From Macrostructural Forces to Social Connectedness: Uncovering the Determinants of South–South Migration

Current perspectives on international migration emphasize conventional macrostructural influences on flows and focus nearly exclusively on migration from South to North. Given this limited framework, and the rapid growth of South–South migration, important questions remain: Do other factors acknowledged in the theoretical literature, but not yet systematically tested, also affect migration flows? Are South–North models appropriate for explaining South–South migration? This study directly addresses these questions using newly available data on bilateral migration flows and an empirical model that extends conventional gravity models of migration to include social connectedness and world-systemic influences. Further, it offers an original framework for analyzing international migration by examining flows first on a global scale and then disaggregated by region. Findings show that while South–North migration is significantly shaped by world-systems trends, such as trade and investment penetration, South–South...