Impacts of Migration (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography)

 ‘The overall economic gains from international migration for sending countries, receiving countries, and the migrants themselves are substantial.’ 

Give two examples of the benefits of remittances to developing countries

[5 Marks]

Answer:

1. Remittances are used to provide food for families, clean water and sanitation, along with access to health services and education, which directly help reduce poverty and hunger. This reduces pressure on the government to provide aid, which can then be directed elsewhere.

2. Remittances create a multiplier effect through investments or purchasing goods and services within the community, boosting other families' income and opportunities, particularly in rural areas. Money spent will increase tax revenues for the government, boosting economic development.

• Remember to state two benefits, but also how they benefit the country

• Many students lose marks by forgetting to add the why

• This is one of the largest international labour migration streams in the world

• There were two smaller migration surges during the 1920s and 1950s when the US government encouraged temporary recruitment of Mexican guest workers

• However, persistent mass migration between Mexico and the USA only took hold over the last 40 years

• The states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have higher concentrations of Mexican migrants due to:

  • Proximity to the border

  • Higher demand for immigrant farm workers

  • Long-established urban Mexican communities 

• It is estimated that 24% of foreign-born residents in the USA were Mexican, accounting for more than 10.9 million people 

• Mexicans account for 51% of all unauthorised immigrants in the US (Migration Policy Institute, 2020)

• Over the last few years, the number of migrants has decreased due to:

  • Tougher immigration enforcement 

  • Strengthening of the Mexican economy

  • Increased US Border Patrols

  • COVID-19

• The arguments posed against Mexican immigrants are:

  • Negative environmental effects due to increased population

  • Threat to established US culture

  • Undermines employment of low-skilled US workforce

  • Immigrants' low incomes can contribute to an increase in crime and drug trafficking

  • Increased costs of healthcare, education and detention 

• Others see these points as racist and uncharitable and argue that Mexicans have brought many advantages to the country:

  • Spanish is now widely taught in schools in the USA to widen the skills of young people

  • Increased tax payments to the government

  • Mexican food and music have become increasingly popular in the USA

  • There is a National Taco Day in the United States

Pull factors include:

• Higher average incomes in the USA

• Lower unemployment rates in the USA

• High population growth in Mexico results in faster labour force growth and competition for few available jobs

• Quality of life is better in the USA than in Mexico

• Ability to send remittances back to Mexico

Push factors include:

• High crime rates in Mexico

• Higher unemployment and poverty rates 

• High rates of subsistence farming

• Hot arid and semi-arid conditions cause water shortages, which also limits agricultural potential

• Natural hazards such as earthquakes

Impacts of migration on the country of origin—Mexico

• Rural areas are left with a shortage of economically active people

• In some rural areas, women outnumber men, with women having problems finding a suitable marriage partner 

• Certain villages, such as Santa Ines, have lost two-thirds of their inhabitants

• Remittances from Mexicans in the US have become one of Mexico’s most important sources of income and boosted Mexican economy

• In Axochiapan, husbands and fathers are absent for years, leaving women to raise their children, with the community becoming increasingly dependent on remittances

• Critics argue that dependence on remittances can slow local initiatives and incentives for people to move forward

• Young adults tend to migrate, leaving an ageing community behind

• With fewer children, these communities will gradually die out

Impacts of migration on the country of destination (U.S.A.)

• Illegal immigration costs the U.S. millions of dollars for border patrols, fences and detention centres

• Mexicans are seen as a drain on the U.S. economy

• Migrant workers keep wages low, which affects unskilled Americans

• Cultural and racial issues are increased in urban regions 

• The US economy benefits from low-wage Mexican migrants 

• Mexican culture has enriched the US border states with food, language and music, along with

  National Taco Day, mariachi bands, etc.

• The majority of illegal Mexican immigrants work as janitors, truck drivers, gardeners, construction labourers, or manual labour

• Tension has risen over concerns about the availability of jobs for working-class Americans and other immigrants

• Opposition to illegal immigration has seen the rise of 'Minutemen' groups; these are civilian groups who patrol the U.S. borders and confront illegal workers around the country

• Remittances are seen as money lost from the American Economy

• In 2021, $48.9bn was sent to Mexico from the U.S