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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Explaining emigration from South Africa
Author:Myburgh, AndrewISNI
Year:2004
Periodical:South African Journal of Economics
Volume:72
Issue:1
Pages:125-151
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subject:emigration
External link:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2004.tb00107.x/pdf
Abstract:During the late 1990s permanent emigration from South Africa increased dramatically, reaching a historical high of 58,000 in 1999. The reasons for the increase in the late 1990s have been hotly debated. Commentators have suggested that factors such as violence, affirmative action and racism have been the cause. In contrast, the present paper shows that three seldom mentioned factors assist in explaining trends in permanent emigration from South Africa to the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand - the destination for 70 percent of South African emigrants. The three factors are: real wage differentials; immigration restrictions in the destination countries; and political uncertainty. The paper presents evidence on the causes of emigration from South Africa, including trends in emigration and survey results. It focuses on permanent migration from South Africa and only in passing mentions the increasingly important phenomenon of temporary migration. It is not exclusively focused on skilled migration but rather explains total migration rates. All evidence suggests that the majority of those emigrating from South Africa are skilled. App., bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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