MIGRATION DECISIONS OF SINGAPOREANS : THE 'LOCAL AND THE GLOBAL'

Abstract

This qualitative study is an inquiry into the connection between loyalty and migration on the one hand, and, through this connection, between nationhood and globalization on the other. To examine and analyze migration decisions of Singaporeans in the stated research interests, Hirschman's theory of exit, voice, and loyalty has been utilized as the conceptual framework. The applicability of his model to study the Singapore case is found wanting in some aspects. Through the effort to explicate the relationship between migration and loyalty in the contemporary context of globalization, I have found that loyalty is not irreconcilable with migration. My findings suggest that it may be timely to de-link loyalty and locality. In addition, the present situation of globalization necessitates a re-evaluation of the phenomenon of migration.