Dr José Ignacio Carrasco, Department of Sociology
Department of Sociology (42-43 Park End Street) or MS Teams
Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm.
Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
Migrant networks increase individuals’ motivation and capability to migrate, but less attention has been paid to their effects on emigration rates at the population level. This study investigates the macro-level implications of migrant networks by developing a microsimulation model to estimate migration rates over time under different network scenarios.
Focusing on Colombian migration to Spain (1962–2008), we use longitudinal data from the Latin American Migration Project combined with macro-level data on economic and policy conditions at origin and destination. Results show that network effects were essential to reproduce observed migration dynamics: without them, migration rates dropped sharply.
However, networks alone were not sufficient—macro-level conditions such as GDP growth, employment demand, and border stringency played a critical role. Community networks, rather than family ties, drove most of the observed aggregate effects. Our findings demonstrate the importance of integrating micro-level behaviour and macro-level context to explain international migration dynamics.
