Migration and development.

The author considers voluntary migration between the relatively poor countries of the South to the relatively rich countries of the North including the oil-producing Gulf states. Results of social science research upon migration are used to challenge some widely held views of the relationship between migration and development. The authors central argument is that consideration of the long run reveals that international migration both affects and is affected by development as it takes place in origin and destination. Emigration is often fueled by economic transformations at the point of origin and it also may provide essential capital and technological transference while transferring needed workers at destination. Migration flows develop strong inertia at the microsocial level which occasionally overrun changes in the labor market or in immigration policies. Concerns today about international migration should focus upon both short- and long-term human and developmental problems and consequences.