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1001. New Places, New Identities: The (Ever) Changing Concept of Heimat

Author:
Uta Larkey
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
This article analyzes contrasting notions of Heimat and Fremde, as explored cinematographically by three contemporary German filmmakers. The spatial aspect of Heimat, traditionally connected to a particular region or even neighborhood denotes the sense of belonging, whereas the temporal aspect—often associated with childhood and youth—carries the sense of longing. In the second half of the twentieth century, the concept has shifted to include identity, reflection and self-reflection, the loss of Heimat, and even multiple Heimaten. The article argues further that the notions of Heimat and Fremde are not mutually exclusive, but interdependent. Peter Lilienthal's film Ein Fremder concludes that in parts of German society the binary opposites of Heimat and Fremde are still intact. On the other hand, Peter Patzak in Adeus und Goodbye shows how Heimat and Fremde are mutually dependent and include a search for identity and individuality. In Michael Gutmann's travelogue-documentary, Familienreise, the protagonists experience aspects of Fremde and Heimatlosigkeit without ever finding Heimat.
Topic:
Migration
Political Geography:
Germany

1002. South Africa's Medical Brain Drain: Myths, Facts and What (not) to do

Author:
Jon Mortensen
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
A global shortage of health professionals makes it relatively easy for doctors and nurses from poor countries to emigrate to rich countries. This has raised fears of a medical brain drain from poor to rich countries and has been the subject of much – impassioned – debate. This paper questions the underlying rational behind South Africa's current policies toward the medical brain drain. In doing so, it also challenges the dominating view on the medical brain drain: that out-migration of health workers from developing countries has damaging consequences and curbing that migration is pivotal in safeguarding developing countries' health systems. A view which is rooted in a perhaps intuitively convincing assumption that out-migration and low levels of health workers are tightly correlated – that outward migration causes low levels of health workers in South Africa and elsewhere.
Topic:
Health and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

1003. Bringing Hirschman Back In: Conceptualizing Transnational Migration as a Reconfiguration of "Exit", "Voice", and "Loyalty"

Author:
Bert Hoffmann
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Albert O. Hirschman's scheme of “exit and voice,” long a classic in the study of migration and its political implications, was conceived within the framework of “methodological nationalism.” However, the rise of migrant transnationalism is eroding the classic migration paradigm. Combining theoretical considerations with empirical insights from Latin American cases, this paper argues that a critical reappraisal of Hirschman's scheme provides a helpful heuristic tool for conceptualizing the new character of today's transnational migration. Whereas in the traditional approach to international migration the options of exit, voice, and loyalty are considered to be mutually exclusive, transnational migration can be defined precisely by the overlapping and simultaneity of these categories.
Topic:
Migration and Nationalism
Political Geography:
Latin America

1004. Globalization and Formal Sector Migration in Brazil (Revised)

Author:
Marc-Andreas Muendler, Jennifer Pamela Poole, and Ernesto Aguayo-Tellez
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Comprehensive linked employer{employee data allow us to study the relationship between domestic formal sector migration in Brazil and globalization. Considerable worker flows in the formal labor market between 1997 and 2001 are directed toward lower income regions|the reverse flows of those often posited for informal labor markets. Estimation of the worker's multi-choice migration problem shows that previously unobserved employer covariates are significant predictors associated with migration flows. These results support the idea that globalization acts on internal migration through job stability at exporting establishments and employment opportunities at locations with a concentration of foreign owned establishments. A 1% increase in exporter employment predicts a 0.3% reduced probability of migration. A 1% increase in the concentration of foreign owned establishments at potential destinations is associated with a 0.2% increase in the migration rate.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, Markets, Migration, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Latin America

1005. The building blocks of sustainable peace: The views of internally displaced people in Northern Uganda

Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
With the hopes of over 2.7 million people living in Northern Uganda riding on its success, the ongoing peace process in Juba between the Government of Uganda and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is finally starting to attract international support. International engagement is crucial at this critical stage in the negotiations. The talks that began in Juba in July 2006 are widely considered to be the best chance for peace since the war started over two decades ago. And yet the road to peace remains precarious: over 50 per cent of countries return to conflict within ten years of an initial peace agreement. This briefing paper seeks to give greater voice to the people of Northern Uganda in order to help identify the building blocks to a just and lasting peace. It is based upon the findings of focus-group discussions with 91 internally displaced persons (IDPs), interviews with camp leaders and local Government representatives, and a survey of 600 IDPs across the Acholi region in May and June 2007.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Welfare, and Migration
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

