Gaps in labour supply and ageing
populations are prompting many European governments
to expand temporary labour migration programmes. Yet
a growing body of research on “migrant networks”
implies that such policy interventions can have two
types of unexpected impacts. First, flows of information
and resources through migrant networks can generate
“chain” migration outside of legal programmes.
And second, migrant networks can influence decisions
to switch from temporary to permanent stay.
This 4-year project aims to expand the knowledge base
of future labour migration policies, through:
- Contributing to knowledge on how migrant networks
can influence the impact of labour migration programmes
of patterns of mobility. This involves original empirical
research into the impact of expanded labour migration
programmes on – respectively – mobility
and settlement, focusing on the intervening variable
of migration networks (the “meso” level).
The meso-level analysis will be situated within a
broader model specifying the influence of micro- and
macro-factors, including the socio-economic and political
factors in source countries which generate migration
flows.
- Promoting the transfer of this knowledge to European
policy-makers. This requires addressing two sets of
obstacles: (a) Scientific impediments to translating
meso-level variables into wieldy models. The project
explores how the interface between philosophy/economics
and new US economics approaches can help model network
effects. (b) Socio-political factors which may create
resistance to incorporating new knowledge in the field
of migration. The project will analyse how these variables
shape patterns of knowledge transfer in the UK, Germany,
and the European Commission. The analysis of knowledge
transfer will be complemented by an analysis of the
domestic and international factors shaping policy
responses in European receiving countries.
The project is carried out by a multidisciplinary,
international team, hosted at the University of Edinburgh, and includes the following
members: a UK philosopher/political scientist (team
leader), a Romanian economist, a German social geographer
(former members included: a Polish cross-cultural psychologist and a Romanian sociologist).
Read more about our scientific
objectives. |
