Towards understanding international migration determinants today: Theoretical perspective
Authors: Predojevic-Despic Jelena 
Published: October 2010

In times of global migration flows and ever increasing mobility of the workforce in the world, the necessity for constant deepening of theoretical knowledge is imposed as a basis for understanding main determinants of this phenomenon, and with an aim of directing the focus of migration researches towards more efficient overcoming of challenges and making use of the advantages which international migrations could bring both to origin, destination and transit countries. The main goal of this paper is to give a critical review on the development of the economic migrations theory, to state the main similarities and differences between various approaches and to point out to the main drawbacks and problems which the theoretical perspective is facing when studying the determinants of contemporary international labor migrations. The focus of the study refers to voluntary labor migrations with reference to migrations of the highly educated population, while the stress is on economic theories, although some of them are closely connected to sociological, geographical and anthropological theories. The development of the theory on international migrations has been started by micro theoretical models, namely, through the conceptualization of theories which place the individual in the focal point of research, who estimates the positive, namely negative sides of moving from one location to another. Economic models on the micro theoretical level cede more space to models of macro structure which research the social and economic structure within and between countries. There are many theoretical models which offer possible answers to the question on what are the main determinants of international migrations on the macro analytical level. Although every one of them tries to give an answer to the same question, they use different concepts, assumptions and frameworks of research. The reasons which bring about the initiation of international migrations can be significantly different from those which lead to their stabilization in time and space. Although differences in the income height, risks, employment possibilities, market expansion can all influence the continuation of spatial movement of population, new conditions which arise during migration begin to act as independent factors: development of migratory networks, institutionalized support to the development of trans-national activities, as well as changing the social context of work in countries of destination. Therefore, in the analysis of contemporary international migrations the necessity arises for a systematic approach, namely dynamic perspective of research - from recognition to a detailed insight in changeable trends and forms of contemporary migratory movements in the world. In addition, at the same time with the development of new markets, regional economies and technology centers, there has been a 'trans-national turnabout' in the last fifteen years or so in researching migrations, namely a significant development in the approach which stresses the relations which migrants maintain with their families, communities and cultures which are out of the country in which they migrated in. The final part of the paper calls for the requirement of the following: coordination of theoretical concepts with new social conditions, post-industrial world and global processes of transformations in which migrations have an important role; overcoming inadequate coordination and isolation in studying migrations within special scientific disciplines, as well as poor connections of certain aspects of migration study; research of the causes and consequences of migrations as an inseparable part of the general process of social development. .