Question

iscuss TWO differences between economic change and legal/political change impacting flow of people to places. Provide an example for each.

Answer 1

Economic Factors

Economic factors relate to the labour standards of a country, its unemployment situation and the overall health of its economy. If economic conditions are not favourable and appear to be at risk of declining further, a greater number of individuals will probably emigrate to one with a better economy. Often this will result in people moving from rural to urban areas while remaining within the confines of their state borders. As the low- and middle-income countries of today continue to develop and the high-income countries experience slower economic growth, migration from the former could decline.

Economic migrants are drawn towards international migration because of the prospect of higher wages, better employment opportunities and, often, a desire to escape the domestic social and political situation of their home country. These migrants are most likely to come from middle-income countries where the population is becoming increasingly well educated. Salaries and wages, however, are likely to remain relatively low compared to those of individuals with a similar educational background in other, higher-income countries. This disparity has the potential to lead to some highly-skilled individuals from developing countries migrating to more developed countries. This form of migration is known as south-north migration and has historically been the main form of economic migration.

Political factors

Human beings have always migrated from one place to another in search of better economic opportunities. But apart from economic factors, there are political factors that cause people to move from their home country to another country. War, persecution and the absence of political rights are the predominant political factors in migration.

State Persecution

State persecution involves the harassment, discrimination and torture of people who disagree with their government, have minority religious beliefs or ethnic backgrounds. Because conditions in their country are unsafe, these people are forced to migrate to safer countries. Asylum seeking is a direct result of the outflow of political migrants from an oppressive state to a more democratic country.

Iraq

Zimbabwe

Somalia

Afghanistan

Lack of Political Liberties

The lack of political liberties and rights, and endemic corruption act as push factors for migrants seeking greater freedoms. Even though they are not persecuted in their places of birth, concerns that limit people’s freedoms causes them to leave. If the political environment is hostile, then the economic situation is likely to be poor. This triggers migration for political and economic reasons. Most migrants leave for more democratic countries where they can pursues better careers, education and freedom.

War

According to the National Geographics’ Earth Pulse there are approximately 42 million people worldwide who have been forced to migrate due to war. War and armed conflict have diverse causes but all these factors are influenced by political issues. War migrants not only migrate to the usual countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, they also migrate within their own geographical areas such as within their continent. Most war migrants become refugees or asylum seekers.