Michal Sabah and Barbara S. Okun
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Demographic Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Immigration and Mental Health: Stress, Psychiatric Disorders and Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants and Refugees. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 350 pages.

This chapter addresses the question: “What are the Motives for International Migration?” By dividing the major theories in international migration to four levels of analysis, the authors put forth four interrelated answers to that question. The first suggests that international migration is the accumulated result of individuals’ choices to improve their lives. The second argues that the motives for migration lie in differential wage and labor force opportunities between countries. The third emphasizes the importance of social networks as links between the first micro- and second macro-level explanations. Finally, the fourth answer stresses global structural differences between world regions. This theoretical review includes world wide examples and is preceded by a short description of major periods of migration in the modern world.