Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Migration in Asia: In Search of a Theoretical Framework

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Global and Asian Perspectives on International Migration

Part of the book series: Global Migration Issues ((IOMS,volume 4))

Abstract

Migration is a complex reality, driven by many forces at the macro level and many different kinds of motivations at the micro level. Because of its complexity, it has been studied from the perspective of different social disciplines. Social scientists agree that it might not be possible or desirable to arrive at a unified theory, capable of explaining all the components of the migratory phenomenon. Therefore, many theories have been elaborated, which provide a partial explanation of migration. While applicable to labor migration in different contexts, they are also challenged by the specificities of migration systems. Labor migration in Asia is one such system, which calls for interrogating and integrating Asian realities in existing theoretical perspectives. The first part of this chapter will provide a synthetic overview of migration, utilizing the contributions of different theories. Some characteristics of migration in Asia will then be illustrated and possible theoretical developments suggested.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Asia is also a region of vast internal migration. Perhaps the most renowned internal movement concerns migrants from the rural to the coastal provinces of China, involving 221 million people (AMO 2012 (2013)).

  2. 2.

    Unless otherwise specified, figures in this section are taken from the Asian Migration Outlook 2012 (AMO 2012 (2013)).

  3. 3.

    http://www.bmet.gov.bd/BMET/viewStatReport.action?reportnumber=18. Accessed 21 Mar 2014.

  4. 4.

    I am grateful to Ki-seon Chung, senior researcher at Migration Research and Training Center of the International Organization for Migration (IOM MRTC) in Korea for this information.

  5. 5.

    In the Philippines it is equivalent to one month salary. However, domestic workers should not be charged any fee.

  6. 6.

    Hugo (1998) had arrived at the same conclusion in his overview of the applicability of theories to Asian migration.

References

  • Abella, M. (1997). Sending workers abroad: A manual for low- and middle-income countries. Geneva: ILO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abella, M. (2004). The recruiter’s share in labour migration. In D. Massey & E. Taylor (Eds.), International migration. Prospects and policies in a global market (pp. 201–211). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alba, R., & Nee, V. (2003). Remaking the American mainstream. Assimilation and contemporary immigration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • AMO (Asian Migration Outlook) 2012. (2013). Asian Migration Outlook 2012. Quezon city: Scalabrini Migration Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • APMJ (Asian and Pacific Migration Journal). (1994). The turning points in Asian migration. APMJ Special Issue, 3(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Arango, J. (2004). Theories of international migration. In D. Joly (Ed.), International migration in the new millennium (pp. 15–36). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asis, M. M. B., & Battistella, G. (2013). Multicultural realities and membership: States, migrations and citizenship in Asia. In A. E. Lai, F. L. Collins, & B. S. A. Yeoh (Eds.), Migration and diversity in Asian contexts (pp. 31–55). Singapore: ISEAS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asis, M. M. B., Piper, N., & Raghuram, P. (2010). International migration and development in Asia: Exploring knowledge frameworks. International Migration, 48(3), 76–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Citizenship. (2013). 2012–13 Migration program report. http://www.immi.gov.au/media/statistics/pdf/report-on-migration-program-2012-13.pdf. Accessed 18 Feb 2014.

  • Battistella, G. (1999). Philippine migration policy: Dilemmas of a crisis. Sojourn, 14(1), 229–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battistella, G. (2004). Return migration in the Philippines. Issues and policies. In D. S. Massey & J. E. Taylor (Eds.), International migration. Prospects and policies in a global market (pp. 212–229). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battistella, G. (2012). Multi-level policy approach in the governance of labour migration: Considerations from the Philippine experience. Asian Journal of Social Science, 40, 419–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Basch, L., Glick Schiller, N., & Szanton-Blanc, C. (Eds.). (1994). Nations unbound: Transnational projects, postcolonial predicaments and deterritorialized nation-states. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bijak, J. (2006). Forecasting international migration: Selected theories, models, and methods. CEFMR Working Paper 4/2006. Central European Forum for Migration Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brettell, C., & Hollifield, J. F. (2000). Migration theory: Talking across disciplines. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso, F. H., & Faletto, E. (1979). Dependency and development in Latin America. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassarino J.-P. (2004). Theorising return migration: The conceptual approach to return migrants revisited. International Journal on Multicultural Societies, 6(2), 253–279.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castles, S. (2009). Development and migration or migration and development: What comes first? Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 18(4), 441–472.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cerase, F. P. (1974). Expectations and reality: A case study of return migration from the United States to Southern Italy. International Migration Review, 8(2), 245–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, C. R. (Ed.). (1996). Theories of migration. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, M., & Bélanger, D. (2006). Migration theories and first nations mobility: Towards a systems perspective. CRSA/RCSA, 43(2), 141–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, G. F., & Fawcett, J. T. (1981). Motivations for migration: An assessment and a value-expectancy research model. In G. F. De Jong & R. W. Gardner (Eds.), Migration decision making. Multidisciplinary approaches to microlevel studies in developed and developing countries. New York: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, G. F., & Gardner, R. W. (Eds.) (1981). Migration decision making. Multidisciplinary approaches to microlevel studies in developed and de veloping countries. New York: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dustmann, C., & Kirchkamp, O. (2002). The optimal migration duration and activity choice after re-migration. Journal of Development Economics, 67, 351–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmer, P. C. (Ed.). (1986). Colonialism and migration; indentured labour before and after slavery. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Favell, A. (2001). Integration policy and integration research in Europe: A review and critique. In T. A. Aleinikoff & D. Klusmeyer (Eds.), Citizenship today: Global perspectives and practices (pp. 349–399). Washington: Brookings Institute/Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

