GLOBAL POPULATION AND MOBILITY

Global Cities
A city is described as a relatively permanent and highly organized center of
population. They are centers for trade, commerce, productivity, and innovation, In
the past, primitive cities were human settlements where people came together
because of, agriculture. As technology in agriculture advanced, people flocked to
the cities which accounts for the dense population of culturally diverse individuals.
The first cities emerged in 3500 BC. These early urban populations were recognized
by the degree of literacy of their citizens, technological progress, and social, and
political organization.
The earliest cities developed in the Nile Valley, the Sumerian Coast, and the
Wei River in China. These. cities were located near bodies of water that allowed
trade and ease of traveling from one place to another. The trade routes brought
about the proliferation of different cities. Through the centuries, the TELECOMM
DITO physical and functional characteristics of a city have evolved to include urban
planning. This allows for the design and regulation of the uses of space while
focusing on the physical form, economic functions, and social impacts of the urban
environment, and on the location of different activities within it. In this case, form
and function are of utmost significance to the structure of cities to further their
economic growth and development.
Today, in the era of globalization, city structures and activities have
undergone massive changes. Its functions and activities became more complex as it
crossed national borders and became a global city. A global city is a city that has a
significant influence on the global economic, cultural, and political landscape. Global
cities have become centers of international finance, business, and trade, and often
serve as hubs for transportation and communication networks. The term global city
originated in the 1980s as researchers began to see similarities in the economic,
social, cultural, and political characteristics among the world's most important
cities. Some examples of global cities are London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Hongkong,
Amsterdam, Singapore, Frankfurt Los Angeles, and Mexico City
Attributes of a Global City
The major characteristics of global cities include large-scale migration,
temporary migrant labor forces, transnational elites, significant economic outputs
and incomes per worker, prominent skylines, large mass transit networks, and
international airports.
The Global City Index (GCI) measures the global engagement of these
cities across five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information,
exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement.
 Business Activity. In global cities many financial institutions are found
which include banks, stock exchanges, and insurance companies. Herein are
also found the headquarters of many multinational corporations and major
manufacturing centers with port and container facilities.
Global cities are centers for innovation and new ideas in business, economics,
and culture. Many accounting, legal, and consulting firms that provide
specialized business services also 89636 62408 01006 57973 DITO found
their homes in global cities. These cities also compete to host prestigious
world events, like the Olympic Games, which can create economic
opportunities. In terms of physical form, global cities have a well-developed
infrastructure, with high-quality transportation, communication, and logistics
networks. This infrastructure allows for closer collaboration between
corporate and technical staff and improves coordination between
geographically distant operations.
  Human Capital is a vital resource for cities and increases in human capital
can lead to economic growth. This growth can improve the quality of life for a
population. Human capital can positively impact a city's ability to recover,
respond, and develop.
A vital part of the human capital dimension is Human Capital Management
(HCM) which involves activities, such as hiring the right people, performance
and talent management, learning and development, pay and benefits, and
succession planning. HCM involves treating employees as strategic assets
and investing in their development to enhance their skills and knowledge.
This can lead to increased productivity and profitability. HCM is important for
global cities because it helps attract and retain skilled workers, which is a key
factor in economic growth.
 Information Exchange as a metric used in the Global Cities Index (GCI)
measures how easily a city's residents can access information through the
Internet and other media sources. The information exchange metric is scored
and ranked based on four factors: number of international news bureaus,
level of censorship, amount of international news in the leading local papers,
and broadband subscriber rate.
The GCI also includes a new metric called internet speed to measure a city's
information exchange capabilities considering the shift to internet-based
information sources.
 Cultural Experience. Global cities are centers of cultural influence and can
be measured by a variety of factors like the number of museums, galleries,
and theatres for the visual and performing arts, sports centers and arenas for
major sporting events, hotels, and shopping malls international travelers, for
restaurants and diverse culinary establishments, architecture and design,
sister city relationships, and places where people-to-people interaction,
communication, and exchange of ideas can happen. In these cities, cultures
are rapidly mixed on a global scale and the influence of music, art, consumer
products, architecture, and food are all global.
Cities are facilitators of cultural experiences, are sites for the consumption of
heritage, and pose as significant places for the growth of domestic and
foreign tourism.
 Political Engagement based on the GCI is scored and ranked based on five
factors: international organizations, embassies, and consulates, think tanks,
political conferences, and local institutions with international reach.

Global Cities in a Contemporary World

In Daniel Little's (2015) summary of the work of Saskia Sassen, a leading

urban theorist of the global world, a new conceptual architecture was presented.
Globalization of economic activities entails a new type of organizational structure.
Constructs like the global city are important elements comprising this structure. In
line with this, Sassen enumerated seven fundamental hypotheses about the modern
global city:

1. The geographic dispersal of economic activities in global cities along with the
simultaneous integration of these activities, is a key factor that feeds the
growth and importance of central corporate functions.
The more dispersed a firm's operation across different countries, the more
complex and strategic its central functions which include the work of
managing, coordinating, servicing, and financing a firm's work operations.
2. These central functions become so complex that increasingly the
headquarters of large global firms outsource them: they buy a share of their
central functions from highly specialized service firms. Outsourcing is a
business practice in which a company hires a third party to perform tasks,
 handle operations, or provide services for the company. Firms involved in
global markets and non-routine operations are buying more of such input
rather than producing them in-house.
3. These service firms engaged in the most complex and globalized markets are
subject to agglomeration economies. Agglomeration is the process of
businesses in the same or related industries concentrating in a specific
geographic area. This can lead to benefits for both the businesses and the
workers, such as higher productivity, lower unemployment, and higher
wages. These benefits are known as agglomeration economies or
agglomeration benefits. The mix of firms, talents, and expertise from a broad
range of specialized fields makes a certain type of urban environment
function as an information center. Being in a city becomes synonymous with
being in an extremely intense and dense information loop.
4. The more headquarters outsource their most complex, unstandardized
functions, particularly those subject to uncertain and changing markets, the
freer they are to opt for any location. The key sector specifying the distinctive
production advantages of global cities is the highly specialized and networked
services sector.
5. These specialized service firms need to provide a global service - which
means a global network of affiliates - and strengthen cross-border city-to-city
transactions and networks. This shows the beginning of the formation of
transnational urban systems because there is no such thing as a single global
city.
6. The economic fortunes of these cities become increasingly disconnected from
their broader hinterlands or their national economies. Global cities like New
York, London, and Tokyo have formed a stratified system that is partially
independent of national boundaries. These cities have significant budgets
and can develop and implement their policies. The growing levels of high-
level professionals and high profit-making specialized service forms have the
effect of raising the degree of spatial and socio-economic inequality evident
in these cities. Certain types of economic activities require certain types of
skills, and workers lacking these attributes, whether manufacturing or
industrial services, are likely to get caught in the opposite cycle.
7. One result of the dynamic described in number 6 is the growing
informalization of a range of economic activities which find their effective
demand in these cities yet have profit rates that do not allow them to
compete for various resources with the high profit-making firms at the top of
the system. This seventh hypothesis focuses on the dynamics of the previous
six hypotheses that lead to the growing informalization of economic activities
which means that economic activities that are not profitable enough to
compete with the high-profit firms at the top of the system may informalize
some or all their production and distribution activities. This informalization is
a way for these activities to survive.
Informalization of economic activities refers to the practice of economic
activities that are not formally registered or covered by the law or are only
partially covered. These activities are also known as the informal economy,
underground economy, or shadow economy. The informal economy is often
associated with high unemployment, poverty, underemployment, and gender
inequality. It can also include illicit economic activity, such as black-market
transactions and undeclared work.

Marginalizing the Impact of Global Cities

At the top of the list of these global cities are New York, London, Hongkong,
and Shanghai represent a huge concentration of financial and business networks,
and this concentration of wealth is manifest. Inside countries, the leading financial
centers today concentrate a greater share of national financial activity and
internationally cities of the Global North concentrate well over half of the global
capital market.

This mode of global business creates a tight network of supporting

specialized firms positioned to capture a significant level of wealth and income. In
these cities there are top-level financial, legal, accounting, managerial, executive,
and planning functions necessary to run a corporate organization operating in more
than one country.

These features of a global city economic system imply a widening set of

inequalities between elite professionals and specialists and the larger urban
population of service and industrial workers. This condition also implies a widening
set of inequalities between the North and the South. Sassen (2005) believes that
communications and internet technologies have the effect of accelerating the
widening inequalities. New communication technology can also be expected to have
an impact on inequality between cities and inside cities. Three key tendencies follow
these structural facts about global cities:

1. The concentration of wealth is in the hands of owners, partners, and

professionals associated with high-end firms in this system.
2. The growing disconnection between the city and its region.
3. The growth of a large, marginalized population that has a very hard time
earning a living in the marketplace is defined by these high-end activities.

Rather than constituting an economic engine that gradually elevates the

income and welfare of the whole population, the modern global city funnels global
surpluses into the hands of the global elite dispersed over a few dozen global cities.
These tendencies line up well with several observable features of modern urban life
throughout much of the world: a widening separation in quality of life between a
relatively small elite and a much larger marginalized population; a growth of high
security gated communities and shopping areas; and dramatically different graphs
of median income for different socio-economic groups.

Although global cities are the leading sector of global capital, they also have
a growing share of disadvantaged populations: immigrants, disadvantaged women,
people of color, and in megacities of developing countries, masses of shanty
dwellers. Because of this, cities have become a strategic terrain of conflicts and
contradictions, badly tilted against the disadvantaged population.

Considering all this, it is important to envision economic mechanisms that

can be established that would do a better job of sharing the fruits of economic
progress with the whole of society, not just the elite and professionals but also the
marginalized larger group of the population.

Global Demography

World Population Growth

The world's population has grown by more than three times since the mid-
20th century, from an estimated 2.5 billion people in 1950 to the current 8.2 billion.
Historically, the increase in the world's population was caused by two historical
moments that marked this evolution of the global population:

First, the Neolithic Revolution, which took place between 10,000 and 8,000
BC, marked a shift in human history. During this period, humans began mastering
agriculture and animal domestication, which enabled human settlements and the
formation of communities which freed up labor for activities such as craftsmanship.
The abundance of food and technological advancements caused significant growth
in population, raising the global population to approximately 300 million people.

Second, the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) triggered a population boom.

During the 19th century, innovations such as steel manufacturing, mass production,
assembly lines, and electrical networks transformed economies and societies.
Wealth increased and as a result, the global population doubled during that century
and tripled in the 20th century, reaching six billion people by the year 2000. This
exponential growth was driven by medical, scientific, and economic advancements
that improved living conditions and reduced mortality rates.

In 2011, the world's population reached seven billion people, and then just 11
years later the United Nations designated 15 November 2022 as the approximate
day when the figure reached eight billion. As of 2024, the world's population stood
at 8.2 billion according to the United Nations. Three factors contribute to the
increase or decline in population aside from technological advancements and
economic wealth:

 Fertility rates. Population growth largely depends on trends in fertility rates.

The fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a
woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear
children by age-specific fertility rates of the specified year. Currently, the
global average is 2.3 children per woman, but this figure is expected to
decline to 2.1 by 2050 (UN's World Population Prospects 2024 report).
 Increase in longevity or life expectancy, which declined in 2020 and 2021
due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has returned to pre-pandemic levels since
2022. Currently, global life expectancy at birth is 73.3 years and is projected
to reach 77.4 years by 2054, according to UN forecasts.
 International migration has a smaller impact on global population change
compared to the factors discussed, but it can have significant impacts in
certain regions. For instance, in countries that receive economic migrants or
are affected by refugee flows, migration plays an important role. What's
more, in countries such as Germany, Japan, and Italy, net immigration helps
offset population decline, delaying the point at which it would have peaked.

Demographic Transition

Demography is the statistical study of the human population with regard to.
the size, density, and distribution of people. It is concerned with births, deaths,
income, or incidence of disease which can show the changing structure of the
human population. In Political science, demography can be used as a tool to identify
certain phenomena in geopolitics, and public administration, and to study the issues
and developments of the global population.

Demographic transition is a model that describes the change in a country's

population from high birth and death rates to low ones. This transition is
characterized by longer life expectancy, smaller family size, age structure shifts
from children and young adults to middle-aged older adults and population
stabilization. Demographic transition is usually associated with industrialized
nations and is driven by economic, technological, and social development factors
which include improved science and technology, advanced farming techniques,
education, and economic development. Countries that have completed the
demographic transition are Europe, Russia, Japan, and the United States.

There are four stages of demographic transition which were proposed in 1929
by Warren Thompson:
 Stage Pre-industrial High birth and death rates Stable
1 Death rates are high due poor Population
sanitation, limited food supply, and
minimal healthcare.
Stage Urbanizing/ Death rates fall but birth rates Rapid
2 Industrializing remain high population
Countries begin to develop with growth
improvements in healthcare and
sanitation.
Stage Mature Birth rates start to fall Population
3 Industrial Fertility transition stage. growth is slow
Stage Post-industrial Both birth and death rates are low Stabilizing the
4 Stronger economy, better healthcare, population
and higher levels of education fertility
rate is 2 children/woman.

