Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Explaining Migration: Brief Overview of Selected Theories

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Forecasting International Migration in Europe: A Bayesian View

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis ((PSDE,volume 24))

Abstract

Attempts to synthesise knowledge on population movements in the form of a coherent theory date back to migration laws of Ravenstein (1885; 1889). Ravenstein generalised observations on internal migration in Great Britain and found that the intensity of the process was influenced by several factors: distance, population size of the origin and destination regions, absorption capacities of the latter, sex of migrants, etc. Although he found the rural-urban flows to be dominant, he also acknowledged the presence of return migration. Concerning the twentieth century followers of Ravenstein, the efforts to develop a theoretical framework of migratory phenomena have been made by the representatives of various disciplines of science, including sociology, economics, and human geography.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
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.

    An earlier version of Chapters 3 and 4 (Bijak, 2006) is available at: http://www.cefmr.pan.pl (as of 1 May 2007).

  2. 2.

    I am very grateful to Izabela KoryÅ› for drawing my attention to this notion.

  3. 3.

    Although at the time of writing this chapter, Switzerland did not participate in the free movement of workers in Europe, relevant regulations were gradually liberalised by 2007 for the relations with the ‘old’ EU-15 countries (what actually happened on 1 June 2007). Subsequently, the same is going to happen with respect to the new EU member states by 2011, but not later than in 2014 (Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons, Official Journal of the European Communities L 114, 30 April 2002, and Protocol to the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons regarding the participation, as contracting parties, of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic pursuant to their accession to the European Union, Official Journal of the European Communities L 89, 28 March 2002).

References

  • Alecke, B., Huber, P., & Untiedt, G. (2001). What difference a constant makes? How predictable are international migration flows? In Migration policies and EU enlargement. The case of central and eastern Europe (pp. 63–78) Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alho, J. (1999). On probabilistic forecasts of population and their uses. Paper for the 52nd session of the international statistical institute, Helsinki, 10–18 August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arango, J. (2000). Explaining migration: A critical view. International Social Science Journal, 52(165), 283–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. (1990). Friends or strangers: The impact of immigrants on the US economy. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castro, L. J., & Rogers, A. (1983). Patterns of family migration: Two melthodological approaches. Environment and Planning A, 15(2), 237–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chojnicki, Z. (1977). Podstawy metodologiczne prognozowania w geografii ekonomicznej [Methodological foundations of forecasting in economic geography]. PrzeglÄ…d Geograficzny, 49(2), 247–261. [A similar, earlier paper in English is available as: Chojnicki, Z. (1970). Prediction in economic geography. Economic Geography, 46(2 Suppl.), 213–222.]

    Google Scholar 

  • DeJong, G. F., & Fawcett, J. T. (1981). Motivations for migration: An assessment and a value-expectancy research model. In G. F. DeJong & R. W. Gardener (Eds.), Migration decision making: Multidisciplinary approaches to microlevel studies in developed and developing countries (pp. 13–57). New York: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dustmann, C. (1997). Return migration, uncertainty and precautionary savings. Journal of Development Economics, 52(2), 295–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faist, T. (2000). The volume and dynamics of international migration and transnational social spaces. Oxford, MA: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gawryszewski, A. (1989). Przestrzenna ruchliwość ludnoÅ›ci Polski 1952–1985 [Spatial mobility of the population of Poland, 1952–1985]. WrocÅ‚aw: Ossolineum.

    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 

  • Hart, R. A. (1975). Interregional economic migration: Some theoretical considerations (Part I). Journal of Regional Science, 15(2), 127–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatton, T. J., & Williamson, J. G. (1998). The age of mass migration: Causes and economic impact. Oxford, MA: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isard, W. (1960). Methods of regional analysis: An introduction to regional science. New York: Wiley [(1965). Metody analizy regionalnej. Wprowadzenie do nauki o regionach. Warszawa: PWN].