1006. Seeking Opportunities: Migration as an Income Diversification Strategy of Households in Kakamega District in Kenya

Author:
Lena Giesbert
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Migration and remittances are widely seen as major components of diversification strategies aimed at coping with risky environments in developing countries. The debate in the literature mainly concentrates on effects of and access to the strategy of migration. Against this background, the paper investigates patterns, determinants and the impact of internal migration on households based on data from a densely populated rural area in Western Kenya. The motivation behind migration is largely economic in kind. Accordingly, remittances account for a substantial share of household incomes. Results derived from a probit model estimation indicate that the likelihood of migration is independent from the wealth position of households. Instead, demographic household factors, education-related variables and migrant networks are of central importance. Migration and remittances are obviously more easily accessible than other opportunities of income diversification beyond farming for households across all levels of wealth, including the poorest households. JEL classification:
Topic:
Economics, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

1007. African Migration to Europe: Obscured Responsibilities and Common Misconceptions

Author:
Dirk Kohnert
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The number of migrants from conflict regions in Africa has been increasing dramatically. The European Union shares dual responsibility for the continuing migration pressure: First, because it fostered over decades corrupt and autocratic regimes with dire disregard to principles of 'good governance'. The aftermath of these regimes is still felt today and constitutes one of the underlying factors for politically motivated migration. Second, the EU contributed to Africa's economic misery due to its selfish external trade policy. Nevertheless, the prevailing perspective of the EU and of its member countries concerning African immigration remains to be focused on security, the foreclosure of its external borders and prevention. Current EU programs and concepts to fight African migration are questionable. Even development‐oriented approaches are bound to fail, if not backed by sustainable immigration policies.
Topic:
Security and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

1008. Immigration: Wages, Education and Mobility

Author:
Ron Haskins
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The idea of economic mobility in America often evokes a personal story. For many Americans, it is one of immigrant parents or grandparents, or even one's own journey and arrival. In recent decades, immigration has been rising steadily, with nearly one million legal immigrants entering the country per year throughout the 1990s and in the early years of this century, compared to only about 300,000 per year in the 1960s. In addition to legal immigrants, it is estimated that about 500,000 illegal immigrants now arrive each year.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, and Migration
Political Geography:
United States

1009. A Pathway to the Middle Class: Migration and Demographic Change in Prince George's County

Author:
Alice M. Rivlin and Brooke DeRenzis
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Washington area is growing and decentralizing. From 1990 to 2000, the District of Columbia's population declined while the number of people living in surrounding suburbs increased. Prince George's County was among the suburban jurisdictions that experienced population growth, increasing by 10 percent from about 729,000 residents in 1990 to over 800,000 in 2000. Prince George's continues to grow, with an estimated 840,000 residents in 2005.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Economics, and Migration
Political Geography:
Washington

1010. Do Visas Kill? Health Effects of African Health Professional Emigration

Author:
Michael Clemens
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
The emigration of highly skilled workers can in theory lower social welfare in the migrant-sending country. If such workers produce a good whose consumption conveys a positive externality—such as nurses and doctors in a very poor country—the loss can be greater, and welfare can even decline globally. Policies to impede emigration thus have the potential to raise sending-country and global welfare. This study uses a new database of health worker emigration from Africa to test whether exogenous decreases in emigration raise the number of domestic health professionals, increase the mass availability of basic primary care, or improve a range of public health outcomes. It identifies the effect through two separate natural quasi-experiments arising from the colonial division of the African continent. These produce exogenous changes in emigration comparable to those that would result from different immigration policies in principal receiving countries. The results suggest that Africa's generally low staffing levels and poor public health conditions are the result of factors entirely unrelated to international movements of health professionals. A simple model proposes that such results would be explained by segmentation of health workforce labor markets in the sending countries. The results further suggest that emigration has caused a greater production of health workers in Africa.
Topic:
International Relations, Health, and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa