This research argues that it is possible to explain the immigration intensity of close to 3 million immigration events in Spain by means of cumulative causation. In addition, it proposes that the theory of cumulative causation not only explains the intensity of migration but also the spatial and ethnic diffusion of the arriving immigrants. Thus, the research reported here significantly expands the explanatory scope of this approach. At the core of my argument is the innovative notion that to be able to take full advantage of the social capital made available by past immigrants, and which according to the theory of cumulative causation would make immigration more likely, it is not sufficient to be socially linked to past migrants, it is also essential for new immigrants to accept to live close to where past immigrants settled before them. The empirical analysis shows conclusively that the intensity of Spanish immigration is indeed subject to location specific cumulative causation, and that when present location specific cumulative causation gives rise to geographical and ethnic concentration of the immigrant population.
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Paper provided by Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA) Ciencias Sociales in its series Working Papers with number
2008-12.
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