Migration in a Small World: A Network Approach to Modeling Immigration Processes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a network-based model of migration that integrates individual decision-making with social network influences, bridging micro- and macro-level perspectives in migration theory.

Contribution

It develops a novel small-world network model that combines economic and social factors to analyze migration dynamics and steady-state emigration rates.

Findings

Derived the emigration rate based on welfare and population factors.

Modeled the time evolution and steady-state of migration.

Demonstrated the impact of social network structure on migration patterns.

Abstract

Existing theories of migration either focus on micro- or macroscopic behavior of populations; that is, either the average behavior of entire population is modeled directly, or decisions of individuals are modeled directly. In this work, we seek to bridge these two perspectives by modeling individual agents decisions to migrate while accounting for the social network structure that binds individuals into a population. Pecuniary considerations combined with the decisions of peers are the primary elements of the model, being the main driving forces of migration. People of the home country are modeled as nodes on a small-world network. A dichotomous state is associated with each node, indicating whether it emigrates to the destination country or it stays in the home country. We characterize the emigration rate in terms of the relative welfare and population of the home and destination countries. The time evolution and the steady-state fraction of emigrants are also derived.