Unit 2b Migration

Push and pull factors are reasons people migrate

• Cultural: (e.g., religious freedom)
• Demographic: (e.g., unbalanced sex ratios, overpopulation)
• Economic: (e.g., jobs)
• Environmental: (e.g., natural disasters)
• Political: (e.g., persecution)

Push factors are often negative (e.g., poor economic conditions, warfare), while pull factors are often perceived as positive (e.g., a better quality of life, economic opportunities).

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION

• Migration is the permanent or semi-permanent relocation of people from one place to another.
• Early humans were highly mobile, searching for food and hunting grounds.
• As agriculture and urban settlement developed, people began to settle down.

TERMINOLOGY

• Immigration is migration to a location, while emigration is migration from a location.
• The difference between immigrants and emigrants is called net migration.
• Positive net migration (more immigrants than emigrants) leads to net in-migration.
• Negative net migration (more emigrants than immigrants) leads to net out-migration.

MIGRATION’S PUSH AND PULL FACTORS

• Voluntary migration is the most common type of migration, driven by the desire for a better life.
• The decision to migrate usually involves push factors (reasons for leaving) and pull factors (reasons for going).

Economic Push and Pull Factors * Lack of jobs and economic opportunities are the most common reasons for migration.

• Largest country-to-country migration flows (2005-2010):
  • Most flows originate and/or end in Asia.

Examples

• Rust Belt
  • Nobody wants to live in Gary Indiana so they left for the south
• Gilded Age
  • America: “trust me bro we are so much better than europe bro PLEASE move here I swear youll live better”
  • Europeans actually believed this
  • Now everyone lives in a windowless apartment in the Bronx with 15 hour shifts in a cotton mill

Social Push and Pull Factors

• Discrimination and persecution based on ethnicity, race, gender, or Religion can drive migration.

Examples

• Mormons
  • People didn’t like the false prophet worshippers, and they frequently battled on the streets of the midwest
    • Joseph Smith was hung for treason against the state of Illinois
  • Those heretics got pushed out to Utah where their ancient hyperintellegent Israelite civilizations apparently lived
  • List of Latter Day Saints in heaven: * *
• Holocaust
  • Nazi Germany didn’t want Jewish people anymore
  • Jews left as not to be killed
• Rwanda
  • The short people killed the tall people
  • Very recent

Political Push and Pull Factors

• Persecution, arrest, and discrimination due to opposing government policies can lead to migration.

Examples

• Cuba
  • Who tf wants to be communist
  • Everyone leaves the first chance they get
  • Now Cubans are a majority demographic in certain counties in Florida
• China
  • Communist
  • A lot of olympians would defect the country from the olympics
• North Korea
  • Communist
• USSR
  • Communist
  • A lot of olympians would defect the country from the olympics

Environmental Push and Pull Factors

• Natural disasters, drought, and unfavorable conditions can force people to migrate.

Examples:

• Nepal earthquake, Tsunami in Japan, Tsunami in Indonesia: Displaced populations
• Desertification: Deterioration of land to a desert-like condition due to human actions. This forces people to migrate from drylands in Africa.
• Flooding: Events like the 2011 Mississippi River flooding and Jakarta, Indonesia flooding force people from their homes.

Demographic Push and Pull Factors

• Demographic imbalances can influence migration:
  • Gender: Young adults may migrate due to unbalanced sex ratios, difficulty finding a spouse.
  • Overpopulation: A young population can strain resources and lead to migration.

Intervening Obstacles