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171. After Enlargement: Europe's New Migration System

Author:
Adrian Favell
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Policy makers underestimate the importance of underlying demographics and labour market dynamics on future East-West migration in Europe. Flows have generally been demand driven, and have therefore been drawn by European nations with the most open and informal labour markets – such as Britain, Ireland, Italy and Spain –rather than more highly regulated welfare states such as Denmark. They are also more likely to be circular and temporary than one way immigration. I discuss the desirability of the apparently inevitable trend in Europe towards a more US style international labour market that strongly parallels the migration system between the US and Mexico. The underlying trend in Europe is towards the emergence of a more regionalised system, in which West European societies come to rely on East European movers to fill secondary labour market needs in the service economy, rather than more racially or ethnically distinct non-European immigrants.
Topic:
Development, Migration, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

172. Settlers, Refugees, and Immigrants: Alternative Futures for Post-Settlement Cyprus

Author:
Neophystos G. Loizides and Marcos A. Antoniades
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
The central theme of this article is the introduction of scenario planning in the negotiation of the settler, refugee, and immigration issues in Cyprus and other divided societies. While advocating support for the United Nations Plan for the Comprehensive Settlement of the Cyprus Question (the .Annan Plan.), the article proposes alternative ways of linking its immigrant, Turkish settler and Greek Cypriot (GC) refugee quotas. The Turkish Cypriot (TC) community is provided with a choice between a community-homogeneous future with fewer settlers and refugees, and a multicultural one with more of each. Subsequently, an explicit link is made between the numbers of the Greek Cypriot refugees and those of the Turkish settlers, immigrants, and TC émigrés. This paper argues that a TC constituent state which accommodates more of the latter should also be in a position to welcome more GCs under a low percentage of the TC population: a potentially win-win situation. Finally, we address the scenario in which TCs opt for a multicultural future but GC refugees do not actually resettle, with a safeguard provision that compensates the GC side in another issue such as security, government, or even territory. By compensating possible losses in one area with favorable readjustments in another, these safeguards eliminate worst case scenarios for both sides, preserve the initial balance of the negotiated settlement, and maximize the negotiability and credibility of the Annan Plan. At the same time, the settler, refugee, and immigration issues are linked in new and innovative ways to emphasize a better human rights environment for all.
Topic:
International Relations, Human Rights, and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe

173. Migrant Transfers as a Development Tool: The Case of Morocco

Author:
Nina Nyberg Sørensen
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In 2003, the Global Development Finance Annual Report took formal notice of remittances as an important source of external development finance for the first time, listing Morocco as the 4th largest remittance recipient among developing countries. This paper examines the positive and negative results of remittances on Moroccan development, as well as of other migration-driven social changes. It offers a brief historical background to Moroccan migration and examines more closely Moroccan emigration to the EU from the early 1960s. Remittance practices are discussed, as is the issue of return migration. The paper concludes by discussing prospects for general development in the country and summarizing policy options in the field.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe and Morocco

174. The Development Dimension of Migrant Transfers

Author:
Nina Nyberg Sørensen
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The current appreciation of remittances as a development tool is recent and several questions on how best to capture their development impact remain. This working paper addresses some of the fundamental questions pertaining to the role of remittances in the migrationdevelopment nexus. Apart from offering a conceptual tool for understanding of the importance of remittances for developing countries, the paper gives a global overview of various types of remittance flows, the dynamics of such flows and their possible developmental impact on developing countries, including those experiencing conflicts. The paper concludes by offering some ideas on how appropriate policy measures could contribute to making remittances into an effective development tool.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe

175. Towards a Proactive Immigration Policy for the EU?

Author:
Sergio Carrera and Joanna Apap
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This report involves an assessment of the legislative progress achieved towards a proactive immigration policy regarding those described as 'third country nationals' (TCNs) entering into and residing legally in the European Union (EU). We also evaluate the extent to which the attacks of 11 September 2001 in the US had a real impact on the legislative developments and policy agenda in relation to this area.
Topic:
International Law and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe

