Eu Labor Markets After Post Enlargement Migration

Selected by Princeton University as Noteworthy Book in Industrial Relations and Labor Economics for 2010. Are immigrants from the new EU member states a threat to the Western welfare state? Do they take jobs away from the natives? And will the source countries suffer from severe brain drain or demographic instability? In a timely and unprecedented contribution, this book integrates what is known about post-enlargement migration and its effects on EU labor markets. Based on rigorous analysis and hard data, it makes a convincing case that there is no evidence that the post-enlargement labor migrants would on aggregate displace native workers or lower their wages, or that they would be more dependent on welfare. While brain drain may be a concern in the source countries, the anticipated brain circulation between EU member states may in fact help to solve their demographic and economic problems, and improve the allocative efficiency in the EU. The lesson is clear: free migration is a solution rather than a foe for labor market woes and cash-strapped social security systems in the EU.

This volume extends and deepens our knowledge about cross-border mobility and its role in an enlarged EU. More specifically, its main purpose is to enlighten the growing and yet rather uninformed debate about the role of post-enlargement migration for economic adjustment in the crisis-stricken labor markets of the Eurozone and the EU as a whole. The book addresses the political economy aspects of post-enlargement migration, including its broader political contexts, redistributive impacts, but also nationalization of the enlargement agenda. It also covers the experience of receiving and sending countries with post-enlargement migration and its role during the current crisis. Renowned experts in the field study, whether and how post-enlargement mobility has enabled the EU to absorb asymmetric economic shocks, how it has affected the European welfare systems, and whether it has contributed to the sustainability of the Eurozone. The authors also evaluate brain circulation as a sought-after vehicle of improved allocative efficiency of EU labor markets and propose a policy agenda for mobility in an enlarged EU.

One of the most important consequences of EU enlargement in May 2004 was to extend the principle of the free movement of labour to the citizens of the central and eastern European new member states. In this book a team of labour economists and migration experts sheds light on the dimensions, characteristics and impacts of cross-border labour migration in selected sending (Hungary, Latvia and Poland) and receiving (Austria, Germany, Sweden and the UK) countries. Separate contributions detail the policy responses by governments, employers and trade unions in these countries to the challenges posed by both inward and outward migration. By setting out and analyzing the facts for seven countries, which vary greatly in their geographical situation, policies, and outcomes, the book contributes to the debate on this crucial issue in the ongoing process of European integration.

Dit boek beschrijft de toename van migratie uit Oost-europese landen in de periode van 2004-2007, na toetreding tot de EU. Het bevat nieuwe empirische 'casestudies' van migratiepatronen, zowel gebaseerd op veldwerk als op de analyse van bestaande statistieken.

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, grade: 72 (UK system), University of Kent, language: English, abstract: On May 1, 2004, ten new countriesi joined the European Union (EU). Besides the Mediterranean countries of Cyprus and Malta, eight Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC/EU-8) became members of the EU. The developments that lead to the enlargement in 2004 were accompanied by concerns in the fifteen old member states (EU-15) regarding the potential inflow of workers from the EU-8. The Free Movement of Workers is a fundamental pillar of the EU’s internal market and is legally defined in Article 39 I of the Treaty of the European Community.ii According to this principle, every citizen of the EU is entitled to take up employment and to answer to job-offers EU wide. Some countries of the EU-15 feared that their labour markets were going to be flooded by Eastern European workers. Polish plumbers and Czech pavers, taking over the jobs of the EU-15 citizens, became symbols of the fear that was spreading in some EU-15 countries. This essay will focus on two aspects: Firstly, it will examine whether the estimated migration scenarios prior to enlargement have been able to picture the current migration flows correctly. In a second step, the short- and medium-term impacts of EU-10 migration on the economies of the UK and Germany will be assessed. Whereas the former decided to allow migrant workers access to its labour market from the very beginning, the latter had chosen to restrict the free movement of workers and is currently considering extending these restrictions until 2009. It will be argued that the fears concerning negative economic effects in the UK were irrational – at least concerning the short-term impact. In regard to the German case, it will be argued that extending the restrictions until 2009 will have only a limitedly harmful effect on the economy.

This publication presents recent evidence and analytical work on the impact and future perpectives of demographic trends in the workforce, taking also into account education, skills and geographical mobility.

The debate on the free movement of labour within the EU has gained new momentum in the wake of the economic crisis. Building on the earlier Ashgate publication EU Labour Migration Since Enlargement, the editors have assembled a team of experts from across Europe to shed light on the critical issues raised by internal labour mobility within the EU in the context of economic crisis and labour market pressures. The book's chapters tease out the links between economic developments, regulatory frameworks and migration patterns in different European countries. A central focus is on issues of skills and skills mismatch and how they relate to migration forms, duration and individual decisions to stay or return. Based on detailed analysis of European and national-level sources, the results presented clearly contradict assumptions about a "knowledge driven migration". Rather, over-qualification and the corresponding underutilisation of migrant workers' skills emerge as a pervasive phenomenon. At the same time the characteristics of migrants - not just skills, but socio-demographic characteristics and attitudes - and also their labour market integration are shown to be very diverse and to vary substantially between different sending and receiving countries. This calls for a differentiated analysis and raises complex issues for policymakers. Examples where policy has contributed to positive outcomes for both migrants and domestic workforces are identified. Unique in analysing labour migration flows within the European Union in a comparative manner putting skills into the centre and taking account of the effects of the economic crisis, while addressing policy concerns this is a valuable resource for academics, policymakers and practitioners alike.