International Migration and Power Relationships

The individual choice to decide where to live bears directly on personal freedom, and the desire for survival and economic development. The right to geographic mobility is ideally safeguarded by international migration regulatory frameworks that derive from country-specific constitutions and inter-states arrangements. On the other hand, empirical evidence suggests that some countries restrict human mobility to take predetermined migration patterns. This chapter presents that the historical evolution in the relationship between the natural environment and human activities offers the opportunity to explore requirements for the successful implementation of any International Migration Regulatory Framework (IMRF). In doing so, the author contends that extant geopolitical conditions defining such relations need to be explored within state-centric political practices and civil society perceptions, put differently, through the dialogue between the state and civil society on migration processes necessary for successful implementation of regulatory framework while surfacing resources-power relationship between migratory states and citizens.

Historical and Methodological Approaches to the Analysis of International Labor Migration in a Globalizing World Economy

International labor migration is a multi-level, multi-dimensional, social phenomenon studied by specialists of different branches of science. The scientific views on the content of the concept, causes and factors, consequences, etc. have been developing together with the progress of the phenomenon and are developing until now. The chapter is devoted to the influence of the world economic trends (globalization, integration, transnationalization) on the international labor movement and change of theoretical approaches to its analysis in the historical development of society on the example of modern concepts.

Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts of Urbanization in Lagos, Nigeria

Urbanization is simply defined as the shift from rural to an urban society, which is triggered by social, economic, and political developments. Nigerian cities are not left out in the global urbanization trends. Nigeria has an annual urban population growth of 5.8 percent. Lagos as the economic focal point of Nigeria has one of highest rates of urbanization. Several scholars have looked into specific sectoral challenges of urbanization in Lagos; however, there is lack of synthesis posing new challenges for policy development. The goal of the chapter therefore is to examine the socio-economic and environmental consequences of urbanization in Lagos State. The chapter relies on empirical results from literature for its analysis. Results indicate two categories of socio-economic and environmental consequences of urbanization in Lagos. The chapter calls for the termination of urban biased development approach of many sub-national governments in Nigeria as well as equitable deployment of development projects.

Functional Effectiveness and Modern Mechanisms for National Urban Systems Globalization

Cities' transformation into active actors of international economic relations and their participation in international competition form a complex of relevant problems about efficiency of relationships between business and government, global competitive advantages of urban economies, quality of municipal governance, and development and international integration of the urban system of the modern countries (including Russia). This chapter examines a development of the modern features of the urban system in Russia, analyzes its macroeconomic indicators, actual problems, and evaluates various scenarios for the development of both individual urban economies and the entire urban system of Russia.

Impact of Foreign Worker Migration on Wage and Labor Market in Thailand

This chapter focuses on Thailand's foreign labor migration, which has played a critical role in the economic development of Thailand. Emphasizing both positive and negative effects of foreign migration to the Thai labor market, Thailand economy, and sustainability in economic development, this chapter separates foreign migrant workers into two types, legal and illegal, and analyzes the impact of each type of migrant worker on wages, labor market, Thai economy, innovation, and sustainability. While foreign skilled laborers, who usually receive formal work permits from the Thai government, as well as capital and native workers are complements, the unskilled or low-skilled workers, usually from neighbor countries, as well as capital and native workers, are substitutes. Furthermore, the impact of each group of foreign migrants on economic development and government reactions (as reflected in migration policies) is also elaborated before discussion for migration and development in the long term.

Global Economy Urbanization and Urban Economy Globalization

World economy globalization fundamentally changes the role of urban business systems. Now, they are the main actors of global production and trade. A dominant share of international business activity is now concentrated within a frame of global urban net. This trend transforms mechanisms and patterns of market economy institutes' functioning and stimulates the appearance of new economical, social, and political problems. This chapter includes statistical and comparative analysis of modern cities, their economical performance, and position in global economic affairs, and also an original methodology for urban business structure evaluation. It allows setting some theoretical findings about internal and external sources of urban business system competitiveness and effectiveness in a globalizing economy and the formation of an original approach to modern cities' global hierarchy evaluation.

Determinants of Migration-Related Decision Making among the Asian Indian Community in the United States

This chapter examines the complex dynamics underlying Indian immigrants' decision to continue to stay in the United States or to counter migrate back to India. In a reversal of fortunes, the specific set of conditions that once triggered a massive inflow of economic migrants from India to the US has been causing a counter migration to India. Based on a review of literature and an exploratory study involving focus groups, the authors identify some of the major migration-/counter migration-related factors. Then, employing a survey, the relative importance of each of these factors is gauged for migrant individuals associated with different professions.

National Migration Policy as a Principle for Economic System Structuring in the Modern States

This chapter covers three actual problems of the modern economy: immigration processes in developed countries and their “economic effect,” current migration problems of Russian regions, as well as the specifics of economic space structuring considering the overall impact of migration processes on the territorial economy and the labour market. In the chapter, the assessment of the economic role of immigration in developed countries is justified, economic effects of migration processes are established, the analysis of the structure of the economic space of the modern state is conducted, regions of the Russian Federation in line with migration problems and conceptual substantiation of formation mechanisms of the Russian economic space are classified. The recommendations on the modernization of the Russian migration policy related to the use of positive foreign experience are suggested as conclusions. The given problem seems to be especially actual in the light of the strengthening of the latest migration processes, connected with the crisis in the Ukraine.

Macroeconomic Reasons for International Migration Development

Fast-growing international migration as a factor of labor market globalization is an important trend of the world economy and a determinant of social-political transformations. The study of fundamental economical reasons for international migration is relevant due to their prognostic, predictable, and normative potential, which can be used in conditions of global economic non-stability. This chapter analyzes the role of natural resources, financial, and labor factors in economic growth of the modern states and studies relationships between stimulating the role of natural resources, finance, and labor with levels of modern countries' economy development. Based on achieved results findings about fundamental reasons of international migration, transformation of labor factor's role in providing an economical progress of the states, efficiency of positive impact of manufacturing factors (domestic and attracted from international markets) are offered.

Shrinkage of Rural Areas as a Result of Urbanization and Migration Processes in Mexico

The study of tendencies in economic and environmental shrinkage is tied to the expressions of substantive changes in complexity of determinant contexts of internal and migration flows. This chapter answers the challenges posed by economic tendencies, using the theories and models and does not fall victim to simplistic projections and conjectures and theories based more in speculation than in fact. The method used is the critical analysis of economic, social, and political tendencies in relation to the situation of shrinking cities in Mexico. The results of this analysis led to the finding that the shrinkage process in Mexico, as a developing economy, does not follow the same patterns of well-developed countries, and an increase in shrinking cities has occurred since the middle of the 1950s and the use of incentives in some localities to attract economic growth have had modest success in turning around the shrinking process.