Asia on the Move: Research Challenges for Population Geography

The last two decades have seen economic, political, social and demographic change in Asia of unprecedented pace and scale. An important element of this change, and both a cause and consequence of it, has been the parametric increase in levels of population mobility, the complexity of their spatial patterning, and the diversity of groups involved. The present paper focuses on one subset of this mobility, that involving people moving between nations, and argues that population geography is uniquely placed to make a central and significant contribution to improving our understanding of the dynamics of this movement. The paper summarises some of the major changes which have occurred in international migration to, from and within Asia in the last two decades. It identifies a number of research challenges which these developments pose for population geography. The first is a group of conceptual and measurement challenges relating to the increasing diversity and complexity of the types of movement. It is argued that population geography has a long tradition of research which has clarified, defined and intensively studied circulation, circular migration and bilocality. The use of multimethod research approaches which have been well developed in the subject appears especially relevant in this context. A number of theoretical challenges are put forward regarding the complex interrelationships between international population movements, economic development and social change. The employment of systems approaches, neoclassical economic theory, social networks and institutional approaches, and the potential role of population geography in developing a more comprehensive explanation of the changing dynamics of international migration in the region, are discussed. Also considered are the gender dimension in migration, remittance flows and their consequences, and policy issues. It is argued that only a major and focused multidisciplinary research effort can effectively address the huge gaps in our knowledge of the patterns, causes and consequences of international migration in Asia.