Did Migration and Globalization Meet Sustainable Development Goals: A Theoretical Analysis ()
1. Introduction
It seems difficult to separate the sociological and economic theories from the development theories. The development theories are the outcomes of the interaction between theories and practices of the sociological and economic approaches; similarly, all these theories are implied on the building of migration theories. In other words, the classical theories of sociology, namely structuralist, functionalist, and the symbolic interaction, which built the base for the evolution of modern and contemporary theories in sociology are extended to be referenced to other theories in development and migration studies. Though economists are narrowing to the material and capital context of theories, but many early economists such as Adam Smith; Alfred Marshall, and Herbert Simon seen the importance of interdisciplinary thoughts in economic theories as clearly stated in their writings.
Writings in development studies and development theories reflect the interdisciplinary between social, economic and political dimensions and demonstrate the causal-effect interrelations between these subject matters. However, in the 19th and 20th Centuries development was interpreted as it is an economic process involved production and growth in income and accumulation of wealth. Till recently in the end of the last century, academia in sociology and development studies turned the equation upside down, putting human and social development are the core principle for the development process. Stressing the importance of enhancement of the human beings capacities, health, and self-esteem who in turn contributing in the progress of economic growth cycle (Sen, 1993; Giddens, 1991). However, still the gap between theories and practices is huge which manifested in many consequences and phenomena that are clearly indicated in the human development indexes and annual UN-reports of development (UNDP Reports, 2023-2024). Nevertheless, migration recently seen as a crisis phenomenon and many writings confined it within humanitarian catastrophe as result of involuntary movement of people from home land to other countries. At the beginning of this century, creation of migration theories and migration studies were upgraded and stepped on from the few early writings of Sociologists and demographers in migration research (Lee and Easterlin, 1957; Piore, 1979). The increased socioeconomic and demographic transformations as consequence of voluntary and involuntary migration in both receiving and homeland countries have pushed decision-makers, academia, policy-makers and planners to revisit the globalization and sustainable development agenda in relation to human mobilities.
This paper focuses to analysis the theoretical frames and the interconnections of these three paradigms of globalization, migration and sustainable development. How these brought to structural and institutional changes in the social, economic and demographic settings. Additionally, showing the implications of globalization on the laborers migration in the European market. The article is based on a literature analysis to draw a theoretical frame and develop policies for future field research on African migrant laborers in Europe.
2. The Evolution of Development and Migration Processes
The development theories and their processes are evolving with time as the changes in the structural functions of the institutions and policies are advancing. Similarly, migration theories are changing as development implies human and societal progress. Since the early 19th century and to date many writings have clarified the interconnections between migration and development (Stark, 1991; Massey, 1988). However, most of the analyses were descriptive and a few were analytical, confining in showing the historical progress of development theories and their cause-effect on the migration process. Little has mentioned the opposite views that migration implies historical human mobility and it is a core factor that determines development process. A few development writers and sociologists (De Haas, 2010; Samuel and George, 2002; Massey et al., 1993) reflected on these connected determinants between human mobility and development advancement and ascertain that the correlation is direct and linear. In highlighting the World development theory of modernization/capitalism scenario, migration movement was directed from the North to the South parts of the World. The spread of the Industrial and Scientific Revolution to the South involved a development strategy in which political and economic processes were the main goals of inserting structural and institutional constituents into the World. Hence, this historical stage of development might be interpreted differently among various scholars of development. Some see the exploitation of resources through migration to the South brought economic growth and social security (Giddens, 1991). In this case, migration to the South was confined as a means for the success and sustainability of modernization and capitalism globally. On the other hand, the opposition to capitalism in the South (like Frank, J and Amin, S) described and interpreted capitalism as a process of exploitation of resources, extension for inferiority, and vulnerability of some parts of the World (the South) for the favor of other parts of the World (the North). Hence, the theory of dependency generated an opposition alliance to capitalist imperialism approaches. In this context, the mobility of people had not stopped, on the contrary, young adults with or without families were moved from rural to urban as the agrarian system and industry were active sectors in the South due to modernization (Piore, 1979; Massey, 1988; Kalantaryan et al., 2021). While the North has expanded industry and urbanization, resulting in the demand for more labor from the South. During the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth Centuries, the opening of the labor market in Western Europe and