Rural-Urban Migration - Term Paper Example

Topic: Rural Urban Migration  Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Rural urban migration is a process through which people shift their settlement from their rural areas to towns and cities in search of better and more comfortable life (Mingwang, 2006). Rural areas support less economic activities which render them as incapable of providing employment to the large populations that reside there. The conditions of living also as compared to cities and other urban areas are below the standard such that basic necessities such as water, education, infrastructure etc are poorly maintained and difficult to access (Mingwang, 2006). These and other factors discussed in the essay discourage people, especially the young generation from settling in rural areas and instead, they migrate into urban areas where those facilities are better and advanced. This essay is a critical evaluation of the reasons and the trend of rural urban migration, as well as policies which can be implemented to slow down the rate at which it occurs. Economic Reasons Economic factor is the major reason as to why people migrate from their rural areas to urban cities and towns. Rural areas world wide have been neglected especially in the distribution of wealth such that much of the economic investments are concentrated in major cities and towns. Industries which provide employment, despite the fact that most of them get their raw materials from the rural areas, always locate their processing plants in the urban areas. Such industries may be justified to do so considering the proximity to market which may be more readily available in those areas (Mingwang, 2006). Industries especially those dealing with import and export businesses and which depend on air transport may take this to be an advantage reason being that most airports and ports are commonly found on the major towns. It therefore goes without saying that there are more employment opportunities within the towns as compared to the rural areas where the main occupation is production of raw materials such as horticulture, coffee and tea etc and which does not satisfy the large population with employment opportunities. As a result, people especially the young, who do not possess assets such as land which can enable them to participate in the production activities, migrate to towns in search of employment, leaving the aged as well as their families behind to participate in subsistence production. This is necessitated by the need to satisfy their human wants such as to provide for their children’s education, quality health and housing standards as well as raising their societal status which in most times is difficult for rural inhabitants. The quality of infrastructure for example roads, communication links, accessibility to social amenities and technology also contributes to rural urban migration. Everyone especially those with high levels of education prefer to live in surroundings which offer comfort (Mingwang, 2006). Looking at most of the rural areas, the connection of power lines is poor such that not all households are connected with power due to cost. It therefore makes it difficult to start small businesses which make use of electricity such as barbering, salons, welding or even entertainment which could help the locals in raising their economic standards. On the other hand, urban centers are well served with electricity and clean water systems which enable people to invest in these businesses which offer self employment. Rural areas also experience poor allocation of road maintenance funds to help in developing roads that link them to the major cities. As such, transportation of farm products to the market becomes difficult, which also discourages investors from erecting their industries in the interiors due to high costs of transport and inaccessibility, a factor that has contributed to them situating their industries in urban areas thus attracting more people into migrating from the rural areas. Labor surplus Labor surplus in the urban areas also attracts people from the rural areas where there is a low correlation between the high population and the available job opportunities which results to people shifting from rural areas to feed the high demand for labor in the urban areas. This in turn results to rise in levels of unemployment in the urban areas due to overpopulation which exceeds the employment opportunities thus leading to the emergence of substandard settlement areas as well as rise in crime rates. Rural flight as it is sometimes referred may result from mechanization of processes that provide employment for the rural inhabitants (Reddy, 1998). As a result of mechanization in rural areas and industrialization in the urban areas, it is projected that by the year 2030 the population in the urban centers will have exceeded the 5 Billion mark and with a higher poverty level, which necessitates for immediate and professional strategy formulation and policy making to ensure that this form of migration is contained (UNFPA, 2007). According to current studies, it has been noticed that this form of migration is not only occurring in individual countries but also across international boundaries. Disparity of Wages It is common to find highly learned citizens from countries especially those which are developing to those which have developed economies such as America and Britain where they make use of their expertise (Brimelow, 2000). According to the perceptions of the immigrants, their activities are motivated by the notion that these countries offer better remuneration for their services as may be compared to what they are paid back in their countries or states, which may be true. Due to economic constraints in the rural areas as well as high concentration of jobless persons, remuneration for services rendered is very low as compared to urban cities where there are a lot of job vacancies especially in America, which has been classified as one of the countries that accommodate the highest number of immigrants with the year 2006 recording a high number of