The transition to a low mortality rate was influenced by the reduction of

contagious and infectious diseases caused by advancements in medicine and
improved nutrition. The presence of local and international markets that facilitate
better transport of goods and the flow of information on self-care and health
management are factors that led to this transition (Lee, 2003).

The low fertility rate could be explained by the preference for child survival
over the number of childbirths and the assumption that raising children is more
costly than the consumption of goods, as children render fewer economic
contributions due to years spent in education. In the Philippines, children spend at
least 18 years in school from kindergarten to college before they are ready for
employment and be a part of the country's labor force. It is only then that they can
contribute to the improvement of their family's living standards and the country's
economic growth.

According to Ronald Lee (2003), demography is currently in transition. Global

Demographic Transition began in the 19th century when the Europeans were
declining in mortality rate while there were rising societies in the Asian and Latin
regions. The ongoing transition in global demography is caused by formal migration,
and historical events, such as colonialism, inter-war reduction, and post-world-war
migration. The development from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economy also
caused this transition from high to low mortality and fertility. Most developed
nations have completed this transition, and thus had low birth rates and high
incomes, while developing nations are still in transition. Although it is debatable
whether high income results in lower population growth, or whether lower
population leads to higher income.

Globalization and Population

Globalization has influenced every aspect of the world, which also includes
population. Some impacts may be positive, but others prove to be challenging to
the countries or regions affected by the increase in population. Influences include
aspects of health and well-being, migration, and economic growth.

In terms of health and well-being, globalization led to the spread of

pathogens, and viruses such as HIV/AIDS and more recently caused the COVID-19
pandemic which left a devastating impact on world economies.

Because of this pandemic the United Nations' SDGs (Sustainable

Development Goals) which were targeted to be realized by 2030 would have to be
moved at least for 10 more years. On the positive side, globalization also led to the
global spread of medical knowledge and public health technologies which has
resulted in the reduction of fertility rates and an increase in life expectancy.
 Globalization instigated the movement of people across and within national
borders. This has led to the temporary migration of millions of soldiers to bolster
world security and the more permanent migration of millions of refugees. The
migration of refugees has been a challenge to the receiving country. Migration may
be caused by several factors like seeking better economic opportunities and
escaping from a man-made or natural disaster. The latter involves tapping into the
national budget of the receiving country, which would be a disadvantage to its
citizens.

Since globalization can lead to faster economic growth in some countries

(especially developed countries), this can impact on job opportunities, incomes,
nutrition, literacy levels, urbanization, and women's status. These factors can then
impact fertility, mortality, and migration which can increase population growth.
Also, a youthful population can lead to accelerated economic growth because a
larger share of the population is in the working-age range which can mean a more
adaptable, versatile, and stronger workforce.

Trends and Challenges to the Population

From the time farming economies came into existence about 480 generations
ago, and the world population exploded a thousand-fold, the world population has
been faced with trends and challenges over the centuries.

Remarkable declines and increases were noted that were brought about by
the globalizing process which continued undeterred. Discussed briefly are the trends
and challenges to global demography:

 Wars can cause many deaths, including military personnel and civilians.
Wars can also lead to large-scale migration, both within a country and
internationally. The population structure can be changed by the conflict
disrupting birth and death patterns. A country's population can age after a
war, which can strain the economy and social security systems. The
demographic consequences of war can be immediate and long-lasting. It will
have a significant impact on a country's prospects for economic growth and
peace.
 Transitional crimes refer to serious crimes that either significantly affect
more than one country or are carried out across national borders and thus
involve criminal activity in more than one country. The top three transnational
crimes that not only have a great impact on the nation's economy but also
impact the stability of the people are drug trafficking, alien smuggling, and
money laundering.
 Disjoined population growth and decline dynamic. There are cases
wherein some countries will have to accommodate more citizens whereas
others will have to cope with a net population loss and an aging citizenry.
Countries with population loss are Japan, Korea, and Europe which will see a
productivity slowdown in the coming decades. A growing share of national
income will be used to fulfill pensions and healthcare obligations to seniors.
Globally, however, the population will increase every year, mostly in the
Global South. The challenge for these countries will be in meeting the needs
of the population with an exploding number of young people with little
education and work prospects which will add to the political volatility and
security problems of the region (Steger, 2024).
 Runaway urbanization. The world's urban population is expected to rise
from 56% to 66% in 2040 with all growth occurring in poorer countries. It was
observed that large cities with more than 1 million residents have been
growing at twice the rate of the overall population.
It was projected that 35% of the world population will live in gigantic cities by
2040 and 33 megacities will increase to 40-45 by 2040. The United Nations
 projects that 8 out of 10 largest cities will be in the Global South (Steger,
2024).
The sprawl of the urban slums is bound to have devastating social and
environmental impacts. This is bound to put a strain on governance relations
as funds for urban transportation, public services, educational opportunities,
and infrastructures will be limited. The top six urban centers today are
Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata all in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Kinshasa in
DRC, and Lagos in Nigeria with approximately 32 million inhabitants each.
 Demographic trends will continue to drive large-scale migrations during
the next two decades. The number of international migrants reached 281
million in 2020, which represents an increase of more than 100 million since
2000. Millions of people fleeing disasters and conflict, demographic trends,
and economic incentives will continue to drive large-scale migration for
decades to come. Immigration control has become a central issue in most
advanced nations (Steger, 2024).

Global Migration

Migration is defined as a move from a place of origin to a destination. More

specifically, from a place of birth to another place across borders either within a
country or internationally. As can be recalled from the previous section, migration is
one of the factors that affect global demography, not the global population in
general but rather the population of countries where people move from and go to.

Movements or flows of people have not only been observed because of

globalization but are already a phenomenon that historians believed had been
taking place many centuries before the term globalization was even conceived. The
act of moving from place to place is a behavior that might have been built-in into
the human psyche.

The need to wander and explore the world may be part of the survival
mechanism that enabled man to adapt to varying world conditions and interact with
different cultures. Maybe the early man realized that only by moving from place to
place can he learn more about himself and the world he lives in.

Thus, his knowledge grew, but that did not make him stop from wandering.
He learned that places and people are not the same and that some are better off
while others struggle. Knowing about these things opened for him possibilities and
choices as to where and how to better survive. Hence, the rationale for migration.

Two types of migration can take place: the first is internal migration wherein
people move from one area to another within one country. The choice of people
moving from the rural to the urban areas or from the provinces to the city is an
example of this type of migration. People’s reasons for the move vary from personal
to social to economic and political. Whatever the reason/s, it is usually to a place
where a better and happier life is expected; second is international migration which
is the movement of people across national borders from one country to another. Just
like internal migration, the choice to move to another country also varies from
migrant to migrant. But in the end, the reason is still the same, for a better life.

Reasons for Migration

The reasons for the flow of people from place to place or from one's own
country across national borders can be summarized by the push and pull factors.
Push factors induce people to move out of their present location. Reasons for the
push i may be cultural (e.g. slavery and political instability), socio- political (e.g.
war, oppression, lack of socio-political rights),. environmental (e.g. changes in the
environment that adversely affect living conditions), and economic (e.g. boost for
the economy). Pull factors, on the other hand, induce people to move into a new
location. Some reasons for pull factors are cultural (e.g. potential for employment,
friends and family), socio-political (e.g. safer atmosphere, political. security),
environment (e.g. fertile land, less risk of natural hazards), and economic (e.g.
better services provision, greater wealth, good food supplies).

Whatever the reasons for the movements result in advantages and

disadvantages to both the host countries and the countries of origin. Below is the
table that summarizes some of these advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages to Host Countries Disadvantages to Host Countries

Job vacancies can be filled Depression of wages
Increases economic growth Companies may neglect employee
benefit programs
Can benefit locations with aging This can lead to exploitation
populations
Additional sources of revenue This can put a strain on public services
Innovations and ideas Displacement of jobs
Favorable cultural impact Increase crime rates
Benefits form remittances Loss of information wealth (brain drain)
Reduction of unemployment Loss of skilled labor
Migrants bring back skills, contact, and Negative effects on families, especially
other useful tools children

The push and pull factors differentiate between the types of migration. People
leave and choose a place to relocate for reasons that may be unique to the
individual migrant. Still studying migrants and the flows of migration in general may
prove to be difficult for the following reasons: countries do not collect such data,
even if they do may not report it to international agencies, population flows are
defined differently in different countries, few countries keep track of their
expatriates, and the overwhelming difficulty of keeping tabs on undocumented
migrants especially those who survived human trafficking.

Classification of Migrants

Before the discussion proceeds some terms need to be clarified: the word
emigrate means leaving one's place and living elsewhere while immigrate is to
enter a place and become established in this place in which the person is not a
native for permanent residency.

To migrate is to move from one place to another locally or internationally.

