4.4.3

Country Interdependence

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Interdependence between Countries

Elite migration and low-wage economic migration both increase the interdependence between countries and their economies.

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Recessions

  • If there is a recession in one country, it will have a knock-on impact on the economy of the other country and vice versa.
  • If the construction industry in the UAE suffers, then there may be a fall in demand for low skilled migrants. Some Indian construction workers who planned to work in the UAE may no longer be able to go there.
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Remittances

  • Migrants often send remittances (money) to their families at home.
  • In 2016, an estimated $12.5 billion in remittances was sent home from the UAE to India.
  • Remittances make the Indian economy dependent on the economy of the UAE. A recession of decline in economic growth in the UAE would cause a fall in remittances being sent to India.

Impact on Source and Host Locations

The source location is the country that the migrant has come from. The host location is the country to which the migrant has travelled.

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Impacts on host locations

  • Large-scale migration can put a strain on the host location's housing and services (schools and healthcare).
  • Some people argue this has happened in the UK since 2004 when European migrants started arriving from the A8 countries.
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Impact on host locations cont.

  • An increase in workers willing to work for lower wages and do low-skilled work is an example of an economic benefit to the host location. In Dubai, 80% of the construction workforce are migrants from another country.
  • Migration can help to rebalance a population and reduce the impacts of an ageing population by increasing the tax base. This is particularly key in Western European countries such as Germany.
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Impact on source locations

  • The source location may suffer from brain-drain and a skill shortage if a large number of skilled migrants leave the country. This would be an economic cost to the source location.
  • This brain drain happened in Poland following their accession to the EU, which enabled their population to freely migrate to the UK.
  • Migrants may send remittances back to their families in source locations. These payments should benefit the local economy in source locations.

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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