Equilibrium and Historical- Structural Perspectives on Migration <sup/>

Abstract

The equilibrium model of labor mobility and the historical-structural perspective on population movement are summarized and critiqued. A comparative analysis identifies the sources of the growing discontinuity in the contemporary literature on migration by exploring the theoretical and methodological implications of the contrasting paradigms of socioeconomic development in which each perspective is embedded. The last section outlines an alternative approach to the study of migration by shifting the unit of analysis to the household. It is argued that the analysis household sustenance strategies, interpreted within the political economy of which the household is a part, provides the basis for integrating structural and behavioral perspectives on the study of population movement.