There are six classifications of migrants:

 Immigrants are people who live in a place/country where they are not born
(internal or international). According to Ritzer and Dean (2015), there are two
types of immigrants: those with low skills or who are undocumented are
"heavy" and have difficulty moving about the world because they lack the
proper education and training and encounter structural barriers that impede
their movement; and "lighter" immigrants who have valuable skills that may
be in high demand and are encouraged through favorable migration policies
to move freely through borders. Human traffickers, however, face some
barriers to moving their "heavy" victims within and between nations but they
continue to find porous borders and contribute to the explosion of trafficking
flows.
  Temporary labor migrants are guest workers and overseas contract
workers who move to a country for a limited time. The reason for this is
primarily economic, i.e. to seek better opportunities abroad that would raise
the standard of living for the migrants and the families they left at home.
Successful migrants often end up sending money back to their country of
origin in the form of remittances for the care and support of family members
back home.
Although they are aware that they are poorly paid, they know that they are
better off compared to many in their country of origin. They also know that
their absence makes it hard for family members left behind psychologically
and emotionally, but recipients of remittances are better able to survive
financially, buy the basics that they need, enable kids to go to school and
afford a few luxuries like buying appliances, cell phones and even earning
enough to renovate or own a house.
Remittances have become a reality and have increasing importance for
developing countries. According to World Bank 2013 data, remittances
amounted to $410 billion, and the numbers would grow by 9% each year
totaling $540 billion by 2016. Remittances constitute the largest source of
money flowing into developing countries from the rest of the world. For
countries in the South, remittances constitute a substantial proportion of GNP
in some countries like India $71 billion, China $60 billion, Philippines $26
billion, and Mexico $22 billion.
People in countries from which people emigrate benefit from remittances sent
back home; people who live are usually the ones with great intellect,
advanced training, and education which are highly prized elsewhere in the
world. Loss of such people by the home country involves what is termed a
brain drain (Manashi, 2012).
 Irregular migrants or illegal migrants enter or stay in a country without
proper documentation. Included in this type are tourists who exceeded their
permit to stay in a foreign country, and victims of human trafficking with
faked documents.
 Family reunification migrants are people whose family ties motivate them
to migrate internationally. People with family members who were granted
immigrant visas offer enough motivation for members left behind to migrate
so the family can be complete.
 Return migrants are those people who after spending time in their
destination country, go back to their home country. This type of migrant may
feel and believe that there is no place for them other than their home
country. Their experiences abroad may not be what they expected or are
unpleasant, which leads them back to the security of their home country. In
the country of origin, this may prove beneficial as returning migrants may
bring with them important learnings that may help increase economic growth.
Alternatively, returning migrants may have been deported or extradited for
criminal actions which puts a strain on the relationship between countries.
 Refugees and asylum seekers are people who were forced to leave their
homeland or leave involuntarily because they fear for their safety. Examples
include people whose country is unstable and in conflict, and victims of
natural catastrophes, wherein they have no choice but to move out. This,
however, puts a strain economically on the receiving countries. According to
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 122.6 million
people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of June 2024.

International Migration

Based on the definition provided by the United Nations, an international

migrant is any person who lives temporarily or permanently in a country where he
or she was not born and has acquired some significant ties to this country.
 As of 2013, the UN estimates 232 million migrants which is 32% of the world
population. Data showed a significant increase of 36% since 1990. Although the
contemporary numbers may not be impressive, migrants do make up a significant
percentage of the population of many regions and countries. Europe and Asia are
attracting the largest numbers of international migrants with 72 million and 71
million each respectively. The United States, however, remains the country with the
largest migrant population in 2010 wherein 40.4 million of the people were foreign-
born making up 12.9% of the total population. The US-Mexico border is the world's
largest route for international migrants. Other countries with large numbers of
migrants (labor migrants) are Germany and France because of their geographical
proximity to Africa, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand (UN. 2013).

According to Castles (2019), international migration is one of the main factors

in social transformation and development in' many regions of the world. Social
transformations occur in both the migrant-sending and receiving countries. When
migrants move in search of security and a better livelihood, they need to transform
themselves and be strong for those they leave behind who are also affected.
Migration results in the integration of local communities and national economies
which form global relationships. It impacts economic and social development and
can contribute to further development and improved economic and social
conditions.

However, much depends on the type of migration and the actions taken by
the governments and stakeholders concerned. Most types of migration erode
traditional boundaries between languages, cultures, ethnic groups, and nation-
states. Migration types may challenge cultural tradition, national identity, and
political institutions, thus contributing to the decline in the autonomy of the nation-
states. Alternatively, migration in some cases perpetuates stagnation and
inequality.