the USA was noticeable. The forced and voluntary movement of skilled and unskilled labors and families from the South, especially Africa and Asia, reached a remarkable change in the labor market structure in Western Europe (Samuel and George, 2002). Similarly, Voluntary movement from South Europe to the USA, especially from Italy, Spain, and, Latin America was another feature of labor emigration in the new part of the World (De Haas, 2020). Meanwhile, modernization, the newly acquainted economic and social system, started as a primary economy in the South. As featured in many African and South Asian countries, the agrarian traditional system in rural areas was replaced by an agro-industry system that forced rural people to leave their traditional livelihood patterns, partially or completely, to engage in the new modernized economic system. These changes affected the social and demographic structure in the South, where the laborers moved from rural to urban, or to the neighboring countries where better chances for work. The challenges that faced both public and private sectors were a lack of fulfilling skilled labor demands and policies to meet the market supply demands. This “dual labor market” approach described by Piore, 1979, as the mobility of laborers from rural to urban and between the countries became the main feature of socioeconomic and demographic structure in the South, not only dominated for unskilled labor but all ranks of manpower. Additionally, the dual labor market showed the segmentation of work in the economy not only by rank and skills but rather by gender, class, and race, which significantly mattered where women entered into the formal sector (Ruyssen and Rayp, 2014; Piore, 1979). Further, the “household and new economic theory” emphasized the necessity of one or more family members to migrate to the North for better support of family living and investment through remittance. Though this is a risk-taking behavior, consider it a resource gain. Similarly, some family members maintained seasonal movement to urban cities for income, better education, and health services. This mobility of all kinds of labor to other countries and the accumulation of rural population in urban cities remained a nightmare for decision-makers and planners as a result of the expansion of the Neo-liberal economic system (Stark, 1991; Castles, 2007). However, the Neo-liberal economy was the opportunity for small and meso investment activities which were dominated by the middle class in the South. This system is claimed to reduce unemployment and poverty, but as a matter of fact, it creates a new production system, the “informal sector” which distracts the Neo-liberal system, slows down the macro-economic production system, and enforced most of the countries in the South into a state of poor economic system that relies on traditional production of agriculture system and informal sector (Massey, 1988; Kalantaryan et al., 2021). Moreover, due to political instability and a lack of strategic policies and visions in the South, the whole economic system deteriorated. The implications of these resulted in two main features dominating the economic system in most of the African and South Asian countries as the outcome of the expansion of Neo-liberal policies and capitalism during the 1980s-1990s (Ruyssen and Rayp, 2014). One attribute is the mismanagement of resources and poor project planning accompanied by local corruption and instability in the political system. The second feature is a lack of technology application and poor governance institutions especially the productive economic institutions in the rural system and in the agro-industry sector. Additionally, brain drain migration to the Gulf countries and to the immigration countries in the North aggravated the development progress in many vulnerable countries in the South. Consequently, the expansion in the informal sector in the South led to absolute and relative poverty among households which resulted in further migration of unskilled and semi-skilled youth to Europe (Arango, 2000). At the same period in the 1980s, West and South Europe demanded for importing foreign laborers due to the expansion of urban city construction and the growth in all kinds of agro-industry production economies. In this respect, Skeldon, 1997, and Castles, 2010 criticized the traditional theory of the push-pull model in that the consequence of the capitalist and the Neo-liberal are causing poverty and failure of any attempts for sustainable development in the South. This emphasizes that migration increases development in the North while reducing it in the South. Therefore, the development models that evolved over the last two centuries have increased migrations of labor and might improve the long-term well-being of families in their original poor societies. Recruitment and voluntary migration of labour migrants from the South are increasing from 2 Million in 1970s to 178 Million migrant laborers in 2022 (International Migration Organization, 2024). In contrary, this global mobility has not sustained development in macro level and in the institutional structure in the South due to continuing drain of laborers of all skills to the North and to Gulf countries. However, many studies in this respect showed different results on the impact of migration on the well-being and socioeconomic standard (IOM, 2024). Some studies, emphasizing the bright sight of migration to the North as gains for the professional and technical skilled labor, while describing the dark face for many unskilled migrant labor in the context of exploitation and discrimination (Berking, 2003). On the other hand, studies proved that migrant laborers of all level of ranks get perspective opportunities to improve the life conditions of their families at home through economic remittances (Badri and ElAzab, 2013). Though the restricted rules of taxation in the North is high, migrant laborers managed to live on a minimal budget to help the rest of the family and the extended members in the original home.