    Google Scholar 

  • Janicki, W. (2005). Migracje wewnÄ™trzne w Unii Europejskiej i ich uwarunkowania [Internal migration in the European Union and its determinants]. PhD Dissertation. Maria Curie-SkÅ‚odowska University, Lublin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennissen, R. (2004). Macro-economic determinants of international migration in Europe. Amsterdam: Dutch University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korcelli, P. (1994). On interrelations between internal and international migration. Innovation, 2, 151–163.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Kupiszewski, M. (2002b). Modelowanie dynamiki przemian ludnoÅ›ci w warunkach wzrostu znaczenia migracji miÄ™dzynarodowych [The role of international migration in the modelling of population dynamics]. Warsaw: Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation, Polish Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kupiszewski, M. (2006). Migration in Poland in the period of transition – The adjustment to the labour market change. In M. Kuboniwa & Y. Nishimura (Eds.), Economics of intergenerational equity in transnational economies (pp. 255–276). Tokyo: Maruzen.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowry, I. S. (1966). Migration and metropolitan growth: Two analytical models. San Francisco: Chandler.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S. (1990). Social structure, household strategies, and the cumulative causation of migration. Population Index, 56, 3–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S. (2002). A synthetic theory of international migration. In V. Iontsev (Ed.), World in the mirror of international migration (pp. 142–152). Moscow: MAX Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A., & Taylor, J. E. (1993). Theories of international migration: Review and appraisal. Population and Development Review, 19(3), 431–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazurkiewicz, L. (1986). Teoretyczne podstawy modeli przestrzennego oddziaÅ‚ywania [Theoretical foundations of the models of spatial interactions]. Ossolineum, WrocÅ‚aw: Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation, Polish Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milne, W. J. (1993). Macroeconomic influences on migration. Regional Studies, 27(4), 365–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mincer, J. (1978). Family migration decisions. Journal of Political Economy, 86(5), 749–773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, P. A. (1973). Theoretical issues in the design of population mobility models. Environment and Planning A, 5(1), 125–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Öberg, S. (1996). Spatial and economic factors in future south-north migration. In W. Lutz (Ed.), The future population of the world: What can we assume today? (pp. 336–357). London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öberg, S., & Wils, A. B. (1992). East-west migration in Europe. Can migration theories help estimate the numbers. Popnet, 22, 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orrell, D. (2007). The future of everything. The science of prediction. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piore, M. J. (1979). Birds of passage: Migrant labour in industrial societies. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pries, L. (1999). Migration and transnational social spaces. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, M. A. (2006). Relative deprivation, wage differentials and Mexican migration. Review of Development Economics, 10(1), 135–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sjaastad, L. A. (1962). The costs and returns of human migration. Journal of Political Economy, 70(5), 80–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. (1991). The migration of labor. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. (2003). Tales of migration without wage differentials: Individual, family and community contexts (ZEF Discussion Paper on Development Policy No. 73). Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung, Bonn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O., & Bloom, D. E. (1985). The new economics of labor migration. American Economic Review, 75(2), 173–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O., & Taylor, J. E. (1989). Relative deprivation and international migration, Demography, 26(1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O., & Wang, Y. (2001). Inducing human capital formation: Migration as a substitute for subsidies (Economics Series No. 100). Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, J. Q. (1941). An inverse distance variation for certain social influences. Science, 93(2404), 89–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stillwell, J. C. H., Eyre, H., and Rees, P. H. (1999). Regional international migration and interregional migration within the European Union: A feasibility study. Research report for the ERDF Study 98/00/27/174. University of Leeds, Leeds.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stouffer, S. A. (1940). Intervening opportunities: A theory relating mobility and distance. American Sociological Review, 5(6), 845–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stouffer, S. A. (1960). Intervening opportunities and competing migrants. Journal of Regional Studies, 2(1), 187–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. E. (1986). Differential migration, networks, information and risk. In O. Stark (Ed.), Research in human capital and development, Vol. 4: Migration, human capital, and development (pp. 141–171). Greenwich, CT JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veblen, T. (1898). Why is economics not an evolutionary science? Quarterly Journal of Economics, 12(4), 373–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallerstein, I. (1974). The modern world-system, Vol. I: Capitalist agriculture and the origins of European world-economy in the sixteenth century. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willekens, F. (1994). Monitoring international migration flows in Europe. Towards a statistical data base combining data from different sources. European Journal of Population, 10(1), 1–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, A. G. (1967). A statistical theory of spatial distribution models. Transportation Research, 1, 253–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, A. G. (1970). Entropy in urban and regional modelling. London: Pion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, A. G. (1981). Catastrophe theory and bifurcation. Applications to urban and regional systems. London: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelinsky, W. (1971). The hypothesis of the mobility transition. Geographical Review, 61(2), 219–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zipf, G. K. (1946). The P1P2/D hypothesis: On the intercity movement of persons. American Sociological Review, 11(6), 677–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zlotnik, H. (1998). The theories of international migration. Paper for the Conference on International Migration: Challenges for European Populations, Bari, Italy, 25–27 June.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zolberg, A. R. (1989). The next waves: Migration theory for a changing world. International Migration Review, 23(3), 403–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Centre for Population Change and S3RI, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, UK

    Jakub Bijak

Authors
  1. Jakub Bijak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jakub Bijak .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bijak, J. (2011). Explaining Migration: Brief Overview of Selected Theories. In: Forecasting International Migration in Europe: A Bayesian View. The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis, vol 24. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8897-0_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation