Table of Contents
Globalisation and migration are the two predominant and intertwined phenomena in the world today. Human mobility has become an integral part of the global economy. Since the early 1990s, the world has been witnessing a rapid process of internationalisation of capital, technology and economic activities. Global corporate activities through multinational and transnational corporations have grown rapidly. Trade and financial liberalisation is increasingly pronounced. The growth of mass media along with the development in transport and communication technologies and the free flow of information are leading to a rapidly ‘shrinking world’. It is now an interconnected ‘one world’, whose economies, societies and cultures are more closely intertwined in what is commonly referred to as a ‘global village’.
There has been increasing interaction and integration of national economic systems through the growth in international trade, investment and capital flows. Societies, economies and polities are now more interconnected, interdependent and affected by global changes.
Globalisation is now characterised by shrinking space and time and by vanishing borders, and globalising processes are dismantling obstacles to movement. As a result, there has been an increasing flow of people, goods, services, ideas, technologies and information across international borders. In simple terms, globalisation is defined as a ‘process that widens the extent and form of cross-border transactions among peoples, assets, goods and services and that deepens the economic interdependence between and among globalising entities, which may be private or public institutions or governments’ (Lubbers 2000). Globalisation is not new but the present era of globalisation is characterised by new markets (e.g., foreign exchanges operating 24 hours a day); by new tools (e.g., Internet links, cellular phones); by new actors (e.g., the WTO); and by new rules (e.g., multilateral agreements on trade).
Globalising processes have far-reaching social, demographic, economic, political and environmental consequences. For example, the growing demand for labour in the international market and advancing transport and communication technologies have resulted in mass movements of people across national borders. The impact of such globalisation is, however, uneven and varies from country to country.
This chapter explores the interlinkages between globalisation, international migration and development. It examines the emerging trends and contributing factors for labour migration in Oceania with special reference to the Fiji Islands. It also explores the impact of globalising processes on labour migration, trends in the flow of remittances and the overall impact of migration on development in the Fiji Islands.