    Google Scholar 

  • Franch, A. G. (1969). Capitalism and underdevelopment in Latin America: Historical studies of Chile and Brazil. New York: Monthly Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fussell, E. (2012). Space, time, and volition: Dimensions of migration theory. In M. R. Rosenblum & D. J. Tichenor (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the politics of international migration. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gammeltoft-Hansen, T., & Sorensen, N. N. (Eds.). (2013). The migration industry and the commercialization of international migration. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R. W., et al. (1986). The best-laid schemes: An analysis of discrepancies between migration intentions and behavior. Population and Environment, 8(1 & 2), 1985–1986. (Reprinted in Reprints of the East-West Population Institute, no. 241. Honolulu: East-West Center.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Glazer, N., & Moynihan, D. P. (1963). Beyond the melting pot: The Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, and Irish of New York city. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, M. M. (1964). Assimilation in American life. The role of race, religion and national origins. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goss, J., & Lindquist, B. (1995). Conceptualising international labor migration: A structuration perspective. International Migration Review, 29(2):317–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of Canada. (2012). Facts and figures 2012-immigration overview: Permanent and temporary residents. http://www.cic.gc.ca/English/resources/statistics/facts2012/index.asp. Accessed 18 Feb 2014.

  • Government of India, Ministry of overseas Indian Affairs. (2013). Annual report 2012 −13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. (1993). Struggles for recognition in constitutional states. European Journal of Philosophy, 1(2), 128–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammar, T., et al. (Eds.). (1997). International migration, immobility and development. Multidisciplinary perspectives. Oxford: Berg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, J. R., & Todaro, M. P. (1970). Migration, unemployment and development: A two-sector analysis. American Economic Review, 60(1), 126–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hugo, G. (1998). Theory and reality in Asia and the Pacific. In D. Massey (Ed.), Worlds in motion. Understanding international migration at the end of the millennium (pp. 160–195). Oxford: Clarendon.

    Google Scholar 

  • IOM (International Organization for Migration). (2011). Labour migration from Colombo process countries. Good practices, challenges and way forward. Geneva: IOM.

    Google Scholar 

  • IOM (International Organization for Migration). (2013). Country migration report. The Philippines 2013. Makati City: IOM; Quezon City: SMC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, E. S. (1966). A theory of migration. Demography, 3(1), 47–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, R. (2012). Theories and typologies of migration: An overview and a primer. Willy Brandt series of working papers in international migration and ethnic relations, 3/12, IMER-MIM. Malmoe: Malmoe University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kritz, M. M., Lim, L. L., & Zlotnick, H. (1992). International migration systems. A global approach. Oxford: Clarendon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kymlicka, W. (1995). Multicultural citizenship. Oxford: Clarendon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, A. W. (1954). Economic development with unlimited supplies of labour. Manchester: School of Economic and Social Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mabogunje, A. L. (1970). Systems approach to a theory of rural-urban migration. Geographical Review, 2(1), 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, J. S., & Macdonald, L. D. (1964). Chain migration, ethnic neighborhood formation and social networks. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 42(1), 82–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. L. (1993). Trade and migration: NAFTA and agriculture. Policy analyses in international economics 38. http://bookstore.piie.com/book-store/73.html. Accessed 13 Feb 2014.

