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A theory of migration: the aspirations-capabilities framework.
1University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Comparative Migration Studies
|March 8, 2021
Summary
This study introduces an aspirations-capabilities framework for understanding human mobility. It redefines human mobility as the capability to choose where to live, encompassing staying, and analyzes how social change influences these choices.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Human Geography
- Migration Studies
Background:
- Human mobility is a key component of social change.
- Existing migration frameworks often overlook individual agency within structural constraints.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and elaborate an aspirations-capabilities framework for analyzing human mobility.
- To conceptualize migration as a function of aspirations and capabilities within perceived opportunity structures.
- To integrate instrumental and intrinsic dimensions of human mobility.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual framework development.
- Integration of theories on agency and structure.
- Application of Isaiah Berlin's concepts of liberty to migration.
Main Results:
- Human mobility is redefined as the capability to choose one's place of residence, including the option to stay.
- Migration is conceptualized as a function of aspirations and capabilities, influenced by perceived geographical opportunities.
- The framework distinguishes between instrumental and intrinsic dimensions of mobility.
Conclusions:
- The aspirations-capabilities framework offers a more nuanced understanding of human mobility and its relationship to social change.
- It provides a meta-conceptual tool to integrate diverse forms of migratory mobility.
- Macro-structural changes significantly shape individual migratory aspirations and capabilities.
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