Understanding Population Movements: Causes, Consequences, and Rural Factors
Sources for the Study of Population Movements
The National Statistics Institute (INE) produces reports on population, including censuses, registers, and the Residential Variations Statistic (EVR) since 1960. The Spanish Institute of Migration (IEE) has dealt with assisted migration since 1950. The Ministry of Employment and Immigration (MTIN) publishes statistics on migration and maintains the Permanent Immigration Observatory. Population changes can also be analyzed using survival tables, considering age groups and life expectancy to determine if there is net immigration or emigration.
Causes and Classification of Migration
Classification Criteria:
- Freedom of individuals (forced or voluntary)
- Reasons or causes (political, socioeconomic, family, cultural, environmental)
- Duration (permanent, temporary, seasonal, return, daily)
- Travel distance (internal or external)
- Migrant unit (individual or collective)
Consequences of Migration
For Sites of Emigration:
- Negative: Aging population, reduced productivity.
- Positive: Reduced overcrowding, alleviation of job scarcity.
For Sites of Immigration:
- Negative: Need for infrastructure, potential wage decline, social conflicts.
- Positive: Rejuvenating populations, increased birth rates.
For the Migrant:
- Negative: Socioeconomic and psychological challenges.
- Positive: Greater openness and opportunities.
Human Factors and Elements in Rural Areas
Human activity has continuously reshaped the landscape. Rural populations have declined since the last century due to rural exodus, mechanization, and low farm incomes. While 80% of the global population lives in rural areas, only 17% of the EU population does. Peri-urban areas attract populations from both metropolitan and rural areas, leading to suburbanization (population increase) and counter-urbanization (population loss in larger cities of developed countries). The INE classifies settlements by size: rural (under 2,000 inhabitants), intermediate (2,000 to 10,000 inhabitants), and urban (over 10,000 inhabitants). 22% of the Spanish population lives in towns with fewer than 10,000 people. Smaller rural settlements often experience depopulation, resulting in low population density, land abandonment, and an aging population with gender imbalances.
Rural habitats are characterized by the distribution of people engaged in primary, secondary, and tertiary activities. We can differentiate habitat types based on dispersion:
- Concentrated Habitat: Common in water-scarce areas, with clustered housing. This can be crowded, irregularly distributed around a central point (castle, church, plaza), or arranged along a road network (people-street).
- Dispersed Habitat: High dispersion, with houses surrounded by land. This can be scattered (single homes), scattered with small clusters, or interlayered (dispersed houses with a concentrated nucleus). House types vary by region, including block houses (units under one roof) and coupled houses (units around a courtyard).
Economic Factors
Agricultural areas have undergone significant changes. A farm or agricultural enterprise is the smallest unit of production, consisting of one or more plots managed by an owner or employer. A plot is a defined area of agricultural land, which can be open (unfenced) or closed (fenced). Property is legally defined land ownership. Large estates often have low yields, while smallholdings operate on a subsistence economy and are gradually disappearing, often merging through land consolidation or cooperatives. Land tenure systems include direct exploitation (owner works the land), renting (fixed price), and sharecropping (owner and another person share exploitation and goods).
Technological Factors
Investment in production means aims to increase yields and productivity. Agricultural machinery is crucial. Fertilizer and plant consumption in Spain is below the EU average. Crop rotation is used to conserve soil fertility. Irrigation techniques (spray, drip, gravity) ensure annual production and increase irrigated areas. Biotechnology research enhances productivity through seed selection.
Political Factors
Agricultural policies, regulations, and legislation aim to ensure sector stability. Minimum wages and prices are often insufficient, leading to subsidies and aid for holdings. Policies address structural issues like water management and farm size.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
The CAP was established to increase agricultural productivity, reduce import dependence, stabilize markets, and ensure a living standard for EU farmers. Its stages include:
- Until 1992: Single market, protectionism, financial solidarity (European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund), and price setting based on the highest price within the EU.
- 1992 Reform: Direct income intervention, reduced prices, and compensation payments.
- Agenda 2000: Addressed EU enlargement challenges, rural development regulations, reform of major agricultural sectors, and financial perspectives until 2006.
- New CAP: Single payment fixed by holding area, independent of production, and subject to environmental standards.