A level-readyAll subjects · Geography · WGE01 Global Challenges
Costs, benefits and attitudes to migration
Edexcel IAL Geography · WGE01 Global Challenges
Migration has costs and benefits for both host and source countries, as seen within the EU, and attitudes to migration vary between countries for economic, cultural and political reasons.
Host countries
| Benefits | Costs |
|---|---|
| Fill skills gaps and labour shortages (health care, construction, farming) | Pressure on housing, schools and health services in some areas |
| Migrants are often young, offsetting ageing and raising the birth rate | Possible competition for low-paid jobs and claims of wage pressure |
| Pay taxes; start businesses; cultural diversity | Integration challenges and social tension |
Impacts on host countries
Source countries
| Benefits | Costs |
|---|---|
| Remittances support families, education and housing | Brain drain: loss of doctors, nurses, engineers and graduates |
| Lower unemployment; returning migrants bring skills and savings | Loss of young workers leaves an ageing rural population |
| Diaspora links to trade and investment | Families separated; dependence on remittances |
Impacts on source countries
The EU example and attitudes
Within the EU, free movement lets citizens live and work in other member states. Countries that joined in 2004 and later, such as Poland and Romania, became major source countries, while the UK, Germany and others were hosts. Hosts gained workers; sources gained remittances but lost young and skilled people.
Attitudes vary:
- Economic: labour shortages and ageing make some governments welcoming; high unemployment raises fears.
- Cultural: shared language and history ease acceptance; concern about identity can raise opposition.
- Political: parties and media shape debate; security fears; international obligations to refugees.
Worked example
Explain one cost and one benefit of emigration for a source country.
- Cost: the brain drain of trained doctors and nurses weakens health care.
- Benefit: remittances raise household incomes and pay for education.
- The overall effect depends on the scale of each.
Answer: Brain drain versus remittances.
Check yourself
- A country loses many of its newly trained doctors to jobs abroad. This is
- a demographic dividend
- remittance
- brain drain
- counter-urbanisation
Show answer
brain drain. Skilled people emigrate.
- How can immigration help an ageing host country?
- Young migrants add workers and taxpayers and may raise the birth rate
- It raises the median age
- It increases the number of pensioners only
- It ends the need for health care
Show answer
Young migrants add workers and taxpayers and may raise the birth rate. Migrants are often of working age.
- Remittances are
- aid from the World Bank
- taxes paid by migrants to the host
- money sent home by migrants to families in their country of origin
- loans to build cyclone shelters
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money sent home by migrants to families in their country of origin. Private transfers by migrants.
- Which is a cultural reason why attitudes to migration can be positive?
- High unemployment in the host country
- Shared language and historical links between host and source
- A security threat
- A shortage of housing
Show answer
Shared language and historical links between host and source. Familiarity can ease acceptance.
- Which is a cost of immigration sometimes felt in host countries?
- Receiving remittances
- Loss of graduates
- Rural depopulation in the host
- Pressure on housing and local services
Show answer
Pressure on housing and local services. Rapid arrivals can strain local services.
- Explain one cost of emigration for a source country.
Show answer
Young and skilled workers leave, so there is a brain drain that weakens services such as health care and leaves an ageing population behind.. Loss of young or skilled people weakens the source country.
Sources
Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.