Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Theoretical Foundation…
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marriage migration. Therefore, the detailed description and explanation of international migration trend and the motive and incentives for arousing migration based on respective migration theories are the backbone of this chapter.
2.1 Theoretical Foundation
In this section, a brief description about migration theories, marriage migration theory and marriage models are providing to obtain sufficient background as a foundation to back-up the research theory basis.
Moreover, regarding migration selection and decision, the key theories associated with migration and incentives to attract immigrants are discussed, either from a micro perspective of individual decision-making or a macro aspect of structural determinants. For example, the first theory about migration, perhaps the most influential, was the theory of migration that emanates from neoclassical economics. Secondly, probably the most migration-specific of all, the new economics of labor migration lends attention to income distribution, contrary to the neoclassical explanation (Arango, 2004).
2.1.1 Migration Theory from Economic Aspect
Arango (2004) ever stated that migration is too diverse and multifaceted to be explained by a single theory. Apparently, referring to migration theories, there is no single theory provide perfect and exact explanation for human’s internal and international movement both in sending and receiving countries compassing political, economic, racial aspects and etc. And each theory may generally explain the migration in a specific time period and a respective nation, region or continent.
Keely (2000) indicated that theories about the initiation of international migration are categorized into four sorts of economic explanation and one political
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economy approach known as world systems theory. The following are their brief definition and explanation for migration respectively.
Moreover, neoclassical macroeconomic theory explains migration flows as the result of wage differentials and the probability of obtaining a job in the form of unemployment rates. Neoclassical microeconomic theory focuses on the corresponding individual choice facing potential migrants in places with different wages and probabilities of finding work. Neoclassical economics focuses on differentials in wages and employment conditions between countries, and on migration costs; it generally conceives of movement as an individual decision for income maximization.
In addition, dual labor market theory switches the focus from an individuals or household decision-making level to the institutional context of economic structure and needs. Migration is the result of needs of industrial economies but not push factors in sending countries. The need in industrial economies result from structural inflation, motivation problems stemming from the social meaning and mobility prospects connected with various occupations, economic dualism related to capital and labor costs in market economies, and the demography of labor supply (Keely, 2000).
Aside from the above mentioned theories, the typical push-pull theory, world system theory and system approach are taken as the foundation of analysis on the cause-and–effect relation and the trend of increasing marriage immigrants in Taiwan.
2.1.2 Migration Theory from Political Aspect
As for world system theory, it is a variety of political economy theory that proposes bifurcation of the world economy related to capitalist penetration from richer, industrial, market (capitalist) economies to poorer nations or the periphery. The search for land, raw materials, new markets, and the labor upsets traditional economies and
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mobilizes labor for migration internally and internationally to meet the needs of core capitalist countries. Network theories postulate that the existence of family, friends, and acquaintances in a receiving country reduces the costs and risks of migration by related people in the sending country. `
Moreover, the relationship between international migration and economic development in the migrant origin country has been traditionally explained from two contrasting theoretical approaches: the convergence point of view and the divergence point of view. The convergence school, rooted in neo-liberal economic theory, states that sending areas obtain major benefits from out-migration for their development process. This approach primarily posits that emigration leads to an improvement in resource, availability, and income distribution in origin areas. On the other hand, the divergence school argues that out-migration hinders development of the sending regions because it perpetuates a state of economic dependency that undermines prospects for development. Apart from these two perspectives, there also exists a third approach referred to as the “time perspective”. According to this perspective, in the short term, negative factors dominate the impact of migration, while in the long term positive factors come to stimulate development. Different types of migration have different impacts on the process of development in sending countries, and therefore should be examined in a disaggregated manner in order to understand the role that each specific type of migration actually plays in the process of development (Rahman, 2009).
2.1.3 Marriage Theory
With regards to marriage theory, Çelikaksoy et al., (2003) sketch a theoretical framework describing the marriage decision of immigrants. In the context of immigrants in a host country, the marriage decision consists of two simultaneous
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choices. As in standard marriage decisions, the individuals decide whom to marry in terms of observed characteristics/qualifications.
In addition, they decide from which country the spouse should come, that is the source country or host country. The decision to marry and the decision to import a marriage migrant are assumed to be simultaneous decisions that depend upon the characteristics that are brought into a marriage by the spouses. The characteristics of the spouses are summarized in marital capital, which includes for instance physical capital, financial capital (such as bride price or dowry) and human capital (such as health or education).
Çelikaksoy et al., (2003) indicated that the theoretical background for our empirical model for marriage migration is to be found in the Becker model. It builds on the assumption that marriage markets in the source country and in the host country are competitive. The decision to marry is considered as a decision taken by the household of the young individual. An immigrant household considering marriage has to choose between two alternative marriage markets. When a household chooses to enter another marriage market than the local marriage market, this reflects that the utility of a match in that marriage market is higher than the utility of a match with a person from the local marriage market (or any other relevant alternative). For marriage migration actually to take place, this must be the case for both households.