International migration; a comprehensive framework for a survey of the literature

Abstract

This paper describes intemational migration in a changing political and economic environment. Recent trends in migration cannot be fully cxplained by convential economic labour demand and supply approaches, since migration flows have increased despite the limited job opportunities in the regions of destination. A different approach which explains the recent migration flows is developed within the systems approach. Using this approach, this paper introduces a conceptual framework which depicts migration motives and decisions and the factors which influence these decisions. An overview of macroeconomic foctors influencing the migration decision is given and policies, which to a large extent determine whether migration is possible or not, are described. Furthermore, the labour market consequences of migration are described. lt is found that the impact of immigrants on the host countries is usually positivc. However, these results are mainly found in the United States and therefore have no universal validity. In Europe, these findings may he somewhat different due to the different institutional settings. Furthemore, immigrant groups are not equally distributed throughout the country but are often conccntrated in city areas. Research should therefore he concentrated on the effects at the urban level.