Push and pull factors in migration

Push and pull factors in migration according to Everett S. Lee (1917-2007) are categories that demographers use to analyze human migration from former areas to new host locations. Lee's model divides factors causing migrations into two groups of factors: push and pull. Push factors are things that are unfavourable about the home area that one lives in, and pull factors are things that attract one to another host area.^[1]^[2]

Factors

Push

Not enough jobs or opportunities
Famine or drought
Political fear of persecution
Poor medical care
Loss of wealth
Natural disasters
Death threats
Desire for more political or religious freedom
Pollution
Poor housing
Bullying
Discrimination
Poor chances of marrying
Contamination
War
Sickness

Pull

Job opportunities
Higher benefits
Better living conditions
Having more political or religious freedom
Enjoyment
Education
Better medical care
Attractive climates
Security
Family links
Better chances of marrying

Criticism

Sociology professor Hein de Haas has criticized the push-pull model for its inability to explain real world migration patterns.^[3]

Notes

^ Lee, Everett S. (1966). "A Theory of Migration". Demography. 3 (1): 47–57. doi:10.2307/2060063. JSTOR 2060063. S2CID 46976641.
^ Guido Dorigo, and Waldo Tobler, "Push-pull migration laws." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 73.1 (1983): 1-17 online
^ de Haas, Hein (2021-02-24). "A theory of migration: the aspirations-capabilities framework". Comparative Migration Studies. 9 (1): 8. doi:10.1186/s40878-020-00210-4. ISSN 2214-594X. PMC 7902564. PMID 33680858.

Azunre, Gideon Abagna, Richard Azerigyik, and Pearl Puwurayire. "Deciphering the drivers of informal urbanization by Ghana's urban poor through the lens of the push-pull theory." InPlaning Forum Vol. 18. (2021). online
Dorigo, Guido, and Waldo Tobler. "Push-pull migration laws." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 73.1 (1983): 1-17 online
Hoffmann, Ellen M., et al. "Is the push-pull paradigm useful to explain rural-urban migration? A case study in Uttarakhand, India." PloS one 14.4 (2019): e0214511. online
Khalid, Bilal, and Mariusz Urbański. "Approaches to understanding migration: a mult-country analysis of the push and pull migration trend." Economics & Sociology 14.4 (2021): 242–267. DOI:10.14254/2071-789X.2021/14-4/14
Lee, Everett S. (1966). "A Theory of Migration". Demography. 3 (1): 47–57. doi:10.2307/2060063. JSTOR 2060063. S2CID 46976641.
Yaro, Joseph A. "Development as push and pull factor in migration." Migration & Entwicklung (2008): 16+ online.

[1] Lee, Everett S. (1966). "A Theory of Migration". Demography. 3 (1): 47–57. doi:10.2307/2060063. JSTOR 2060063. S2CID 46976641.

[2] Guido Dorigo, and Waldo Tobler, "Push-pull migration laws." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 73.1 (1983): 1-17 online

[3] Haas, Hein (2021-02-24). "A theory of migration: the aspirations-capabilities framework". Comparative Migration Studies. 9 (1): 8. doi:10.1186/s40878-020-00210-4. ISSN 2214-594X. PMC 7902564. PMID 33680858.

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