. This typology is presented as a tool to enable migration scholars to move beyond simply acknowledging the co-existence of transnationalism and integration and towards an analysis of the nature of interactions between the two—understood in relation both to particular places and contexts and to the human beings involved and their functional, emotional and pragmatic considerations.

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265 citations

Cites background from "Migration and Development: A Theore..."

...Transnationalism may also have normative and political aspects, for instance in the context of long-distance nationalism (Koser 2003) or migration and development (de Haas 2010), where migrants may be ‘expected’ to contribute to their country of origin....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Migration as a contribution to resilience and innovation in climate adaptation: Social networks and co-development in Northwest Africa

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Juergen Scheffran, Elina Marmer¹, Papa Sow²•Institutions (2)

University of Hamburg¹, University of Bonn²

01 Apr 2012-Applied Geography

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored possible opportunities, innovative approaches and institutional mechanisms for migration as a contribution to climate adaptation in the Western Sahel region, with a focus on Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.

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247 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Environmental Dimensions of Migration

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Lori M. Hunter¹, Jessie K. Luna¹, Rachel Norton²•Institutions (2)

University of Colorado Boulder¹, University of Colorado Denver²

17 Aug 2015-Review of Sociology

TL;DR: It is argued that sociologists could contribute significantly to migration-environment inquiry through attention to issues of inequality, perceptions, and agency vis-à-vis structure as well as promising developments in the field.

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Abstract: Research on the environmental dimensions of human migration has made important strides in recent years. However, findings have been spread across multiple disciplines with wide-ranging methodologies and limited theoretical development. This article reviews key findings of the field and identifies future directions for sociological research. We contend that the field has moved beyond linear environmental “push” theories toward a greater integration of context, including micro-level, meso-level, and macro-level interactions. We highlight findings that migration is often a household strategy to diversify risk (new economics of labor migration theory), interacting with household composition; individual characteristics; social networks; and historical, political, and economic contexts. We highlight promising developments in the field, including the recognition that migration is a long-standing form of environmental adaptation and yet only one among many forms of adaptation. Finally, we argue that sociologists ...

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242 citations

Cites background from "Migration and Development: A Theore..."

...Finally, vulnerability and livelihood frameworks share what de Haas (2010) argues are unrecognized parallels with NELM approaches....
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...New approaches such as NELM and livelihood perspectives (de Haas 2010) have www.annualreviews.org • Environmental Dimensions of Migration 387 A nn u....
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References

PDF

Open Access

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Book•

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

[...]

Thomas S. Kuhn

01 Jan 1962

TL;DR: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as discussed by the authors is a seminal work in the history of science and philosophy of science, and it has been widely cited as a major source of inspiration for the present generation of scientists.

...read moreread less

Abstract: A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were-and still are. "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. And fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach. With "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don't arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation, but that revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of "normal science," as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age. This new edition of Kuhn's essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introductory essay by Ian Hacking that clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn's ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking's essay provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.

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36,808 citations

"Migration and Development: A Theore..." refers background or methods in this paper

...What has remained unobserved so far is that migration economists have – apparently unintentionally – provided additional economic evidence for and further refinement of the transitional migration perspective by uncovering the anatomy of the “migration hump”. Martin (1993) and Martin and Taylor (1996) argued that a temporary increase in migration – a migration hump – has been a usual part of the process of economic development....
[...]
...As Kuhn (1962) argued, proponents of different paradigms live in different worlds, use different vocabularies, and use different criteria determining the legitimacy both of problems and of proposed solutions in terms of methodology and analysis....
[...]
...Each paradigm therefore has the tendency to satisfy the criteria it sets for itself and to reject the very problem definition as well as evaluation criteria used by other paradigms (Kuhn, 1962:109)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

[...]

Thomas S. Kuhn, David Hawkins

01 Jul 1963-American Journal of Physics

34,393 citations

Book•

Development as Freedom

[...]

Amartya Sen

01 Jan 1999

TL;DR: In this paper, Amartya Sen quotes the eighteenth century poet William Cowper on freedom: Freedom has a thousand charms to show, That slaves howe'er contented, never know.

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Abstract: In Development as Freedom Amartya Sen quotes the eighteenth century poet William Cowper on freedom: Freedom has a thousand charms to show, That slaves howe'er contented, never know. Sen explains how in a world of unprecedented increase in overall opulence, millions of people living in rich and poor countries are still unfree. Even if they are not technically slaves, they are denied elementary freedom and remain imprisoned in one way or another by economic poverty, social deprivation, political tyranny or cultural authoritarianism. The main purpose of development is to spread freedom and its 'thousand charms' to the unfree citizens. Freedom, Sen persuasively argues, is at once the ultimate goal of social and economic arrangements and the most efficient means of realizing general welfare. Social institutions like markets, political parties, legislatures, the judiciary, and the media contribute to development by enhancing individual freedom and are in turn sustained by social values. Values, institutions, development, and freedom are all closely interrelated, and Sen links them together in an elegant analytical framework. By asking "What is the relation between our collective economic wealth and our individual ability to live as we would like?" and by incorporating individual freedom as a social commitment into his analysis, Sen allows economics once again, as it did in the time of Adam Smith, to address the social basis of individual well-being and freedom.

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19,080 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@@The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration.

[...]

Alan Sica, Anthony Giddens

01 May 1986-Contemporary Sociology

TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.

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Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.

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16,208 citations

"Migration and Development: A Theore..." refers background in this paper

...Social scientists, influenced by post-modernist thinking and Giddens’ (1984) structuration theory, sought to harmonize agency and structure-oriented approaches....
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...Although some individual action is routinized and mainly serves to reproduce structures, rules and institutions, other action has agency, serving to change the system and perhaps, in time, remake new rules (Giddens, 1984)....
[...]
...Although some individual action is routinized and mainly serves to reproduce structures, rules and institutions, other action has agency, serving to change the system and perhaps, in time, remake new rules (Giddens 1984)....
[...]
...Social scientists, influenced by post-modernist thinking and Giddens (1984) structuration theory,8 sought to harmonize agency and structure-oriented approaches....
[...]

Book•

The Constitution of Society. Outline of the Theory of Structuration

[...]

Anthony Giddens

01 Jan 1984

TL;DR: Giddens as discussed by the authors has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.

...read moreread less

13,552 citations