ABSTRACT

International immigration has gained increasing attention and interest with movement of people from one place to another, remaining a paramount aspect in most international debates and seminars. The study has as its main objective to investigate how immigration has affected socio-economic development in the Buea Municipality. Other specific research objectives were laid down which guided the purpose of data collection and analysis.

The methodology employed in data collection was a mixed research design where by immigration and socio-economic development were studied as independent variables of normal linearity and homocentality. The Pearson product correlation coefficient was used to test the hypothesis to show the relationship between immigration and its impact on socio-economic development. Empirical evidence from the field reveals that immigration has both positive and negative impact in the study area. Positive effects like increase in labour force, and infrastructural development and negative impacts like unemployment and rise in crime waves.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1Background to the study

International migration is a mighty force globally. Over 175m people, accounting for 3% of world’s population, live permanently outside their countries of birth , (United Nations, UN 2002). At the start of the new millennium, European migration patterns are very different than those from even 50years ago. Europeans emigrated heavily in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but today the reception and assimilation of immigrants is a significant economic and social phenomenon in many previous emigration countries. Altogether 27m foreign nationals lived in European Union (EU15) countries in 2007, accounting for about 7% of the population. Empirical analysis shows that most of the recent population growth in Europe results from migration.

The directions of migrant flows are very asymmetric. A significant share of early migrants moved from Europe to the US, Canada, and Australia. While migration into these countries remains very strong, the composition of source countries changed substantially over the last 30 years or so. Most migrants to the US, for example, now come from Latin America and Asia instead of Europe. This composition change of migration flows is also observed in Europe and other parts of sub Saharan Africa.Sweden, for example, received most of its migrants from other Nordic countries until the late 1970s, but a substantial portion of its recent immigration has been refugees. Germany has received large inflows from Turkey, while Moroccan immigrants were the largest share for the Netherlands.

This broader pool of migrants has led to greater heterogeneity in immigrant traits. The US case is best documented. Recent immigrants from Latin America tended to be less educated than earlier European migrations to the US. Over 35% of high-school dropouts in the US were foreign born in 2000 (calculation based on the Current Population Survey), far greater than the case of  the 2 Germany also experienced inflows in the 1990s of ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union that were substantially larger than the listed immigration inflows (e.g., Brücker and Jahn 2010). These inflows are not captured, however, by nationality surveys as citizenship was automatically granted to ethnically German migrants.

Heterogeneity in immigrant types is also an important dimension of European inflows.  A survey carried out documents differences in the 2001 foreign national share of workers with primary/secondary or tertiary educations. As discussed below, immigrants have weaker labor force participation rates than natives, which generally leads to lower worker shares compared to population shares. This is particularly evident in countries accepting more refugees and asylum seekers. Most highly-educated immigrants originated from other European countries or the OECD more generally; only a third came from developing countries. Despite these high-skilled inflows, the majority of

Recent immigrants to Europe had a lower level of education than natives.

Globalization and free movement between developed countries have had a           significant impact on cross-border migration, capital mobility, innovation, and economic development. In most developed countries the share of foreign-born people has reached more than 10 per cent of the total population, and in some countries like Canada and Switzerland this share has even reached 15 per cent (Bodvarsson and Van den Berg, 2013). A large number of people live illegally in most developed countries, and they are without formal rights and social protection. The exact number of undocumented migrants is not known, and the statistics are based on speculation.

1.2 Problem Statement

The recent mass migration has created heated debates, and has generated both support and opposition inside the host societies.  There  is  no  doubt  that  migration  has  affected  the  host  and the sending economies  in  different  ways.  This  study  has  tried  to  observe  international  immigration  from  different socio-economic  angles,  and  to  shed  light  on the various  positive  and  negative  impacts  of  international migration. As indicated in the introductory chapter, migrants are heterogeneous groups, and their personal characteristics  such  as  age,  education,  and  gender  differ  significantly  from  the  population  of  the  host Society. 

The Buea municipality chief town of the Southwest region has in the last few decades witnessed an unprecedented inflow of migrants from other neighboring countries possibly Nigeria and other close countries. The influx of migrants from other countries to the Buea municipality has therefore changed the economy of Buea not only its socio-economic parameters as the current study will investigate, but even the political scheme of the host city. Increase in labor force cannot be over emphasized as it has drastically increased thanks to the inflow of migrants who constitute a significant proportions of the labor force in the host city (Buea). Negative consequences such as unemployment of majority of the home citizens further complicate and deepen the trend of immigration as a mixed blessing. This study is therefore out to investigate how socio economic variables in the Buea municipality have been affected by immigration activities at various spatio temporal scales.

1.3 Research Questions

The following questions guided this research work. The questions were separated into main and specific research questions.

1.3.1 Main Research Question

What are the socio economic implications of Immigration in the Buea Municipality?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

1) What are the various patterns of immigration in the Buea municipality?

2) What are the socio-economic impacts of immigration in the Buea municipality?

3) What can be put in place to curb immigration practices in the Buea municipality?

1.4 Research Objectives

This study is carried out based on the following research objectives. The objectives are main as well as specific research objectives.

1.4.1 Main Research Objective

The main objective of this research is to investigate the socio economic implications of immigration in the Buea municipality

1.4.2 Specific Research Objectives

• To examine the various patterns of immigration in the Buea municipality
• To evaluate the socio-economic impacts of immigration in the Buea municipality
• To propose solutions (Strategies) that will sustainably manage the population moving into Buea.

1.5 Research Hypothesis

A hypothesis is formulated to be used in this study. They constitute null and research hypothesis.

Ho(Null): immigration does not have any impact on socio economic development in the Buea municipality

H1 (Research): Immigration has a profound impact on socio-economic development in the Buea municipality.

1.6 Scope and Justification of the study

This study focuses on the implications of immigration on socio-economic development in the Buea municipality. This will include or consider both positive and negative impacts of immigration on socio economic development in the Buea municipality. The various patterns of immigration will be brought to the lamplight and various strategies recommended (Recommendations).

Geographically, this study will be carried out in the Buea municipality chief town of the southwest region of Cameroon. It is a fast growing economy with influx of many migrants in the town.

As a justification, the choice of the study comes at a time when the influx of migrants into the Buea municipality has been alarming. A recent survey in 2019 shows that close to 30% of the population in Buea constitute of migrants many of whom have left their places of origin to seek greener pastures in the “Town of legendary hospitality”. With many reasons advanced as to why these migrants leave their countries to Buea, this current study will investigate the impact of the phenomenon on socio-economic development.