Abstract
The economic crisis in the Spanish context has played a significant role in explaining the dynamics of return migration in recent years. Based on a qualitative approach, we argue that macro-structural elements in the receiving context operate only as triggers in the decision to return. Instead, factors linked to the micro-meso levels and their interplay with the structural context illuminate key variables that allow us to identify different meanings and strategies to plan the return. The interaction of these determinants with the economic crisis leads to three types of circumstances. For some migrants, the return is a premature closure of the migratory project. For others, the return disrupts their migratory project, while for the third profile, this decision is unreachable due to economic limitations. Beyond the empirical contribution, the paper reveals the need to include the interplay of different levels of analysis (macro-meso and micro dimensions) taking into account the temporal dimension of the migratory process (stages before, during, and after migration), rarely present in the studies of return patterns.
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Notes
The findings are based on data from the research “XXXXXX,” funded by the Spanish Research and Innovation Council (XXXXX).
Bolivian males have one of the highest unemployment rates among Latin American groups (35.9% according to the EPA for 2011), surpassed only by Moroccan males (48.3%) (Colectivo Ioé 2012).
When a foreigner changes their residence to another country, their subscription cancelation from the municipal census occurs at their own request. Often, this procedure is not carried out, either because of ignorance or because of personal interest in maintaining the subscription. In such cases, the only way to register the cancelation is to wait for the periodic renewal of the registration every 2 years, which is mandatory for non-EU foreign nationals without permanent residence authorization.
The Government of Spain promulgated Royal Decree 1620/2011 on 14 November, regulating the special relationship that characterizes service within the family household. This Royal Decree updated the rules governing the labor relationships of domestic employees and set out to improve working conditions in the sector by bringing them as far as possible into line with those of other workers, while making due allowance where appropriate for such differences that may exist (ILO 2012).
Foreign women who, prior to the reform (Royal Decree 1620/2011 of 14 November), registered in the Social Security system as discontinuous domestic workers lost this possibility with the new legislation, placing them at high risk of becoming irregular migrants. To cope with this situation, the government included a new modification from 1 April 2013, under which an employee working less than 60 h per month per home will be registered in the Social Security system if he/she agrees this with his/her respective employer.
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This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Government of Spain, under Grant number CSO2013-40834-R. It was conducted at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain) Department of Sociology.
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Parella, S., Petroff, A. Return Intentions of Bolivian Migrants During the Spanish Economic Crisis: the Interplay of Macro-Meso and Micro Factors. Int. Migration & Integration 20, 291–305 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-018-0607-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-018-0607-8