Chain Migration - Chain Migration and The Accumulation of Social Capital

Chain Migration and The Accumulation of Social Capital

According to James Coleman, “social capital…is created when the relations among persons change in ways that facilitate action.” Douglas Massey, Jorge Durand and Nolan J. Malone apply this theory to chain migration, positing that, “each act of migration creates social capital among people to whom the migrant is related, thereby raising the odds of their migration.” In Massey et al.’s argument, social capital is the tool by which chain migration occurs. It the context of migration, social capital refers to relationships, forms of knowledge and skills that advance one’s potential migration. Massey et al. link their definition to Gunnar Myrdal’s theory of cumulative causation of migration, stating that, “each act of migration alters the social context within which subsequent migration decisions are made, thus increasing the likelihood of additional movement. Once the number of network connections in a community reaches a critical threshold, migration becomes self-perpetuating.” Therefore, by initiating small social networks of migration, chain migration becomes a larger mass movement in and of itself.