Article Theories of international migration and the challenge of multidisciplinarity: a brief analysis of Rational Choice Theory and Social Capital - By Tuíla Botega 

Article: Theories of international migration and the challenge of multidisciplinarity: a brief analysis of Rational Choice Theory and Social Capital - By Tuíla Botega

This article analyzes the paradigm of Rational Choice and the theory of Social Capital, based on their theoretical applications in international migration studies. The contrast between the individual approach - worked on in political science and neoclassical economic theory - and the collective approach - elucidated from the concept of social capital and the analysis of social networks - respectively, suggests that the principle of the rationality of action is necessary, but would not be sufficient to explain all the diversity and complexity of the migration phenomenon. As a result, there is a demand for multidisciplinary approaches to this field of study. 

Keywords: international migration; migration theories; rational choice; social network analysis; multidisciplinarity.

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