176. Asylum Policy in the West: Past Trends, Future Possibilities

Author:
Matthew J. Gibney and Randall Hansen
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This article examines the policy responses of Western countries in the realm of asylum. We begin by explaining the reasons why the asylum issue has made its way up the political agendas of liberal democratic countries in recent years. While applications for asylum have risen in the last two decades, we also highlight the way rights-based constraints and financial costs have contributed to controversy around the issue. We then examine in detail the major policy responses of states to asylum, grouping them into four main categories: measures aiming to prevent access to state territory, measures to deter arrivals, measures to limit stay, and measures to manage arrival. Moving then to explore the efficacy of these measures, we consider the utility of policy making from the viewpoints of states, asylum seekers and refugees, and international society. The article concludes with the presentation of four new directions in which policies could move in order better to square the professed interests of Western states with the needs of refugees for protection.
Topic:
Human Rights and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe and North America

177. Controlling Asylum Migration to the Enlarged EU

Author:
Catherine Phuong
Publication Date:
08-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
We examine the ways in which candidate countries which are to join the EU in 2004 are responding to increasing asylum migration from the East and assess the impact of accession on their asylum and immigration laws and policies. It will be argued that recent changes in asylum and immigration laws in candidate countries have been largely affected by current EU efforts to devise a common immigration policy and a possible common asylum system. Instead of devising their own response to asylum migration, candidate countries are merely aligning their asylum policies with EU practice and expectations.
Topic:
Migration
Political Geography:
Europe

178. Economic Integration and Migration: The Mexico-US Case

Author:
Philip Martin
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper explains the evolution and effects of Mexico-US migration, and highlights the NAFTA approach to economic integration, viz., free up trade and investment while stepping up efforts to prevent unauthorized migration. The European Union approach is different: provide aid first, and later free up trade and migration in the expectation that moves toward convergence will ensure minimal migration because trade has become a substitute for migration. The paper concludes that NAFTA will reduce unwanted Mexico-US migration in the medium to long term, and that different initial conditions in Europe mean that there will be relatively little east-west migration when nationals of new entrant EU members achieve freedom of movement.
Topic:
Economics and Migration
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Mexico

179. Development Cycles, Political Regimes and International Migration

Author:
Andrés Solimano
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
At the turn of the twentieth century, a large number of Europeans, mostly from Italy and Spain, left their homelands and headed to the distant shores of Argentina in response to the good economic opportunities, fertile land and hopes for a better future that were to be found there. At the time, Argentina was one of the most vibrant world economies. Between 1870 and 1930, around seven million people migrated from Europe to Argentina, although nearly three million returned at some different point during those years. Also foreign capital responded to the opportunities offered by Argentina, and British financial institutions funded an important part of the construction of national infrastructure needed to support growth. In contrast, European migration to Argentina virtually stopped in the 1950s, and in the next 30 years or so the country become a net exporter of professionals who were fleeing economic decline, poor opportunities and authoritarian regimes. Moreover, during this period, financial capital steadily left Argentina looking for safer places. Nowadays, and in contrary to the flow of people a century ago, Argentineans are leaving in large numbers to Spain, Italy and other destinations. Emigration this time is associated with the collapse of the country's currency experiment of the 1990s which left a legacy of massive output decline, high unemployment, financial crisis and lost hopes.
Topic:
Development, Emerging Markets, International Political Economy, Migration, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Europe, Argentina, Spain, and Italy

180. Making EU Trade Agreements Work: The Role of Rules of Origin

Author:
Paul Brenton and Miriam Manchin
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
A key element of the EU's free trade and preferential trade agreements is the extent to which they deliver improved market access and so contribute to the EUs foreign policy objectives towards developing countries and neighbouring countries in Europe, including the countries of the Balkans. Previous preferential trade schemes have been ineffective in delivering improved access to the EU market. The main reason for this is probably the very restrictive rules of origin that the EU imposes, coupled with the costs of proving consistency with these rules. If the EU wants the 'Everything but Arms' agreement and free trade agreements with countries in the Balkans to generate substantial improvements in access to the EU market for products from these countries then it will have to reconsider the current rules of origin and implement less restrictive rules backed upon by a careful safeguards policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, Government, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, Migration, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans