As outlined in Figure 14, a comprehensive assessment of the impact of international migration will
have to take into account the bi-directional links between migration and social change. Migration can
trigger social change by affecting the economic, social, political, cultural and demographic aspects
of Philippine society. By the same token, social change can also affect migration characteristics:
levels, types of migrants, profiles of migrants, origins and destinations. In assessing the role of
migration in social transformation, it is important to differentiate its impact from that of other
potential factors. For this reason, it is crucial that the design of migration studies should have a
measure of comparison—for example, before migration and after migration, or migrants versus
non-migrants—to detect and isolate the influence of migration, if any. Moreover, the changes that
migration may bring about cannot be captured as an either/or reality; rather, outcomes can be
located in a continuum between transformative or regressive, positive or negative, short-term or
long-term. Lastly, it is important to bring in a temporal perspective. Initially, migration may be
disruptive of usual patterns, but in time and after some adjustments occur, the disruption may
subside and adaptation emerges. Considering the importance of temporary labour migration
in the Philippines, a temporal perspective is especially relevant to appreciate changes and/or