Does Migration Lead to Development? Or is it Contributing to a Global Divide?

Abstract

This article aims to show that the benefits of international migration (often presented as a ‘global flow’) very much depend on the positionality of the areas involved, as well as the regional particularities. It is argued that countries producing south-north migration or diasporic states are in a more favorable position to benefit from international migration than countries that are mainly involved in south-south migration. In addition, the opportunity to benefit from international migration very much depends on geographical particularities. For example, international migration in the context of Latin America/USA is in many respects not comparable to what is happening in Africa, Asia, the EU and the Gulf States. Even though international migration is often described in terms of a growing connectedness in the age of globalization, it progresses also hand in hand with new gaps and regional divides.

Keywords

• international migration
• development
• south-north migration
• south-south migration
• diasporic states
• migration flows
• regional differences