Revision:Migration

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Migration

• Migration is the movement of people
• It is classified by such indices as
  • Distance travelled
  • Reason for travel
  • Period of time of travel
  • Volume of migrants
• Consequences of migration include
  • Increased understanding between people of different cultures
  • Increased animosity between people of different cultures
  • Changes in numbers of people at the destination and origin
  • Creation of ghettos in urban areas
  • Inter-marriages

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

• Ravenstein came up with his "laws" of migration in the 1880s based on studies carried out in the UK.
• The laws are as follows
  1. The greatest body of migrants travel short distances.
  2. This produces currents directed towards great commercial centers.
  3. Each current has a compensating counter-current in the opposite direction.
  4. Both currents display similar characteristics
  5. Long distance movements are directed towards great commercial centers.
  6. People in urban areas migrate less than people in urban areas.
  7. Males migrate more over long distances and females migrate more over short distances.
• Additions to These Laws
  1. Most migrants are between 20-34 years of age.
  2. People mainly move for economic reasons.
  3. Urban housing development is inadequate for the influx of migrants so ghettos/shanties are formed.

Zipf's Inverse Distance Law

• The volume of migrants decreases with distance from the origin.

Stouffer's Law of Intervening Distances

• The number of migrants moving from one town (i) to another (j) is directly related to the opportunities available at j but inversely proportional to the number of intervening opportunities between i and j.

Push-Pull Theory

• Any migration is as a result of push forces at the origin and pull forces at the destination. Examples of push forces are famine, war and poverty. Examples of pull forces are availability of food, peace and wealth.

Gravity Model

• This theory states that larger towns are more attractive to immigrants than smaller towns

Consequences of Migration

These can be subdivided into 3 categories:

1. Demographic Consequences:
   • Changes in the numbers and distribution of people within a region are changed.
   • Intermarriages are created, leading to a new group of people.
2. Social Consequences:
   • Migration brings different people together leading to conflicts.
   • Migration however also creates understanding between different groups of people.
   • Rural-Urban migration creates ghettos in cities.
3. Economic Consequences:
   • This depends on the "quality" of the migrants and the economic needs of the origin and destination. #*Quality refers to skills, age, educational attainment, health etc.
   • In overpopulated areas, emigration is beneficial because it reduces the pressure on the land.
   • In underpopulated areas, emigration may slow down development.

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