Migration and development in the South Pacific

Abstract

For the past quarter of a century migration has been the most important demographic variable in large parts of the South Pacific region. Within the region there is extensive rural-urban migration and beyond the region international migration to the metropolitan states of USA, Australia and New Zealand. The scale of this movement has changed perceptions of development, posed problems for national development (and especially for agricultural development) and con tributed to rapid social and economic change, as island states and islanders have increasingly focused their social and economic aspirations outwards. Pressures for migration continue to increase at the same time as the opportunities for satisfying such pressures are declining, and as international migration becomes an increasingly overt political issue. This collection of recent papers examines the changing context and impact of migration in eight different states in the region, reviewing such issues as the brain or skill drain, remittances and investment, employment strategies of migrants, the impact of migration on inequality and uneven development and the overall relationship between migration and development. Migration is more closely linked to social issues, including education and suicide, than in many earlier discussions and there is also a strong emphasis on the historical evolution of structures of migration. The various papers demonstrate the great variety in the structure and impact of migration and recognize the tasks involved in incorporat ing such diversity into appropriate policy formation.