MIGRATION – in the global context, movement of a person either across an international border (international migration), or within a state (internal migration) for more than one year irrespective of the causes, voluntary or involuntary, and the means, regular or irregular, used to migrate. In the EU context, the action by which a person either:
(i) establishes their usual residence in the territory of an EU Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months, having previously been usually resident in another EU Member State or a third country ; or
(ii) having previously been usually resident in the territory of an EU Member State, ceases to have their usual residence in that EU Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months.
EMIGRATION – is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanently move to a country). Hence one might emigrate from one’s native country to immigrate to another country. Both are acts of migration across national or other geographical boundaries.
RE-EMIGRATION – return to the emigrants’ homeland.
REPATRIATION is a special form of migration, it means the return to the homeland of people who were forcibly staying outside the borders or people who, as a result of changes in national borders, ceased to be part of a given country.
REFUGEEISM – forced emigration accompanied by unfavourable economic or political conditions, e.g., resulting from armed conflicts, wars, revolutions, etc.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MIGRATION – the economic impact of migration flows through into every aspect of the economy. It has a profound positive impact not just on population growth, but also on labour participation and employment, on wages and incomes, on our national skills base and on net productivity.
SOCIAL IMPACT OF MIGRATION – the change in the social status from non-migrant to migrant causes change in norms and values, attitudes and behaviour, motivation and expectation, material and social status, social priority and change in the circle of interaction. All these changes have a negative effect on fertility level and family size.
ECONOMIC EMIGRATION – is someone who emigrates from one region to another, including crossing international borders, seeking an improved standard of living, because the 15 conditions or job opportunities in the migrant’s own region are insufficient. The United Nations uses the term migrant worker.
SOCIAL MIGRATION – moving somewhere for a better quality of life or to be closer to family or friends. Political migration – moving to escape political persecution or war. Environmental causes of migration include natural disasters such as flooding.
LABOUR MARKETS – or job markets function through the interaction of workers and employers. Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services (workers) and the demand for labour services (employers), and attempts to understand the resulting pattern of wages, employment, and income. These patterns exist because each individual in the market is presumed to make rational choices based on the information that they know regarding wage, desire to provide labour, and desire for leisure. Labour markets are normally geographically bounded, but the rise of the internet has brought about a ‘planetary labour market’ in some sectors.
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF EMIGRATION – increased economic output; potential entrepreneurs; increased demand and growth. A fear of immigration is that ‘Immigrants take jobs from native-born; better skilled workforce; net benefit to government revenues; deal with an ageing population; more flexible labour market; solves a skills shortage; filling undesirable job vacancies; multi-cultural society.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF EMIGRATION – potential negative impact on real wages; real GDP per capita could fall; structural unemployment; pressure on public services; housing costs & disharmony from rapid immigration.
