For the source country a range of social problems can be spawned my mass migration. The social makeup and demography can be affected by migrants, especially when the most common age of migrants are around the reproductive age in both female and male genders. Any movement of young adults cannot only decrease the population but the future population too. Birth rate can decrease and the population average age can spiral upwards due to less frivolous males and females at childbearing age. An aging population can also therefore cause secondary negative effect on the death rate. Any countries social network is based around the dependency ratio, the working population secure the future for the younger and older population, with an ever-increasing older population the social makeup of the country can become fragile and unsustainable. The transport, health, and residential sector will all transform to accompany the elderly, businesses and industry can be negatively altered. Any concentrated movement of a country can cause many ripple effects throughout the country for many years to come.
Sex selective migration can aid in disrupting family life and marriage patterns. This is demonstrated by the fact that of all households in the world, a woman heads one in three. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, the adult males may have died, maybe through war or natural disaster, with the wife outliving her husband. Secondly, the majority of women are without men because of migration. The men may have moved to other areas in search of better living standards for themselves or their family, better job prospects, or other economic advantages with which they can support the family elsewhere. An example of this occurring was the mass movement of young unmarried Irishmen last century. The average age of marriage for women rose and resulted in an ever-increasing proportion of those who never married, which will have affected the country severely. The population would have shrunk with a smaller male population and less couples producing families to continue replacement, and so birth rate falls.
The environment will also be affected. If the area was heavily agricultural, then the effect of people moving away will be such that their will be less man-power in the area to tend to the land. This means that the land would be left unused and produce in the area will decline. In areas where subsistence farming is common, this would spell disaster for local residents whose food supply would diminish. If land is left unused then it loses its fertility therefore it is unlikely that the land would be able to be used to the same extent later on. This puts a rapid stop to any chance of sustainable development in the short-term future, although in the long-term the availability of fertiliser or nutrients to add to the land may help, but these come at a price.
In many countries around the world, young adult males are socially expected to provide for the family and the extended families. In most LEDC communities many parents decide to have many children in order to maximise income and workers when they reach their teens. In other places for example in China, male children are more favourable than their female counterparts, they are seen as more likely to gain a job and earn more money. But this social quality has also meant that men also migrate to other countries for better job prospects. Their ambitions is to earn money and send it back to their native land and their family. Normally they travel to urban areas so they can support their family at home.
The migrant’s destination can suffer from a series of effects. The most obvious is a sudden increase in population that the economy, society and environment can’t sustain. In case of working male migration, which is the most common, it is often a source of cheap labour that can fuel the lower standards of the job ladder. In MEDCs it is common for these migrants t accept low wage jobs. This is both advantageous to the country, a source of cheap labour and for the migrants. But often migrants are faced with inhospitality, especially when a country is suffering from economic recession; migrants are often seen as burdens on the country in both terms of health, education and the welfare system. With any increase in population it will immediately place pressure on accommodation, and if the country can’t support them then shantytowns and refugee camps spawn up.
When male migrants have stabilised their life their wives and close family will immigrate also. This alters the demography of the country. Often immigration can cause a huge imbalance in age and sex and sequentially the reverse in the origin country. There can also be posistive effects, it can influence natural increase as most migrants are of child bearing age. In the USA, 10 years of immigration accounted for over half of the nations growth. There are currently approximately 1,500,000 forced migrants seeking refuge in the USA from countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Vietnam. In contrast to this, some cases migration has led to the reduction of native populations. Historically, when nations like Spain began to colonise the New World they took with them diseases such as influenza, measles and smallpox and as a result the indigenous populations dropped by two thirds.
Hartman, of the London School of Economics stated that, “Some argue that population growth is the greatest single limit to economic growth and the continued survival of the earth's ecological systems.” In other words, scarcity of resources is made worse by the increasing demand from a growing population for resources such as water, fuel, and a clean environment. In reality, this resource scarcity can lead to enhanced conflict and “the breakdown on cooperative action”. Such stresses can have a negative effect of health and changing consumption patterns and can also lead to wars and violent conflict leading to increased migration and the creation of so called ‘environmental refugees’.
The social impact of migrants is probably the most contentious and important. International migration can lead to racial tension. Despite the enrichment of the country brought about by immigrants (artistic, theatrical, sporting, commercial, administrative and industrial, for example), resentment and even anger can be directed at such groups who see themselves as ‘long-standing’ citizens, resulting in racism. It is often directed at easily identifiable groups and this behaviour is likely to be brought about by the unfortunate desire for individuals to protect their territory. At best, the situation fades out as the groups are accepted into society. At worst, the racism holds that the immigrants, no matter how long-standing they may be, are a threat to the well being of the nation, and are encouraged by one means or another to leave. If the group is not socially resilient, then there should, theoretically, be no problem with racism on any level.
