How development and capabilities shape migration aspirations over life courses

There are theoretical reasons to assume that “development” in the form of access to media and education have a positive effect on migration aspirations through increasing people’s awareness of social, cultural and economic opportunities and different lifestyles elsewhere. We can also hypothesize that increased (migration) capabilities through improved wealth, education and access to networks increase people’s life aspirations, and, potentially, migration aspirations. However, the effect of wealth and, more generally, capabilities on migration aspirations is likely to be curvilinear since, beyond a certain level, people will start feeling less deprived vis-à-vis destinations and within their own communities. This renders the relation between ‘development’ and migration aspirations fundamentally ambiguous. Importantly this is not a static relationship as international migration aspirations shift shift over life courses. However, these hypothesized relationship between development, capabilities and the formation of migration aspirations over life courses, has never been studied empirically. Based on unique survey data from 16 regions in 4 countries (Morocco, Senegal, Turkey, Ukraine) collected by the EUMAGINE project, this paper explores these relationships.