Panel on the Impact of Internal Migration and Urbanization in Developing Countries

Internal migration and urbanization and their socioeconomic impacts in developing countries: challenges and policy responses
Fuzhou, China, 10-12 December 2011
Organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Impact of Internal Migration and Urbanization in Developing Countries and Fujian Normal University

Call for papers
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 1 July 2011

Online Submissions

The 21st century will see a continuation of the interrelated processes of rapid urban expansion and massive internal migration that are taking place in developing countries. These processes are not a simple repetition of the past experience of developed countries; they have been unfolding in the new context of a blurred distinction between urban and rural areas, multi-directional migration streams, and novel complex forms, and producing diverse demographic, social, and economic consequences. These trends raise many new research issues which deserve careful examination through concerted efforts by demographers and scholars in related fields. New efforts are particularly needed to enhance understanding of the socioeconomic impacts of internal migration and urbanization in developing countries. While there is ample evidence of people in developing countries benefiting greatly from the growth of cities and migration to areas with better opportunities, many parts of the developing world still face enormous problems of poverty, slum growth and social disruption in these processes. The factors which underpin this marked contrast between regions in the developing world have not been well understood, and further effort in filling knowledge gaps is not only of academic interest, but also of great policy significance, for socioeconomic development of both rural and urban areas.

This seminar will be devoted to an examination of the complex and diverse consequences of internal migration and urbanization in developing countries, exploration of their causes, and deliberation on their theoretical and policy implications. While we invite all submissions relating to the general theme stated above, we particularly welcome case studies from countries or regions in different contextual settings. Potential themes that might usefully be addressed by papers include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The mix of different migration streams (rural-urban, urban-urban, rural-rural, urban-rural, and circulation) and other components of urbanization (natural increase and reclassification), and their socioeconomic impacts, especially their impacts on population redistribution and settlement patterns;
2. Socioeconomic impacts of various streams of internal migration on migrants and their families, and on both sending and receiving areas and their communities;
3. Planning and policy implications arising from the emergence and development of city regions, mega-urban regions, and in situ urbanization as the result of the blurred rural-urban distinction;
4. Context-based case studies on the relationships between economic development and internal migration and urbanization, and the roles of governments and their policies in this regard;
5. Spatial disparity issues that arise in the process of urbanization, including issues relating to rural-urban disparity, depopulation of rural areas, and integrated rural-urban development;
6. Social disparities and social disruption issues arising from the process of internal migration, including social protection of internal migrants, especially circular migrants and the floating population, and the social policy implications of their multi-local identities.

 
Submissions
The IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Impact of Internal Migration and Urbanization in Developing Countries invites researchers in the field to submit online by 1 July 2011 a short 200-word abstract AND an extended abstract (2 to 4 pages, including tables). Applicants will be notified whether their paper has been accepted by 1 September 2011. If the paper is accepted, the completed paper must be uploaded on the IUSSP website by 1 November 2011.
The seminar will be limited to a maximum of 20 contributed papers, and to the participation of one paper per author. If the paper is co-authored, please indicate the names of co-authors at the end of the abstract. Submission should be made by the author who will attend the seminar. The working language at the seminar will be English. Abstracts, extended abstracts and final papers should therefore be submitted and presented in English.
Seminar Organizers will explore possibilities to publish the accepted papers. Papers submitted should be unpublished, and accepted papers will remain the property of the IUSSP until the committee makes a decision with regard to their possible publication.
Seminar organizers will pay for all expenses at the meeting location for all participants, but can only cover travel expenses for a limited number of participants from developing countries. Participants are therefore encouraged to seek their own funding for travel and invited to specify if they need a grant for their participation when they submit.

For further information, please contact Yu Zhu (zhu300@pub6.fz.fj.cn).