3. Globalization and Labor Migration (The International Labor Market Debate)
Viewing globalization as a new face of development in the 21st century, I may mention many negative implications that can be traced in poor societies and extended some problems and challenges in rich societies. Globalization as a theory emerged in the early 2000s when the implementation of the global market and the international labor market were actively prosecuted in reality. The process is seen as an expansion of Neo-liberalism and imperialism values and practices from economic and political contexts. It implies a new version of economic and political power through better approaches for investment, trade, and export-import balance. In other words, it aims to economic expansion beyond borders through international investment in order to enforce economic growth, enhance democracy and good governance everywhere. It is claimed to reduce socioeconomic inequality, to end poverty, and to flourish peace in the globe (David et al., 2025). Additionally, the globalization focus is to enhance progress in cultural and social integration, freedom of choice, and respect for religious beliefs, as well as reduce disparities between the North and the South. Though, the social effect of globalization is aiming to establish equality, abolish racism, and discrimination, and, insert social equilibrium in the world. However, migration policies in the North has widen the discrimination, racicism behaviors, and slow social integration and assimilation practices. The literature (Steger, 2009; Castles, 2010) reflected on three contrastive alliances concerning globalization and migration interrelation, namely, the anti-globalization which are pessimistic about globalization, the medium pro to globalization, and, the optimistic positive to globalization and migration. Briefly, one can explain each view and show the relationship. The “pessimistic approach” closes borders, and prevents immigration of people and goods. The long-term implications are a reduction in economic growth, an increase in the unemployment rate, tendency to migrate to Western and Southern EU countries. This is the case of East European countries after the 1990s era. While, the “medium pro-globalization”, permits migration flow, these countries are North Europe, where demographic change is persisting in low birth rate and high ageing rate. This tends to import skilled and professional labor. It is characterized by a huge gap in socioeconomic life and inequality. This tends to import skilled and professional labor to promote economic investment in Africa and Asia to reduce the migration of adults to the North and improve the economic growth in these continents through bilateral partnerships. The “optimistic approach” is open to promoting South-South migration and regulating South-North immigration, through management policies and regulations that reduce adult flow from the South Continents. Due to high economic growth and a solid social welfare system, pulling factors from the South to the North continue, especially, since globalization encourages the international labor market. On the other hand, most Western and Southern European countries are suffering demographic changes and expansion in economic and construction growth. Additionally, changes in the structure of the local labor market, where most national laborers refuse to undertake dirty work (low, difficult and cheap) and prefer to continue education and training to enroll in skilled and professional jobs. These indicators push many EU countries to accept unskilled migrant labor from the South, as well as to demand professional skilled laborers from the South and East Europe. Statistically, the international flow of migrants falls into four groups: the flow from south-south (inter migration) is estimated at 35%; the flow from South-North (immigration) is 45%; while 17% estimated movement from North to North, and only 3% from North to South emigration. From this data, it seems that globalization failed to control migration and to balance such gaps in the S-N and N-S movement, how and when are such gaps to be closed? Is the phenomenon of S-S and S-N migration remaining a stricken and drawback implication for globalization? This means globalization implies weakness to achieve its goals and failing to launch a successful partnership between the southern and northern continents. However, the debate may continue concerning the readiness of governments in the South to restructure the socioeconomic institutions that boosting economic growth, increasing employment rate, restricting migration of laborers specially the skilled and professional ones. The questions remain; Do the governments and private sectors in the South ready to invest in high education and advanced technological skills? Are the people of the South motivated to increase their capacities and grasp opportunities for better self-esteem and actualization? These questions are the principle routes for the success of globalization and sustainable development interrelations.
The expectations of the World demographic changes during the period 2030-2050 draw a red mark in EU countries indicate an increase in ageing number, decrease in adults’ productive age, and increase in unemployment rate among the EU national. Also, the OECD report 2020, projects fertility rate in western EU countries will decrease to 0.2%. Simultaneously, there will be a remarkable increase to triple population growth in general, particularly, the high rate of adults and young population in North Africa, Middle East and Sub-Sahara Africa. This demographic crisis implies the recruitment of all types of labor from the South and other less developed EU countries. Nevertheless, demographic changes and economic demands in the North, encourage many adults from the South to migrate and are considered as competitors in the labor market, especially among skilled and professional ones. Regarding social integration and cultural assimilation among migrants in EU countries, the matter varies according to the degree of anti-globalization and those who are optimistic and radical pro to globalization. It is reported (Steger, 2009; Castles, 2004) that the pessimistic and populist countries still are conservative to the cultural and social integration of foreigners due to high xenophobia and Islam-phobia. Whereas the middle and optimistic to globalization see the importance of sociocultural integration and assimilation which are considered as part of establishing a model for interrelation between migration and globalization. Hence, most of Western and Southern Europe value social integration and facilitate policies that open for free culture and assimilation, control of racism, terrorism, insecurity attacks, and reduction of discrimination practices from the national against the migrants.
