Migration: three ways to classify
Migration = the permanent or semi-permanent movement of people to live elsewhere. Classify it three ways. Internal = movement WITHIN one country (village to city); international = crossing a national border. From a country's view, emigration = people LEAVING, immigration = people ARRIVING (the same migrant is both). Voluntary = freely chosen; forced (involuntary) = no real choice, e.g. fleeing war. Rural-urban migration is a common TYPE of internal migration.
Push-pull; refugee vs economic migrant
The push-pull model explains why people migrate. A push factor is a NEGATIVE condition in the ORIGIN driving people out (few jobs, low wages, drought, conflict). A pull factor is a POSITIVE condition in the DESTINATION attracting them (more jobs, higher wages, safety). Define by WHERE it operates -- "more jobs" fits either area. It also separates an economic migrant (chooses to move, pulled by wages) from a refugee (FORCED out by fear of persecution, conflict or disaster).
Mexico to USA: economic migration
Mexico to the USA is a studied case of voluntary, international, economic migration -- around 11 million Mexican-born people live in the USA. Push (rural Mexico): low farm wages, few jobs, poverty. Pull (USA): higher wages, strong labour demand. Origin: it loses young workers but gains remittances worth tens of billions of dollars a year. Destination: migrant labour fills shortages and adds diversity, but arrivals strain housing and services. Both ends see costs and benefits.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Answering about the wrong party
Migration answers often describe the wrong subject. If a question asks for the impact ON THE DESTINATION COUNTRY, writing only what happens to the migrants ("they get a better job") misses it -- it needs effects on the receiving country (workforce, services, housing). Underline WHO or WHAT is asked about: the migrant, the origin, or the destination.
s23 P11 Q1(b)(ii); w23 P11 Q1(a)(iv)
Forced ≠ economic push-factor move
A migrant leaving because of a push factor such as low wages is still making a VOLUNTARY, economic choice. This differs from FORCED migration, where the person has no real choice, like a refugee fleeing war. If a question specifies "forced" or "economic", match that type -- writing about someone chasing better wages when forced migration was asked earns nothing.
s23 P13 Q1(c)
Vague pull-factor definition
The topic's key definition trap. A precise pull factor is a POSITIVE condition in the DESTINATION that ATTRACTS migrants -- "something good about the place they move TO". A weak "something that makes people move" is too vague: it could equally be a push factor. A second slip is giving an EXAMPLE ("more jobs") instead of a DEFINITION.
w22 P41 Q1(a)(ii)
Net migration: keep the minus sign
Net migration = immigration minus emigration (people IN minus people OUT). Always subtract in that order; reversing it flips the sign, turning net immigration into net emigration even when the digits are right. A negative result means net emigration (more left than arrived) and the minus sign must be kept -- dropping it is the most common slip.
w22 P23 Q3(a)
Emigrant vs immigrant labels
The same move produces two labels, one per country. Emigration is people LEAVING a country; immigration is people ARRIVING into one. A single migrant is an emigrant from the origin country and an immigrant to the destination country at the same time. Read which country the question is set in before choosing the word -- swapping them describes the wrong flow.
Give both sides of an impact
Migration impacts are positive AND negative at once, in the same place. An origin area loses young workers (negative) but gains remittances (positive); a destination gains workers and diversity but faces pressure on housing and services. Answering with only costs, or only benefits, caps the mark -- a strong answer covers both sides for the area asked about.
Refugee ≠ economic migrant
A testable wrong belief: that "refugee" and "economic migrant" mean the same thing. A refugee is FORCED to leave through fear of persecution, conflict or disaster, with little real choice. An economic migrant CHOOSES to move, pulled by better wages. The test is choice -- a safe option to remain means economic migrant, not refugee.
Migration case study: name two countries
On the migration case study, name TWO real countries -- origin and destination (e.g. Mexico and the USA) -- and weave a statistic into a developed point (e.g. 11 million Mexican-born people live in the USA). Statistics quoted alone, with no development, do not reach Level 2.
Underline who the question targets
Underline WHO or WHAT a migration question is about -- the migrant, the origin, or the destination. These are three different answers, and mixing them loses easy marks. Also underline the impact type asked for (social/economic/environmental) and answer only that.
Compare = link both areas explicitly
A "compare" question wants comparative statements linking BOTH areas in one sentence (whereas, higher, lower) -- e.g. "the origin loses workers, WHEREAS the destination gains them". Describing origin then destination as separate lists is not a comparison and scores far less.
Full notes, flashcards, Q&A and the topic quiz for every premium subject.
Premium plans are US$8.99/month or US$49.99/year — first month free.
Studying with a parent's blessing? Show them this.
