Date on Honors Thesis

Summer 5-2025

Major

International Studies

Minor

French, Economics

Examining Committee Member

Marc Polizzi, PhD, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Brittany Wood, PhD, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Scott Pickens, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

Though scholarly discourse surrounding migration and globalization has often assumed migration causes globalization, this paper seeks to explore the opposite direction of causality. Using a generalized least squares regression and Quality of Governance time series data, the design analyzes the impact of three facets of globalization on net migration between 1970 and 2020. The design controls for population, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and Polity score. Based on a review of literature, I hypothesize that each facet– economic, political, and social– will exhibit a positive correlation with net migration levels for each country-year. I also predict that social globalization will have the strongest positive effect on net migration levels. The results suggest economic and political globalization have near-equal positive effects on net migration, while social globalization is negatively and more strongly causally related with migration rates. Theorizing that perhaps social globalization motivates individuals to leave their country because of increased positive and frequent interactions with other cultures, I conclude with a discussion of future directions.

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