Stephen Castles
Development and Migration or Migration and Development: What Comes First?
Socio-economic change and human mobility are constantly interactive processes, so to ask whether migration or development comes first is nonsensical. Yet in both popular and political discourse it has become the conventional wisdom to argue that promoting economic development in the Global South has the potential to reduce migration to the North. This carries the clear implication that such migration is a ‘bad thing,’ and that poor people should stay put. In other words, the idea is that encouraging international migration now may help create conditions conducive to eliminating – or at least reducing – it in the future. This belief in the positive consequences of migra-tion for development represents a reversal of dominant views prior to the 1990s, according to which migration represented a loss of labor and human capital likely to hold back development of origin countries. This article explores the processes and reasoning behind changing views on migration and development in the European Union and Asia, arguing that social-scientific and political discourses are often closely linked, and that this can have negative consequences both for the advancement of knowledge and for policy development. The article proposes an alternative view of human mobility as a normal part of social transformation processes. Migrating in search of better opportunities and greater human security is a way in which people can exercise agency to improve their livelihoods. Embedding migration studies in an analysis of contemporary social transformation processes can help overcome the frequent separation between migration research and mainstream social theory, and may contribute to improved international cooperation in the migration field.

Yan Tan, Yong Chen and Graeme Hugo
Displacement and Economic Consequences of the Three Gorges Project: A Case Study of Resettlers in Sichuan Province.
Due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, more than 10,000 rural migrants from Kaixian County were displaced and resettled in Sichuan Province under the “government-organized distant resettlement” program between 2000 and 2004. This study examines the circumstances of the migrants’ livelihood reconstruction in the early stages after displacement. Six towns that received migrants were selected as sites for the case studies. Structured question interviews with migrants and host residents were conducted from April to June in 2007 and in January 2008. Survey data on the livelihoods of resettled migrant households show a propensity for impoverishment. The study concludes with some insights into the development impact of environmental displacement.

Kayoko Ueno
Strategies of Resistance among Filipina and Indonesian Domestic Workers in Singapore.

This paper presents the analysis of interviews with Filipina and Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore regarding their strategies of resistance in response to exploitation and coercion by employment agencies, employers, the Singaporean public, and kin and family members in their home countries. Many strategies identified in previous studies about domestic workers’ resistance/negotiation elsewhere might not be applicable in Singapore because of greater surveillance and stricter regulations there. Various strategies noted in this study are likely to be more subtle and inconspicuous. Although these women are rendered victims by the global economic system, they have developed various strategies to protect themselves. This study also discusses the relative and fluid position of vulnerability among domestic workers of different nationalities.

Peter Hancock, Trudi Cooper and Suzanne Bahn
Co-location of Services for Refugees: An Evaluation of a Pilot Program in Western Australia
In recent years newly arrived refugees from Africa, Burma and Middle Eastern nations have dominated the refugee intake to Australia. Coming from war torn nations, extremely poor economies and rural areas, their transition into Australia has not been easy. This paper is based on the evaluation of the Integrated Services Centre Pilot Project (ISC) which assessed co-location as an alternative service delivery model. The evaluation focused on project staff, service providers and a small sample of the refugees themselves. The objectives of the research did not warrant a greater focus on the clients as the evaluation centered on co-location as an alternate service delivery model. Data gathered from the evaluation indicated that the basic support needs of African refugees were not being met by traditional refugee services, but that the ISC Project was meeting these needs. Data also showed that African refugees had a higher level of need than other refugee groups. The article concludes with some recommendations on how current service provision can be more responsive to the needs of African refugees. 

Sheng Lin and Trent Bax
Irregular Migration from Fuzhou: A Rural Perspective
Fuzhou is a major sending region of irregular migrants from China. Drawing on qualitative data gathered in emigrant sending communities from the Fuzhou region of Fujian Province in southeast China, this paper captures the main institutional elements involved in understanding irregular emigrants’ behavior. By comparing rural and urban societies, several issues related to irregular migration were identified, notably, China’s dual social structure; its morality-led rural society; the dominance of the filial bond within the rural Chinese family; and the effective communication exchange system in rural Chinese society. We argue that the characteristics of China’s rural social structure are important contributing factors to producing and perpetuating irregular migration from Fuzhou.