Political and Economic Implications Associated with Climate Induced Migration from Central America

Abstract

Human migration has been an integral form of adaptation for centuries due to resource availability on Earth being relatively variable. However, current time periods are characterized by government agencies and powerful individuals establishing immigration laws within their own borders that discourage the incentive to migrate. When changes in resource availability and climate occur, human inclinations to migrate will challenge locations, such as Central America and the United States, in different ways. The main question of this study is to identify how significant of a factor climate change has on Central American socioeconomic structures and migration. A preemptive hypothesis does not identify climate as a direct factor of migration, but rather a mode of magnification. Analyses were conducted to discover patterns of unemployment in conjunction with climate and social instability affecting emigration from Central America. Furthermore, United States policy and economic aid became a subject of critique to find what developments could be possible in the future. Statistical analyses show a correlation between decreasing agricultural employment with increasing temperatures, which affects employment factors in addition to patterns of migration. Moreover, reevaluations in policy and foreign aid are needed in the United States to synthesize a solution that is justified and cost effective.