  • Martin P. L. (2005). Merchants of labor: Agents of the evolving migration infrastructure. ILO DP/158/2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Alarcon, R., Durand, J., & Gonzalez, H. (1987). Return to Aztlan: The social process of international migration from Western Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., et al. (1993). Theories of international migration: A review and appraisal. Population and Development Review, 19(3), 431–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., et al. (1994). An evaluation of international migration theory: The North American case. Population and Development Review, 20(4), 699–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., et al. (1998). Worlds in motion. Understanding international migration at the end of the millennium. Oxford: Clarendon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myrdal, G. (1957). Rich lands and poor. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, M. (2012). Multiculturalism. A critical introduction. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, N. (2005). Women in motion: Globalization, state policies, and labor migration in Asia. Redwood City: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, H. (2002). Migration, return and development. An institutional perspective. Copenhagen: Center for Development Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, R. (1924). Our racial frontier on the Pacific. Survey Geographic, LVI(May), 18–24. In Reprinted in R. E. Park (Ed.), Race and culture. Essays in the sociology of contemporary man (pp. 138–151). London: The Free Press of Glencoe (Collier-MacMillan Limited, 1950, 1964.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Piguet, É. (2013). Les Théories des Migrations. Synthèse de la Prise de Décision Individuelle. Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 29(3), 141–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piore, M. J. (1979). Birds of passage. Migrant labor and industrial societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration). (2013). 2008–2012 Overseas employment statistics. http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/2012_stats.pdf. Accessed 18 Feb 2014.

  • Portes, A. (1999). Immigration theory for a new century: Some problems and opportunities. In C. Hirschman, P. Kasinitz, & J. DeWind (Eds.), The handbook of international migration. The American experience. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A. (2003). Theoretical convergences and empirical evidence in the study of immigrant transnationalism. International Migration Review, 37(3), 874–892.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Böröcz, J. (1996). Contemporary immigration: Theoretical perspectives on its determinants and modes of incorporation. International Migration Review, 23(3), 606–630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Zhou, M. (1994). The new second generation. Special Issue, International Migration Review, 28(4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Prebisch, R. (1950). The economic development of Latin America and its principal problems. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravenstein, E. G. (1885). The laws of migration-I. Journal of the Statistical Society, 48(2), 167–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravenstein, E. G. (1889). The laws of migration-II. Journal of the Statistical Society, 52(2), 214–301.

    Google Scholar 

  • ROC (Republic of China) (Taiwan), Ministry of Labor. (2014). Foreign workers statistics. http://english.mol.gov.tw/cgi-bin/siteMaker/SM_theme?page=52f4a225. Accessed 18 Feb 2014.

  • Rogers, R. (1984). Return migration in comparative perspectives. In D. Kubat (Ed.), The politics of return (pp. 277–299). Rome: CSER and CMS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (1988). The mobility of capital and labor: A study in international investment and labor flow. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Seol, D.-H., & Skrentny, J. D. (2009). Why is there so little migrant settlement in East Asia? International Migration Review, 43(3), 578–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1955). A behavioral model of rational choice. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 69(1), 99–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skeldon, R. (1992). On mobility and fertility transitions in East and Southeast Asia. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 1(2), 220–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. (1984). Rural-to-urban migration in LDCs: A relative deprivation approach. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 32, 475–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. (1991). The migration of labor. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. (2003). Tales of migration without wage differentials: Individual, family, and community contexts. ZEF-discussion papers on development policy. Bonn: Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. (1992). The politics of recognition. In A. Gutmann (Ed.), Multiculturalism and the “politics of recognition”. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN-DESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs ). (2013). International migration report 2013. ST/ESA/SER.A/346. New York: UN–DESA.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). (2004). Human development report 2004. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2009). UNESCO world report: Investing in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. Paris: UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • US DHS (U.S. Department of Homeland Security). (2012). Yearbook of immigration statistics 2012. https://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2012-legal-permanent-residents. Accessed 18 Feb 2014.

  • Wallerstein, I. (1975). The modern world-system I: Capitalist agriculture and the origins of the European world-economy in the sixteen century (studies in social discontinuity). Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelinsky, W. (1971). The hypothesis of the mobility transition. Geographical Review, 61, 219–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zolberg, A. (1999). Matters of state: Theorizing immigration policy. In C. Hirschman, P. Kasinitz, & J. DeWind (Eds.), The handbook of international migration. The American experience (pp. 71–93). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scalabrini Migration Center, Quezon City, Philippines

    Graziano Battistella

Authors
  1. Graziano Battistella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Graziano Battistella .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Scalabrini Migration Center, Quezon City, Philippines

    Graziano Battistella

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Battistella, G. (2014). Migration in Asia: In Search of a Theoretical Framework. In: Battistella, G. (eds) Global and Asian Perspectives on International Migration. Global Migration Issues, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08317-9_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation