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.

What are elite migrants?

What are elite migrants?

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

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.
Elite migrants and skills gaps

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.

Benefits for host country

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.
Impact on source countries

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.
Patterns of low-wage migration

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.
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