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Throughout history, migrants have fueled the engine of human progress. Their movement has sparked innovation, spread ideas, relieved poverty, and laid the foundations for a global economy. In a world more interconnected than ever before, the number of people with the means and motivation to migrate will only increase. Exceptional People provides a long-term and global perspective on the implications and policy options for societies the world over. Challenging the received wisdom that a dramatic growth in migration is undesirable, the book proposes new approaches for governance that will embrace this international mobility.
The authors explore the critical role of human migration since humans first departed Africa some fifty thousand years ago--how the circulation of ideas and technologies has benefited communities and how the movement of people across oceans and continents has fueled economies. They show that migrants in today's world connect markets, fill labor gaps, and enrich social diversity. Migration also allows individuals to escape destitution, human rights abuses, and repressive regimes. However, the authors indicate that most current migration policies are based on misconceptions and fears about migration's long-term contributions and social dynamics. Future policies, for good or ill, will dramatically determine whether societies can effectively reap migration's opportunities while managing the risks of the twenty-first century.
A guide to vigorous debate and action, Exceptional People charts the past and present of international migration and makes practical recommendations that will allow everyone to benefit from its unstoppable future growth.
List of Illustrations and Tables ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
PART I : PAST
Chapter 1: Migration from Prehistory to Columbus 11
Early Migration 12
Connecting Humanity 18
Migration and Humanity 37
Chapter 2: Global Migrations: Toward a World Economy 39
The Age of Exploration 40
Imperialism and Coercion 45
Unfree Migrations: Slavery and Indentured Labor 47
Global "Free" Migrations (ca. 1840-1914) 57
Builders of the Modern World 67
Chapter 3: "Managed" Migration in the Twentieth Century (1914-1973) 69
The End of the Liberal Period 70
The Interwar Period: Economic Decline and Regulated Migration 77
Post-WWII Migrations 85
Finding Reasons to Regulate 92
PART II: PRESENT
Chapter 4: L eaving Home: Migration Decisions and Processes 97
Micro-Level: Individuals and Families 99
Meso-Level: Networks and Systems 103
Macro-Level: Demographic, Political, and Economic Conditions 109
Individual, Society, and National Influences 120
Chapter 5: I mmigration and Border Control 121
Channels and Flows of Migration 122
Economic Migration 127
Social Migration 140
Refugee Migration 147
Border Control 153
Beyond Border Controls 160
Chapter 6: T he Impacts of Migration 162
Impacts on Receiving Countries 164
Impacts on Sending Countries 178
Impacts on Migrants 193
Impacts on Societies and Migrants 209
PART III : FUTURE
Chapter 7: T he Future of Migration 213
The Backdrop of Globalization 215
Supply of Migrants 219
Demand for Migrants 241
Chapter 8: A Global Migration Agenda 259
Thought Experiments 261
A Long-Term Vision of Freer Movement 265
Principles for Global Migration 270
The Need for Global Leadership 281
Notes 287
References 331
Index 359
Overview
Throughout history, migrants have fueled the engine of human progress. Their movement has sparked innovation, spread ideas, relieved poverty, and laid the foundations for a global economy. In a world more interconnected than ever before, the number of people with the means and motivation to migrate will only increase. Exceptional People provides a long-term and global perspective on the implications and policy options for societies the world over. Challenging the received wisdom that a dramatic growth in ...