approximately 40 million immigrants. The government’s take on this issue was positive as it recommended their industrial and innovative contribution to the country’s economy (Palmer, 2006). On the other hand, this has promoted illegal entry by the immigrants as well as human trafficking especially for those helpless persons who find their selves in the hands of cartels who take advantage of their vulnerability to create wealth for themselves (Conover 2000). By encouraging this form of migration, the developing countries lose the manpower and expertise which could be helpful in promoting their economic growth. However, to prevent this form of migration, the developing countries should add more effort in the creation of wealth as well as reduce the number of foreign experts in the local industries so as to create opportunities for the citizens, which is achievable if only they can minimize the level of government spending on unproductive assets such as state vehicles, political maturity as well as dealing with corruption which is a common practice in these countries. External Migration Between Mexico and USA for example, external migration is the common practice evidenced whereby people from the rural Mexico cross the border into America in search for better lives through opportunities which are available in the highly industrialized country (Martinez, 2002). This has been facilitated by the poor border security and the government’s stand to protect immigrants by awarding them with visas which would enhance their ease of working in America. As is evident in the 2008 presidential bids, immigration was a contentious issue that was being used by the major competing political parties, some advocating for the award of visa and working permits to the immigrants while others were opposed to it (Brimelow, 2000). A section of the public also felt that the immigrants had no right to demand for recognition as Americans thus resulting to a heated debate over the issue. The table below shows the estimated numbers of foreign immigrants that migrated to the various states between the year 1990 and 2008, which according to census reports could be slightly higher due to illegal immigrants who were not wholly accounted for. Table 1.0: Table Showing Total Estimates Of Total Immigrants Living in Various States From 1990 to 2007   1990 2000 2007 State Total Estimate Total Estimate Total Estimate North Carolina 50,000 120,000 200,000 Mississippi 175,132 587,500 900,620 Tennessee 60000 159,780 250,483 Nevada 105000 316,110 500,717 Alabama 20,400 39,808 60,555 Georgia 44,600 85,000 150,698 South Carolina 116,077 420,000 651,130 Utah 33,000 80,878 129,513 Delaware 22,200 45,000 68,710 Arizona 24,900 73,578 119,290 Kentucky 58,000 168,669 226,420 Missouri 83,653 151,300 245,314 Arkansas 278,400 660,200 972,510 Total 1,070,362 2,910,823 4,505,750 Source: The Methods and Materials of Demography, 2008, p.115 From the table above, it is possible to tell that the number of immigrants has been increasing from approximately one million in the year 1990 to approximately five million immigrants in the year 2008. Most of these immigrants are from Asia, Mexico as well as other underdeveloped countries in Africa. Internal Migration Internal migration whereby people migrate from rural to urban areas within their countries is also a development that has been recorded within the Latin American countries. This trend has a history from the era of colonization whereby urbanization was promoted by the establishment of cities by the Spaniards, which facilitated strategic connection to Europe thereby favoring the transportation of raw materials as well as well as minerals which were gotten from these countries (Butterworth, 1999). During this time, the main economic activities which took place were related to Agriculture which promoted rural settlement but the shifting of concentration to industries ignited rural urban migration, due to the fact that the industries offered more employment opportunities than Agriculture, which became somehow neglected (Reddy, 1998). According to statistics, Agriculture accounted for approximately 60% of total employment opportunities before industrialization which saw a significant drop by almost 50% (Butterworth, 1999). To date, approximately 55% of Latin American populations are urban dwellers and still more and more people continue to shift. Table 1.1: Table showing the % population living in the rural areas as from 1970 to 1990 Country 1970 1980 1990 Chile 20 18.5 14.1 Bolivia 62.8 56.3 48 Mexico 45 32.7 26.1 Costa Rica 71.3 56.9 53.3 Guatemala 39.8 32 25.2 Argentina 24.9 18.8 15.4 Haiti 60.4 52.9 43.7 Cuba 65.6 62.8 61.9 Ecuador 80.3 75.5 69.4 Brazil 41 33.6 27.3 Uruguay 18 14.9 11.2 Venezuela 25 17 12.5 Source: Latin American Urbanization (Urbanization in Developing Countries), 1999, p 94 The table above shows the rural population’s trend as from 1970 to 1990. As it is evident, the population has continued to decrease through the years due to rural urban migration which has occurred due to factors such as change of economic production from farming to industrialization whereby industries are located in the urban cities which act as economic hubs connecting Europe and America etc. Policies for Migration Other than Mexico and Latin American states, America receives a sizeable number of immigrants from Asia as well as other underdeveloped countries due to economic policies that promote immigration (Clinical Testing and Research, 2007). The main reason as to why the country has not exercised the full force of the law on matters concerning immigration is the fact that these people provide cheap labor to the industries as well as in farms. Furthermore, the country has a surplus labor market which cannot be exhausted such that the citizens would fear for lack of employment due to competition. In fact, legal immigrants are accorded the same priorities and opportunities as those of the citizens apart from the fact that they are not allowed to vote or hold any political office in the country. In addition, it would be an economic depression to force the immigrants