Little has been posted for the relations between globalization, migration and sustainable development to see the synergistic between the three processes. As mentioned in the above section, the traditional model for explaining the relationship, confined to the 1990s, used the push-pull approach of demographic and the political economic changes in the World (Stark, 1991; Berking, 2003). This model, ignored to see the correlated bridge that migration caused changes in the international labor market and in sociocultural interaction. Additionally, migration is seen as a historical act in the World and described as a survival process (Piore, 1979; Berking, 2003). Clearly, it can be seen that globalization causes more migration due to the laborer demands; and migration contributes to more socioeconomic and political relations. Hence, one may emphasised, that migration brought changes in the development approaches and influenced the globalization model. This can approve that migration and globalization embody interchangeable relationship and linear correlation. Therefore, the issue is how this interrelation can be maintained and managed; and what effective policies and regulations to be put forward to enrich such relations. Still, there are many debates in the literature considering the relationship as solely confined in economic development, brain drain of professional skilled laborers, and, control irregular migration (Castles, 2004; Giddens, 2000). Additionally, one can say the relation maintains the socioeconomic improvement of migrants through capacity development, self-determination, cultural integration/assimilation, investment in small businesses and remittances to homeland. Furthermore, migration in the globalization era promotes bilateral relations and protocols that benefit both sides of the World. For example, EU and Africa protocols agreements that signed in 2016 regarding migration management, trade exchange, investment projects in the South.
The threat of globalization and migration consequences remains challenging for both the North and the South. Still, the dilemma of globalization and migration implications is maintained with a limited endeavor to control migration flow from S-N and increase N-S movement. This might reduce the advancement of globalization and for achieving a just sustainable development in the globe. Here I can provide an analysis to the negative impact of migration and globalization, to show the threats and gains for the North and the South, taken the EU and the African countries, as an example. This is can be shown in Table 1 and Table 2 below.
Table 1. The positive impact of globalization and migration to Africa and EU.
|
Africa |
EU |
1. |
the socioeconomic conditions of the laborers and their families back home were improved through remittance flow. |
Improved the trade and taxation systems. |
2. |
Trade exchange and partnership agreements are part of the bilateral relations between the EU and Africa, as well as partnership protocols and memorandums of agreements. |
Economic growth and improve in social security system for citizen. |
3. |
job opportunities opened for migrant professionals and technically skilled labors (mainly: medical doctors, nurses, IT, IT engineers, scientists). |
Expansion of economic capitalism and execution of the international market labor policy. |
4. |
The reduction of unskilled labor jobs in both formal and informal sectors is still debatable. |
Draw of cheap laborers. |
Table 2. The negative impact of globalization and migration.
Africa |
EU |
The unskilled and illegal labors remain exploited, with low income, no social protection and, a lack of security provisions. Loss of laborers. |
Illegal migration is still uncontrollable and in some countries is permitted. |
The Brain drain of professional Africans for a long-term contract. Africa has lost about 70% of its medical and paramedical professional, and 45% of its technical semi-skilled workers. |
Imbalance in the demographic structure in many EU countries keep in the demands for foreign laborers to meet market demands. |
Economic and social poverty maintained among all unskilled and semi-skilled laborers. |
Southern EU countries, e.g Italy, maintained the most attractive places for both unskilled and semi-skilled laborers from the South and East-EU countries. |
Political and social conflicts increased migration of adults. |
Failure to urge implementation of EU-Africa protocols and bilateral agreements for development and migration control. E.g: Rabatt, 2002; Khartoum, 2006 and, Masstrich, 2010 Protocols. |
poor industrial and traditional agricultural systems still are dominant. |
Unjust and unequal payments and benefits between the original and migrant citizens. |
shrink of the unskilled labor demands due to advanced industry and technology. |
Isolation of minority groups may lead to hidden conflict values between the national and the migrants for the short term. This may encourage for organizing criminal groups and networks throughout the EU countries. |
Threat of a continuing ethnic conflicts and civil war which are keeping the Continent in a state of resources exploitation. |
Failure of effective policies and approaches for migrant integration and multicultural society. |
The tables above pined points into the implications of globalization and migration in the development relationship between EU and Africa. However, the civil societies in both continents supported the labor flow and the rights of labor protection in the host countries. Such as migrants’ rights to decent work, poverty elimination, family rejoin, and rights to practice cultural values and beliefs.
