IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v510y1990i1p60-72.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Social and Economic Origins of Immigration

Author

Listed:
  • DOUGLAS S. MASSEY

Abstract

Contemporary immigration patterns represent a sharp break from the past, when international movements were dominated by flows out of Europe to a few key destination areas. Europe has now become a region of immigration, and, like other developed regions, it draws migrants from a variety of Third World countries. The large-scale movement of immigrants from developing to developed regions has both economic and social foundations. Economically, immigration originates not from simple wage differentials between poor and rich countries but from the spread of economic development to rapidly growing Third World populations and from a persistent demand for low-wage workers in developed nations. Immigration has many social foundations, but the formation of migrant networks is probably the most important. Networks build into the migration process a self-perpetuating momentum that leads to its growth over time, in spite of fluctuating wage differentials, recessions, and increasingly restrictive immigration policies in developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas S. Massey, 1990. "The Social and Economic Origins of Immigration," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 510(1), pages 60-72, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:510:y:1990:i:1:p:60-72
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716290510001005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002716290510001005
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0002716290510001005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Todaro, Michael P, 1969. "A Model for Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(1), pages 138-148, March.
    2. Greenwood, Michael J., 1981. "Migration and Economic Growth in the United States," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 1, number 9780123006509 edited by Mills, Edwin S..
    3. Stark, Oded & Levhari, David, 1982. "On Migration and Risk in LDCs," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(1), pages 191-196, October.
    4. Greenwood, Michael J & Hunt, Gary L, 1984. "Migration and Interregional Employment Redistribution in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 957-969, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiyoung Park & Seongwoo Lee & Jonghoon Park, 2024. "The Economic Decision of International Migration: Two Empirical Evidences from the United States and Canada," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-22, August.
    2. Paul Clist & Gabriele Restelli, 2021. "Development aid and international migration to Italy: Does aid reduce irregular flows?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 1281-1311, May.
    3. Shafei Gu & Eric Fong, 2022. "Migration from Muslim-Majority Countries: A Tale of Two Patterns," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(4), pages 1853-1872, August.
    4. Qirui Li & Cyrus Samimi, 2023. "Assessing Human Mobility and Its Climatic and Socioeconomic Factors for Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Lu Lan & Gao Qisheng & Zhan Chenglin, 2023. "Influence Mechanism Analysis of the Spatial Evolution of Inter-Provincial Population Flow in China Based on Epidemic Prevention and Control," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(3), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Shayegheh Ashourizadeh & Jizhen Li & Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm, 2022. "Immigrants` Entrepreneurial Networks and Export: A Comparative Study," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 1291-1318, September.
    7. Campos-Vazquez, Raymundo M. & Esquivel, Gerardo & Ghosh, Priyasmita & Medina-Cortina, Eduardo, 2023. "Long-lasting effects of a depressed labor market: Evidence from Mexico after the great recession," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. László Lőrincz & Brigitta Németh, 2022. "How Social Capital is Related to Migration Between Communities?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1119-1143, December.
    9. Lei Niu & Lulu Yuan & Zhongmin Ding & Yifu Zhao, 2023. "How Do Support Pressure and Urban Housing Purchase Affect the Homecoming Decisions of Rural Migrant Workers? Evidence from Rural China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-28, July.
    10. Md Sayed Uddin & Adam Andani Mohammed, 2022. "Poor Income and Unemployment as Determinants of Labour Migration: Empirical Evidence From Bangladeshi Migrant Workers in Klang, Malaysia," International Journal of Human Resource Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 12(3), pages 2239-2239, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tineke Fokkema & Eralba Cela & Elena Ambrosetti, 2013. "Giving from the Heart or from the Ego? Motives behind Remittances of the Second Generation in Europe," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 539-572, September.
    2. Beth Mitchneck & David A. Plane, 1995. "Migration and the Quasi-labor Market in Russia," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 18(3), pages 267-288, July.
    3. Okeke, Edward N., 2013. "Brain drain: Do economic conditions “push” doctors out of developing countries?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 169-178.
    4. Qingjun Zhao & Meijing Song & Hanrui Wang, 2022. "Voting with Your Feet: The Impact of Urban Public Health Service Accessibility on the Permanent Migration Intentions of Rural Migrants in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Shyamal Chowdhury & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak & Gharad Bryan, 2009. "Migrating Away from a Seasonal Famine: A Randomized Intervention in Bangladesh," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-41, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Sep 2009.
    6. Arland Thornton & Prem Bhandari & Jeffrey Swindle & Nathalie Williams & Linda Young-DeMarco & Cathy Sun & Christina Hughes, 2020. "Fatalistic Beliefs and Migration Behaviors: A Study of Ideational Demography in Nepal," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(4), pages 643-670, August.
    7. Paul Winters & Alain de Janvry & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2001. "Family and Community Networks in Mexico-U.S. Migration," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(1), pages 159-184.
    8. Annelies Zoomers & Gery Nijenhuis, 2012. "Does Migration Lead to Development? Or is it Contributing to a Global Divide?," Societies, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-17, September.
    9. McKenzie, David J., 2006. "A profile of the world's young developing country migrants," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4021, The World Bank.
    10. Long, John F., 1985. "Migration and the phases of population redistribution," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 29-42.
    11. Shi, Xiaojun & Yan, Zhu, 2018. "Urbanization and risk preference in China: A decomposition of self-selection and assimilation effects," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 210-228.
    12. Hernán Enríquez Sierra & Jacobo Campo Robledo, 2013. "Regional equilibrium and migration patterns in the Americas 1960-2005: Spatial data panel analysis," Working Papers 10478, Universidad Sergio Arboleda.
    13. Hernán Enriquez Sierra & Jacobo Campo Robledo, 2012. "Equilibrio regional y patrones de migración para el continente americano 1960 - 2005: Análisis espacial por panel de datos," Documentos de Trabajo 10388, Universidad Católica de Colombia.
    14. William Herrin & John Knight & Arsene Balihuta, 2009. "Migration and Wealth Accumulation in Uganda," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 165-179, August.
    15. Meyer, Wiebke, 2012. "Motives for remitting from Germany to Kosovo," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 69, number 69.
    16. Seidu, Ayuba & Onel, Gulcan & Moss, Charles Britt, 2018. "Impact of International Remittance on Out-Farm Labor Migration in Developing Countries: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis," 2018 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2018, Jacksonville, Florida 266531, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    17. Ceriani,Lidia & Verme,Paolo, 2018. "Risk preferences and the decision to flee conflict," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8376, The World Bank.
    18. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & Davis, Benjamin & Seidel, Kevin & Winters, Paul, 1997. "Determinants of Mexico-U.S. migration: the role of household assets and environmental factors," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt0xk432kz, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    19. Kingsley E. Haynes, 1997. "Labor markets and regional transportation improvements: the case of high-speed trains An introduction and review," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 31(1), pages 57-76.
    20. Kudo, Yuya, 2012. "Returns to migration : the role of educational attainment in rural Tanzania," IDE Discussion Papers 322, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:510:y:1990:i:1:p:60-72. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.