out due to their contribution to the growth of the economy through their expertise which can be acquired cheaply. Due to this lenience and lack of will to counter the problem, many people have been migrating from their home countries either legally or illegally, which has been a source of conflict in ideologies between politicians (Clinical Testing and Research, 2007). However, internal rural urban migration in Mexico and other developing countries is also evident with a high number of rural settlers migrating to the urban areas as a result of poor living conditions and poverty in their homelands. To ensure that these factors are prevented from promoting rural urban migration, proper formulation of policies should be done aimed at uplifting the living standards of the rural population. For example, delocalization of industries from city centers should be done especially for those industries which make use of raw materials which are plenty in the rural areas (Rao, 1995). However, for this to take effect, the government and local authorities should ensure that infrastructure within the rural areas is developed so as to motivate investors into relocating their industries. Not only would it create employment opportunities for the rural people but also would reduce the amount of pollution in towns due to their gas emissions as well as raw effluent which is a threat to the environment. It would also promote the growth of other small businesses due to the fact that people would have a higher purchasing power which would make it possible for them to buy the products (Rao, 1995). Electricity should be well distributed so that the communities can utilize it in creating self employment. This may help especially in the setting up of information centers for example computer training centers as well as providing internet services which are essential for the empowerment of the youth through the rich information which it contains. In fact, the information Technology sector has been noted to be the fastest growing and a main contributor to the growth of economies around the world. The young people should also be encouraged to take up informal jobs instead of waiting for white collar jobs, which are not easily available. The young generation has been noted as having the attitude of dismissing activities such as farming, blacksmith and other hard labor as unsuitable for them based on their level of education. Whereas they have the right to do so, they should be motivated to take up the challenging work so as to enable them make their living in order to prevent the disappointment of moving into urban centers only to find that there are no jobs, which may result to them becoming criminals or beggars (Conover, 2000). The migration is also a risky affair especially on the Mexican boarder due to illegal human trafficking though various regulations and policies have been put across to counter the threat. Conclusion Rural urban migration is the process by which people shift their settlements from their rural areas to the urban cities in search of better livelihood. Various reasons necessitate this form of movement which may include and not limited to poverty, unemployment, labor surplus in the urban areas etc. Rural areas are most of the times neglected by the government by means of less funding for developmental projects which may go a long way in attracting investors into locating their industries in those areas despite the fact that most of them acquire their raw materials from those areas. This is due to the nature of infrastructure especially roads which may be impassable during rainy seasons. The supply of electricity is also poor such that it is almost difficult for the inhabitants to develop economically through self sponsored projects which may offer self employment such as welding, salons and others which may require electricity to operate. Immigration policies in host countries also encourage external migration whereby people migrate from their respective underdeveloped countries into countries such as America which are highly industrialized and with labor surplus. Due to the labor surplus, these countries grant equal opportunities for the immigrants as those of citizens thus encouraging more and more legal as well as illegal immigrants who find their way through the poorly guarded boarders. Rural urban migration can be solved by equality in the sharing of development funds between the urban and rural areas which would enhance self motivated delocalization of industries by investors who fail to do so due to the poor conditions in the rural areas that may not favor their businesses. If not so, policies should be formulated to prevent more industries from being built in the urban centers as well as subsidizing on those who willingly relocate theirs to the rural areas. Bibliography 1. Brimelow, P., (2000). Alien Nation: Common Sense about Americas Immigration Disaster, Harper Perennial. 2. Butterworth, C. (1999). Latin American Urbanization (Urbanization in Developing Countries), Cambridge University Press. 3. Clinical Testing and Research (2007). Immigration Policy Issues, Retrieved December 1, 2009 From 4. Conover, T., (2000). Coyotes: A Journey across Borders with Americas Illegal Migrants, Vintage. 5. Martinez, R., (2002). Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail, Picador. 6. Mingwang, C., (2006). ‘An explanation of the motivation and obstacles affecting Rural-Urban migration,’ Frontiers of Economics in China, Vol.1(4): 576-596 7. Palmer, R., (2006). ‘Surplus Labor, Social Structure and Rural to Urban Migration: Evidence from Indian Data,’ The European Journal of Development Research, Vol.18(1): 86-104  8. Rao, M., (1995). Urbanization, Migration and Economic Development, Kanishka. 9. Reddy, T., (1998). Rural Urban Migration -an Economic Interpretation, Reliance Publishing House. 10. Sieqel, J., (2008). The Methods and Materials of Demography, Academic Press. 11. UNFPA (2007), State of World Population 2007, Retrieved December 1, 2009 From < http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/english/introduction.html> Read More