Inevitability of Migration: Conclusions and Policy Options

Abstract

Population mobility continues. However, debates on international migration have not gone unchallenged. Claims are there that migration is still governed by outmoded notions about human mobility and is hampered by inadequate policy and legal frameworks, and overriding security concerns stifles it. The most important question we are asking whether development is negotiable between remittances received at a range of costs migrants and the origin countries pay. While our globalized labour markets need migrants, human rights issues have severely been compromised. Growing numbers of parents leave their families and children behind to take up “temporary” employment overseas. This creates a transnational family where children are geographically separated from one or both parents for an extended period of time. Millions of children are currently growing up in the absence of their parents. This implies that the social cost of migration can be very high, particularly due to the lack of parental care. Therefore, the impacts of family separation on the well-being of the left-behind children demands a better understanding. Migration and its effects on development depend on the social structure of the society as well as cultural values and tradition.