A Wellington-based academic says she doubts a report highlighting poverty among Pacific people in New Zealand will have any effect on migration to the country.
On Monday, the Salvation Army report said Pacific people have the highest unemployment, the lowest incomes and a widening income gap that could mean they're left behind when the economy recovers from the global recession.
But a senior lecturer in Pacific Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, Teresia Teaiwa, says people don't always think of these kinds of things when they choose to migrate.
"One of the things we need to understand is that the choice to migrate is not always a rational one. People migrate with hope and aspirations, not with certitude."
Teresia Teaiwa says the report does show the number of Pacific students enrolled in tertiary education is booming, and she hopes this will help improve the outlook, with more Pasifika people getting high-paying jobs.