Migration

The population of an area increases or decreases as a result of shifts in three variables: the number of births in that area, the number of deaths, and the balance of movements into and out of the area, or net migration. Hence, migration is essentially a demographic variable. However, it is more than this. The movements into and out of any area are both caused by and cause economic, social and political change. This entry summarizes some of what we know about migration and economic and social change and goes on to focus on what may still be the least-understood dimension in the migration-and-development debate: the linkages between migration and political development and vice versa.