Challenges to Migration

By the end of the 19th century, there was a lot of movement of people, most
notably the Great Atlantic Migration to the United States from Europe.

During this time 50 million people left Europe for the United States between
1820 and the end of the 19th century (Moses, 2006).

In 1889 an International Emigration Conference declared, " We affirm the

right of the individual to the fundamental liberty accorded to him by every civilized
nation to come and go and dispose of his person and his destinies as he pleases"
(cited in Moses, 2006).

The First World War changed all this. Nation-states began to impose drastic
restrictions on the global movement of people. Today, there are variations among
nation-states "There is not a single state that allows free access to all immigrants"
(Moses, 2006). Thus, many barriers were created by nation-states to limit and
control the movement of people. As globalization reached its height in the 1980s
and 1990s, restrictions on migration of people, particularly labor migration, have
not been liberalized (Tan, 2007) except in the EU. The reasons provided for the
maintenance of restrictions are as follows:

1. For nations to prosper economically, they must try to keep the labor that they
need. If nations routinely lost large numbers of such workers, their ability to
compete in the global marketplace would suffer.
2. The influx of many migrants into another country often leads to conflicts of
various types. Between newcomers and those who have been in place for
 some time. Conflicts can also arise between newcomers. These may be the
source of hate crimes against Asians in some areas of the United States.
3. The concern over terrorism in many parts of the world has served to
reinforce, if not increase, the restrictions on migration.

Shamir (2005) discusses the emergence of a "mobility regime" which seeks to

contain the movement of migrants not only between, but even within national
borders. This desire for surveillance and containment is traceable to fear (real or
imagined) of the dangers of terrorism and crimes associated with immigrants. In
some places, however, barriers have been reduced in terms of movement between
the EU nations. For NAFTA states, some restrictions have been eased between the
US, Canada, and Mexico for business executives and highly skilled workers only.

Authorized migration is restricted, which leads to an increase in irregular

immigration i.e. smuggling people into and out of various nations.

For those people who make it with or without authorization into another
country, the business of global remittances as well as technological developments
that have made such transfers of funds quicker and easier, has tended to
encourage and support migration.

On top of this, there has ben a selective reduction in barriers to migration in

many countries driven by factors in host countries, including labor shortages, the
needs of multinational corporations for workers, and the aging population.

The Research Process

What is Research

Research is all about searching and investigating different kinds of

phenomena to come up with data that will add to the existing bulk of knowledge
that will enable people to understand and make sense of how the world works. The
research process always begins with two questions: first, what does the researcher
want to find out? This is the research problem that the researcher wants answers to;
second, how should the researcher go about finding the answer to this problem?
This involves writing the research proposal.

A research proposal can be described as a step-by-step plan that shows how

a researcher will conduct the research/study. It should be clear and specific with the
proper guidelines or steps patterned according to the type of research to be
conducted. It should also include the proper citations. Since it is still a plan of action
on how the research should proceed, the sentences should all be in the future
tense.

Before the researcher goes about writing the research proposal, the
researcher must first decide on a research problem or a research topic. Topics for
research can be sourced from the researcher's readings, experiences in school,
everyday experiences, exposure to field situations, consultation, brainstorming
sessions, past research, and the researcher's intuition. To further help the
researcher decide on the research topic, the following guidelines are suggested:

1. The research problem must be chosen by the researcher himself so that he

will not make excuses for all the obstacles that may be encountered.
2. The problem must be within the interest of the researcher so that he will give
all the time and effort in the research work.
3. The problem must be within the competence of the researcher. The
researcher must know the procedures for doing research and how to apply
them. He must have a workable understanding of his study.
 4. The research problem must be manageable. The data must be available or
within the capacity of the researcher to gather data. Data must be accurate,
objective, and not biased. The data should help the researcher answer the
question being investigated.
5. The research problem must be significant, important, and relevant to the
present time as well as to the future. This means that the research problem
must have an impact on the situation and people it is intended for.
6. The research problem must be completed within the period set by the
researcher.

These guidelines are expanded explanations of the S.M.A.R.T. goals that are
often used to accomplish tasks and projects.

