The Internetization of International Migration

Bibliographic Data

ID4121943
AuthorsLuca Maria Pesando (0000-0002-1690-7163), Valentina Rotondi (0000-0003-0879-7635), Manuela Stranges (0000-0002-7419-427X), Ridhi Kashyap (0000-0003-0615-2868), Francesco C Billari (0000-0003-4717-6129)
Year2021
Volume47
Issue1
Pages79-111
Publication date2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopulation and Development Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0098-7921 • E-ISSN: 1728-4457
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/padr.12371
PMID33897068
OpenAlexW3110968906
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited57

The Internet has revolutionized our economies, societies, and everyday lives. Many social phenomena are no longer the same as they were in the pre-Internet era: they have been "Internetized." We define the Internetization of international migration, and we investigate it by exploring the links between the Internet and migration outcomes all along the migration path, from migration intentions to actual migration. Our analyses leverage a number of sources, both at the micro- and the macro-level, including the Gallup World Poll, the Arab Barometer, data from the International Telecommunication Union, the Italian population register, and unique register data from a migrant reception center in Southern Italy. We also distinguish between economic migrants-those who leave their country of origin with the aim of seeking better economic opportunities elsewhere-and political migrants-those who are forced to leave their countries of origin for political or conflict-related reasons. Our findings point to a consistently positive relationship between the diffusion of the Internet, migration intentions, and migration behaviors, supporting the idea that the Internet is not necessarily a driving force of migration per se, but rather an enabling "supportive agent." These associations are particularly relevant for economic migrants, at least for migration intentions. Further analyses underscore the importance of the Internet in providing a key informational channel which helps to define clearer migration trajectories

Economics · European union · Human migration · International trade · Leverage (statistics · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · The Internet · Demography · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Human Mobility and Location-Based Analysis · Migration and Labor Dynamics

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