4.4.2

International Migration

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Elite Migration

As well as the increase in rural-urban migration, international migration has increased in cities and regions that are global hubs.

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What are elite migrants?

  • Elite migrants are wealthy migrants who are welcomed to a country because of the investment and capital that they bring.
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Elite migrants and FDI

  • Elite migrants are an advantage to the host country because they boost their FDI.
    • E.g. In 2013, the Financial Times reported that 82% of property deals in Central London involve foreign buyers.
  • Increased international migration increases the interdependence between regions.
    • E.g. The migration of wealthy Russian oligarchs (elite migrants) to London increases the interdependence between the UK and Russia as investment flows between the two countries.
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Elite migrants and skills gaps

  • Elite migrants can also be highly skilled people who migrate to a country to work within a particular industry.
    • E.g. Skilled doctors who come to the UK to work in the NHS.
  • The benefits of increased elite migration are that it increases investment into the host country and can fill the skills gap.
  • But the source country can experience a skills gap and lack of investment as the migrants have left the area.

Low-Wage Economic Migration

Low-wage economic migration generally involves less skilled workers moving to new regions to find work.

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Benefits for host country

  • The benefits of low-wage economic migration for the host country is that this cheap labour can be used to develop the infrastructure of the country.
  • This has been the case in the UAE Gulf State where foreign migrants make up 80% of the construction workforce in Dubai.
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Impact on source countries

  • The source countries benefit if remittances (earned income) are sent home by the migrants.
  • The source countries can be negatively impacted if they lack low-wage workers as a result of migration abroad. This could create a skills gap.
  • Like elite migration, low-wage economic migration creates an interdependence between host and source countries.
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Patterns of low-wage migration

  • Low-wage economic migrants move for different reasons. The migration of low-wage economic migrants from India to the UAE has been mostly construction workers.
  • The low-wage economic migrants from the Phillippines to Saudi Arabia has been mostly domestic workers, for example, nurses and carers.

Jump to other topics

1Tectonic Processes & Hazards

2Option 2A: Glaciated Landscapes & Change

3Option 2B: Coastal Landscapes & Change

4Globalisation

5Option 4A: Regenerating Places

6Option 4B: Diverse Places

7The Water Cycle & Water Insecurity (A2 only)

8The Carbon Cycle & Energy Security (A2 only)

9Superpowers (A2 only)

10Option 8A: Health & Human Rights (A2 only)

11Option 8B: Migration & Identity (A2 only)

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