Research Design/ Methodology

After finally deciding on a topic, the researcher begins to write the research
proposal. The steps involved in writing the proposal tend to vary depending on the
type of research to be conducted. Types of research may be descriptive,
correlational, causal-comparative, experimental, historical, ethnographic, or action
research. What follows is a brief description of each:

 Descriptive research is a method that describes the characteristics of a

population, phenomenon, or situation. It answers the questions of what,
where, when, and how, but not why. An example of descriptive research uses
the survey questionnaire and produces statistical results that car easily be
analyzed.
 Correlation research is a method that examines the relationship between
two or more variables. The goal is to identify whether the change in one
variable causes a change in another. After statistical analysis, results show if
the relationship is positive/ directly proportional or negative which indicates
an inverse relationship. Correlational research is used for prediction and
should not be interpreted as a cause-and-effect relationship.
 Causal research is a method also known as "ex post facto" (after the fact)
research. This identifies cause-and- effect relationships between variables.
This is used when it is not possible or is unethical to manipulate variables as
in an experiment.
 Experimental research involves manipulating variables to study cause-and-
effect relationships. The essence of this method is the ability of the
researcher to control the variables and is conducted in a controlled setting.
This method tests hypotheses, makes predictions, and draws conclusions
based on empirical evidence. This method, however, is limited by ethical
issues, particularly in areas involving human and animal experiments.
 Historical research is a method that involves the process of studying the
past to understand how events, people, ideas, and meanings influenced the
present. Examples of primary sources for this method are diaries, letters,
journals, eyewitness accounts, public records, drawings, and recordings.
 Ethnographic research is a qualitative method of collecting data. It
involves data collection using observation and interviews. The researcher
often immerses himself in a particular community or organization to observe
behavior and interactions.
 Action research is a method that involves actively engaging in problem-
solving activities. It uses techniques and data analysis and the involvement of
stakeholders in the research process. This research is generally applied in the
social sciences.

Parts of the Research Proposal

 After deciding on a research topic, the researcher can now proceed to write
research proposal: the research proposal. The following summarizes the parts and
content of the research proposal:

I. Introduction
This is the first part of the research proposal. It explains what the
researcher wants to do and why. It should introduce the topic and at the
same time capture the interest of the reader. Parts of the introduction are:
a. Background of the Study - this should give the context of the study.
It explains why the topic was chosen, and how the research question
was developed. The background also justifies the need for the study
and summarizes the study's aims.
b. Statement of the Problem - this should give an overview of what the
researcher wants to seek answers to.
c. Objectives of the Study - talks about what the researcher is trying to
achieve.
d. Research Questions - are specific questions that are drawn from the
statement of the problem and what the researcher specifically seeks
answers to.
e. Theoretical/ conceptual Framework - consists of concepts,
definitions, and existing theories that support the research, and show
that it is grounded in established ideas.
II. Review of Related Literature
This part should show that the researcher is not simply repeating what
other people have already done and should demonstrate how the present
research will contribute to knowledge that is already in the field. It is a
summary of published works in a field of study. Literature reviews show
that the researcher has examined the breadth of knowledge and can
justify the research questions.
III. Research Design and Methodology
This should describe how the researcher will go about answering the
research questions. It explains what the researcher will do and how the
researcher will do it. Research design is a plan to answer research
questions. A research method is a strategy used to implement that plan.
This part also outlines the methods of data collection and the plan for data
analysis. The following are the parts of this chapter:
a. Research Design is the overall strategy and plan for a research
project. It tells whether the design is descriptive, correlational,
experimental, etc.
b. Sampling Technique involves the choice of respondents, the sources,
and the selection process. It can also include a brief description of the
respondents and their demographics (e.g. age, gender, education, and
socio-economic status).
c. Research instruments the tools and procedures used for collecting
and analyzing data.
IV. References/Bibliography
The proper citations should be included for all sources used. Full
publication details should also be included. The following are examples
using the APA format: It explains what the researcher will do and how the
researcher will do it. Research design is a plan to answer research
questions. A research method is a strategy used to implement that plan.
This part also outlines the methods of data collection and the plan for data
analysis. The following are the parts of this chapter:
For books, the format is: Author's last name, first initial, year of
publication, title of work, publisher, and location. For example:
 Ronta, C. P. (2024). The Sociological Impact of Political
Corruption. London: Berg

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of
publication, for example: (Forger, 2023).

For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example:
(Forger, 2023, p. 19)

Phases in Conducting Research

The following will provide an overview of the research process that the
researcher will undergo:

Phase Deciding WHAT questions to Phases 1 and 2 constitute the

1 answer. parts of the research
proposal.
Phase Planning HOW to gather evidence
2 to answer the research questions.

Phase Undertaking COLLECTING the This phase entails conducting

3 required information. actual research.