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Social Contagion and Migration: Sources and Implications of Migrant Ambivalence

In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Migration in International Business

Author

Listed:
  • Helena Barnard

    (University of Pretoria)

  • Graham Nash

    (University of Pretoria)

Abstract

In the global war for talent, middle-income countries are key sources of skilled migrants. Migrants’ decision to forego premium salaries for their scarce skills in their home country is not straightforward, as they face many unknowns and often labor market discrimination in their adopted country. We conceptualize the choice to migrate as a process of social contagion, where attitudes about migration spread in a way comparable to biological contagions. Integrating insights from a social contagion model with a rumor transmission model, we argue that messages about the desirability or not of migration resemble the spread of rumors. We situate our work in South Africa, superimposing a survey about the motives for migration onto census data to develop an understanding of the primary migration drivers for people of different ages, genders, racial groups, and education levels. This allows us to identify the effect of general and isolated crises (separately and combined) on the susceptibility to pro-and anti-migration messages. Our work confirms that attitudes about migration are contagious, and that migration decisions have a substantial non-rational component. To the extent that migrants are ambivalent about the migration decision, they bring often unstated needs and expectations to the workplace.

Suggested Citation

  • Helena Barnard & Graham Nash, 2023. "Social Contagion and Migration: Sources and Implications of Migrant Ambivalence," Springer Books, in: Audra I. Mockaitis (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Migration in International Business, chapter 4, pages 67-90, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-38886-6_4
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-38886-6_4
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