Migration from Jamaica in the 1970s: Political Protest or Economic Pull?

Abstract

A number of commentators in both newspapers and journals have implied that the high rates of out-migration from Jamaica in the late 70s were essentially a response to the democratic socialist policies of the Manley administration in that country. However, a more detailed examination of the data on patterns of migration in previous years reveals not only that the high rates were part of an on-going trend set soon after World War II, but also that the various fluctuations in rates from year to year correspond more to the immigration policies of receiving countries than to the policies of the sending nation.

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