ABSTRACT
The study of migration poses, in particularly acute form, the issues raised by Rose in Chapter 1 concerning the relationship between microprocesses at the individual level and macroprocesses and structures at the societal level. The understanding of this relationship is at the core of the sociological enterprise (Coleman, 1990) and is critical in many other social science contexts. The problem is to understand, first, how structural factors influence individual behaviour, second, the influence of past events in the individual’s life course on current behaviour and, third, how structures are modified by the accumulation of individual behaviours. The study of migration has precisely had this three-sided character. First, it has involved a study of the factors which lead to residential mobility, including both social and economic situation, and the characteristics of areas. These factors may be understood either as leading to the formation of preferences with regard to mobility or as structuring opportunities for mobility or constraints on mobility. Second, it has involved the study of the role of migration in the life course, either in terms of life course factors which promote or retard migration or in terms of the consequences of migration for life chances. Third, it has involved the study of the role of migration in changing the structure of localities. As migration is almost always socially selective, both in and out migration are liable to lead to significant changes in the social and economic structure of places. Important examples have been the selective pattern of migration from inner city areas.