Further, globalization maintained a positive impact on the EU societies, as it controls migration and the international labor market mobility. This is evident in the creation of a shadow economy in many Western countries which reduces inflation in the long term; opens opportunities for investment to the migrant laborers in small businesses and encourages investors in medium businesses which contribute to the GDP (Franken et al., 2013; Dao et al., 2018). Statistics estimated that the contribution of foreign investment in EU countries’ GDP ranged between 4-16%. This means that the protocols and agreements between EU-Africa benefited the EU economic growth, increase of African migration rather than control and reduce migration as stated in the agreements.
The prospect should be directed to the achievement of SDGs in the coming 2030 through enhancing effective globalization policies and plans that focus on expanding large-scale development projects and the reformation of social, economic and political institutions in the South. Moreover, globalization and the SDGs agenda must be put in practical actions to improve the capacity building of unskilled laborers through vocational technical training and the creation of intermediate jobs in the South. This means priorities for SDG4, SDG8, and SDG5 must be integrated into globalization agenda. If this has happened in the coming few years, will it reduce emigration from the South to the North? Do experts and technical professionals of the North accept to work in the South? Are there new visions and policies for exchanging expertise between the North and the South?
4. Decent Work for Migrant Workers (The SDG8)
Emphasizing the interrelationship between SDG8 and globalization is crucial for the integrity of human beings and their well-being. SDG8 aims for decent work which means, work that provides fair income to the hours spent in work, security and social protection, good environment in the workplace, appropriate for personal development, equal opportunity for work, and that secure social integration in society (ILO Annual Report, 2018). Additionally, the OEDC, define decent work as a place where an individual can participate and make decisions, free expression, free from oppression and discrimination (OECD Report, 2019). The goal is to sustain economic growth, quality and efficiency, and respectful productivity and employment for all. Further, descent work is linked with other SDGs, particular relevancy is education (SDG4), gender equality (SDG5) and peace and equality (SDG16). This implies the importance of education and training during work life to maintain economic growth and per capita income for the decorous life of individuals. While SDG5 addresses gender equality in all life domains, special relevancy for equal gender work opportunity and promotion in work. Moreover, SDG5 tends to secure women’s empowerment in formal sectors, and enhance women’s leadership in self-enterprise and involvement in vocational technical training equally as males. SDG16 is about equality, peace and social integration in the place of work and in society generally which reflects better productivity free from exploitation and injustice (UNDP Report, 2023-2024). Statistics from ILO 2022 report, showed that 42% of migrants covered the informal sector in the EU labor market; 6% unemployment; while 52% are involved in paid employment in private and public formal contractual sectors. According, to many EU countries, regulations determine migrant workers’ status in the market as those with minimal payment and flexible insecure social protection. On the other hand, migrant workers perceive to find a good work environment, sufficient payment, social security, and, other opportunities concern self-development such as training and language skills, maintaining a social network with the diaspora and providing remittance back home. However, in reality, unskilled and semi-skilled migrant labor face miserable work environments and integration is impossible, hence, the majority become hesitant to move to other places or to return home (Rapoport, 2016; IOM, 2024). Additionally, indecent work brings laborer to feel fatigue, stress, poor productivity and work-life imbalance, with a low payment to cover the basic nutritive meals. Research on refugees of SSA found that some workers faced challenges between seeking a decent job or engaging in self-business investment (Osti, 2017; David et al., 2025). Since the last five years, the EU labor market is challenging, characterized by demographic changes in the national population structure and high labor shortage due to low productivity and reproductive rates, and, to increases in the ageing group. These factors pushed the EU to change the labor market strategy towards increasing the percentage of recruiting professional and technical skilled labor from abroad, both from EU and non-EU countries (Lowell, 2002; Franken et al., 2013). Additionally, the overall policies for
migration were revised and oriented to better management and control of illegal and irregular migration, and to stop unskilled labor flow and women trafficking (IOM, 2024). Further, international and bilateral cooperation with the South has been maintained in migration issues, among these is putting a clear agenda for increasing the number of formal professional labor contracts and opening doors for skilled asylum seekers and investors. For example, Italy has increased the number of investors from 12% in 2023 compared to 7% in 2019 (IStatdata, 2023). Also, Italy facilitates social integration among the high qualified migrants and their recognition in the labor market. The trend for competitive jobs and the expansion of international labor in the EU labor market become a necessity. For instance, jobs like medical doctors, nurses, IT, and, computer science professionals are highly demanded in the North market (Dao et al., 2018). This has led the EU policy facilitating more efficient and sustainable migrant labor regulations and processes in the national labor market in order to achieve prospective economic growth that secures decent work and sustains social justice. On the other hand, sustainable development goals and the global impact for development firmly put decent work as a new agenda for future 2030 goal achievement. As far as one of the SDG8 aims is to increase per capita economic growth by 7% in the less developed countries; this is a challenge for both the LDCs and the EU countries. One way for applying the globalization agenda in the LDCs is through mutual efforts between the EU and the African countries to create global investments in various economic sectors, open work opportunities that secure a decent work quality environment. Moreover, EU and Africa can easily lunch partnership agreements between the private and public sectors aiming for an effective socioeconomic globalization approaches that encourage international labor movement and generating decent just work opportunities for African workers. One of the essential steps is to mapping the labor market, by age, gender, and qualifications, who are ready for work to meet the EU and Africa market’s needs. And to know how many are needed to fulfil the international investment market demands in the rest of the globe including LDCs in the south and other EU countries in the North.
In summary, it seems little is written to show how globalization has succeeded to integrate its approaches for achieving SDGs, particularly, SDG8, SDG1 and SDG16. In reality, when measuring these indicators, the results show that the interrelationship between application of globalization is completely detached from the SDGs achievements. Despite, the effects of globalization are directly associated with economic growth, job opportunities, social welfare and social equality. The debate here when the indicators of SDG8, SDG1 and SDG16 in the South are lagging behind, more people from the South are driving to the North, facing challenges related to indecent work, poor living standard, and, social discrimination. Hence, to ensure the success of globalization, migration, and the SDG8 relationship, further studies are needed to organize the labor market at national and international levels to monitor the supply/demand of jobs and the export/import of labor. As mentioned above, recent statistics showed a wide gap between the South-North labor migration and the North-South movement, which is recorded 45% and 3% respectively. Therefore, making a balance is urgently required, if sustainable development is the core goal rather than being a means for the globalization agenda, and continuing South-North migration as a brighter element for globalization in the North, while hinders sustainable development in the South.
5. Policy Recommendations
1) Revisit the migration protocols and regulations between Europe and Africa continents in the context of SDG8, SDG1 and SDG16.
2) Create better education opportunities for African unskilled and semi-skilled adults to increase their chances in the international market.
3) Create a decent work environment for both EU and African adults to achieve better sustainable economic growth.
4) Facilitate better investment opportunities for migrants at home origin.
6. Conclusion
This paper highlights the relationship between globalization and migration theories and practices in the context of sustainable development goals with special reference to SDG8 and SDG16 as directly influenced by the success or failure of the globalization agenda and migration policies. The capitalist and the Neo-liberal economic model together with economic globalization have maintained fulfillment of economic growth and good governance in the North part of the globe. One can see that the structural and institutional models in the North are well invented and diffused into the South through various means throughout history. The development models have evolved but impacted socioeconomic and political gaps between the North and the South. The paper analyzed these situations in the context of the implications of globalization and migration of the laborers, especially, the unskilled ones. The paper realized that The paper realized that globalization agenda failed to reduce poverty in the LDCs. Moreover, the mismanagement of the institutions and resources in Africa in particular, are the core causes of adults’ migration. Additionally, the factors of human cultural nature in the South, particularly in Africa, that maintain conflict, violation, and rejection of new inventions and technology are determinants for persisting underdevelopment. On the other hand, freedom of choice, market demands and liberty in the North, attract African adults to move individually and in family. Hence, the bilateral economic agreements and migration Protocols between Africa and Europe need to be evaluated and restructured in favor of human development and better quality of life rather than solely for attaining economic and political development.