Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Temporary Labour Migration from Eastern Europe: The Role of Human Capital Investment and Migration Agencies

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Return Migration and Regional Development in Europe

Part of the book series: New Geographies of Europe ((NGE))

  • 515 Accesses

Abstract

The enlargements of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 established a new frontier in Eastern Europe, turning a number of post-Soviet Union countries into neighbours of the EU. Encouraged by economic opportunities abroad and by the greater freedom of movement, labour migration from post-Soviet states increased, whether it was from those countries bordering the enlarged EU directly (Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus) or those very close to its borders (Armenia, Georgia). While Russia is an important migration destination for people from this region, migration flows to the EU and other Western countries are increasing (IOM 2005; Mansoor and Quillin 2006). Because immigration and labour permits are restricted in most destinations, migrants from post-Soviet countries often move only temporarily and work in casual jobs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    Chiswick and Miller (2009) support this hypothesis, as they found a tendency among labour immigrants in the USA to move into higher skill levels after arrival than was indicated by their level of schooling. An argument in this context is that these people, when planning to migrate, invested in the country-specific human capital of the receiving economy.

  2. 2.

    This includes the widespread use of the Russian language, though all the countries in the region replaced the former official language of Russian with their own national languages.

  3. 3.

    GDP per capita data relate to 2005 (World Bank, World Development Indicators, available at: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators; accessed 7 May 2015). It has to be considered that economic disparities within the countries of the EU are huge.

  4. 4.

    The survey was financed by an EU INTAS project (INTAS Ref. No.: 04-79-7165). For more details on survey implementation, see Wallace and Vincent (2007).

  5. 5.

    Note that almost all the migrants from the Eastern EU border region moved only temporarily at that time (León-Ledesma and Piracha 2004; Mansoor and Quillin 2006).

  6. 6.

    Because of the widespread Russian language competence in post-Soviet countries, Russian did not count as a foreign language.

  7. 7.

    In other words, we cannot rule out that networks developed as a result of migration.

  8. 8.

    Overseas destinations include: the USA, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Israel and Japan. We prefer the multinomial probit model as it slightly relaxes the IIA assumption of the logistic model. However, the multinomial logit model produces an identical result.

  9. 9.

    In this paper, we do not analyse sending country specific differences with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. See Wallace and Vincent (2007) and Danzer and Dietz (2014) for a discussion of these issues.

  10. 10.

    According to Tishkov et al. (2005: 27) migrants in Russia work mainly in construction, transport, forestry and trade.

References

  • Cantarji, V., & Mincu, G. (2013). Costs and benefits of labour mobility between the EU and eastern partnership countries. Country report: Moldova. (CASE Network Studies & Analysis No. 465/2013). Warsaw, Poland: CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from http://www.case-research.eu/en/node/58263.

  • Castles, S. (2007). Twenty-first-century migration as a challenge to sociology. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 33(3), 351–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick, B. R., Lee, Y. L., & Miller, P. W. (2005). Immigrant earnings: A longitudinal analysis. Review of Income and Wealth, 51(4), 485–503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick, B. R., & Miller, P. W. (2009). International transferability of immigrants’ human capital. Economics of Education Review, 28(2), 162–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chudinovskikh, O. (2012). Migration and bilateral agreements in the commonwealth of independent states. In OECD (Ed.), Free movement of workers and labour market adjustment: Recent experiences from OECD countries and the European Union (pp. 251–276). Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coupé, T., & Vakhitova, H. (2013). Costs and benefits of labour mobility between the EU and eastern partnership countries. Country report: Ukraine. (CASE Network Studies & Analysis No. 464/2013). Warsaw, Poland: CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from http://www.case-research.eu/en/node/58259.

  • Danzer, A. M., & Dietz, B. (2014). Labour migration from Eastern Europe and the EU’s quest for talents. Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(2), 183–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danzer, A.M., & Dietz, B. (2015). Assistance versus investment: What shapes migration patterns? Mimeo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duleep, H. O. (2007). Immigrant skill transferability and the propensity to invest in human capital. In B. R. Chiswick (Ed.), Immigration: Research in labor economics (Vol. 27, pp. 43–73). Bingley, England: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • EBRD (European Bank of Reconstruction and Development). (2007). Transition report 2007. People in transition. London: EBRD. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from http://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/transition/TR07.pdf.

  • Görlich, D., & Trebesch, C. (2008). Seasonal migration and networks: Evidence on Moldova’s labour exodus. Review of World Economics, 144, 107–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IOM (International Organization for Migration) (2005). World migration 2005: Costs and benefits of international migration. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Migration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivakhnyuk, I. (2006). Migration in the CIS region: Common problems and mutual benefits. Turin, Italy: UN DESA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahanec, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2011). High-skilled immigration policy in Europe. In B. R. Chiswick (Ed.), High skilled immigration in a global labor market (pp. 264–314). Washington, DC: The AEI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krissman, F. (2005). Sin coyote ni patron: Why the ‘migrant network’ fails to explain international migration. International Migration Review, 39(1), 4–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • León-Ledesma, M., & Piracha, M. (2004). International migration and the role of remittances in Eastern Europe. International Migration, 42(4), 65–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansoor, A., & Quillin, B. (2006). Migration and remittances. Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, Douglas S., Arango, Joaquín, Hugo, Graeme, Kouaouci, Ali, Pellegrino, Adela & Taylor, J. Edward. (1998). Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millenium. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mkrtchyan, N. (2012). Socio-political effects of labour migration on countries of origin: Comparative analysis of CARIM-East socio-political module papers. (CARIM-East Research Report 2012/19). San Domenico di Fiesole (Florence): CARIM East - Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munshi, K. (2003). Networks in modern economy: Mexican migrants in the U.S. labor market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(2), 549–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, A. D. (1951). Some thoughts on the distribution of earnings. Oxford Economic Papers, 3(2), 135–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjaastad, L. A. (1962). The costs and returns of human migration. The Journal of Political Economy, 70, 80–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tishkov, V., Zayonchkovskaya, Z., & Vitkovskaya, G. (2005). Migration in the countries of the former Soviet Union. A Paper prepared for the Policy Analysis and Research Programme of the Global Commission on International Migration, Geneva, UN GCIM. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from https://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/policy_and_research/gcim/rs/RS3.pdf.

  • Vadean, F., & Piracha, M.. (2010). Circular migration or permanent return: What determines different forms of migration? In G. Epstein & I. N. Gang (Eds.), Migration and culture (pp. 467–495). Bingley, England: Emerald Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, C., & Vincent, K. (2007). Recent migration from the new European borderlands. Review of Sociology, 13(2), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. WFI, KU Eichsttätt-Ingolstadt, Ingolstadt, Germany

    Alexander M. Danzer

  2. Department of Economics, Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, Regensburg, Germany

    Barbara Dietz

Authors
  1. Alexander M. Danzer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Barbara Dietz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander M. Danzer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany

    Robert Nadler

  2. University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary

    Zoltán Kovács

  3. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Chemnitz, Germany

    Birgit Glorius

  4. Chemnitz University of Technology, Leipzig, Germany

    Thilo Lang

Copyright information

© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Danzer, A.M., Dietz, B. (2016). Temporary Labour Migration from Eastern Europe: The Role of Human Capital Investment and Migration Agencies. In: Nadler, R., Kovács, Z., Glorius, B., Lang, T. (eds) Return Migration and Regional Development in Europe. New Geographies of Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57509-8_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57509-8_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57508-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-57509-8

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation