Migration and Economics

Economics are a recurring theme in migration studies. In fact, in the popular narrative of migration, economic motives are often seen as the primary motivator of movement: people move because the economy is bad where they live and better somewhere else. While, the reality is that decisions about migration are far more nuanced and complicated, the fact remains that economics are important.

Here are three recent pieces on the impact of the current economic crisis on migration in modern America from the Planet Money team at NPR: A Mess on the Ladder, by Adam Davidson from the New York Times Magazine and A Nation No Longer on the Move, Part I and Part II, from the Planet Money blog.

These pieces may not help us understand the motivation of past migrants especially since the situation seems so different (the economy is bad almost everywhere), but I think they do point to the continuing relevance and importance of migration studies.