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INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
1996 - VOLUME 34, NUMBER 2
97.51.1 - English - Nora HAMILTON, University of Southern California (U.S.A.), and Norma STOLTZ CHINCHILLA, California State University, Long Beach, California (U.S.A.)
Global economic restructuring and international migration: Some observations based on the Mexican and Central American experience (p. 195-232)
The author examines the links between global economic restructuring and international migration using a study of Mexican and Central American migration towards the USA. These links are analyzed from the point of view of cause-effect relationships. On the one hand, global restructuring has an effect on the situation in both the countries of departure and destination; it is both a cause of emigration and a determinant of the economic and political opening to immigrants in the destination country. On the other hand, international migration has considerable effects on both the country of origin and destination, such as the relationships uniting people to each other.
The current economic crisis in Mexico and the continuing policy of economic liberalization in this country and in the other countries of Central America, to which can be added the cumulative phenomenon of cause and effect relationships, leads us to believe that migratory movements will continue and that the result will be a continual phenomenon of transformation in the origin and destination areas. These trends could either lessen or become stronger, depending on the effect of changes in economic conditions and any increase in political hostility within the United States or through a possible (although unlikely) change in the assistance and development policies. (MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, UNITED STATES, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, MARKET ECONOMY, ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE)
97.51.2 - English - Harry CLARKE, School of Economics, La Trobe University, Victoria (Australia)
United Kingdom labour emigration and capital exports 1816-1991 (p. 233-256)
The author studies the links between labour emigration and capital exports from the United Kingdom from 1816 onwards. Labour emigration was dominant in the early stages and can, apparently, be attributed mainly to factors of repulsion. The factors of attraction gradually gained in importance in the period from 1860 to 1913. It should be noted, however, that the factors of attraction which have an impact on capital exports from the United Kingdom can differ from the factors of atrraction having a bearing on labour migration, which complicates any analysis of the determining factors when these two flows are working in conjunction with each other. The statistics collected do not confirm the hypothesis according to which capital was responsible for chasing away labour, or the opposite case, even during periods of high association of these flows. Consequently, while there is undeniably a strong link between the respective determinants of these flows, the nature of the causality favouring this link is not clear. It is, therefore, not surprising that any simple analytical explanation of the association between determinants of these flows cannot be applied to such a broad band in the United Kingdom's history. (UNITED KINGDOM, HISTORY, EMIGRATION, LABOUR MIGRATION, CAPITAL MOVEMENTS)
97.51.3 - English - Ahmet ICDUYGU, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Bilkent University, Ankara (Turkey)
Becoming a new citizen in an immigration country: Turks in Australia and Sweden, and some comparative implications (p. 257-272)
The present study, which is based on information provided by Turkish immigrants in Australia and Sweden, highlights the perceptions and attitudes relative to access to citizenship and the related citizens' rights. While the results of the surveys undertaken amongst Turkish immigrants in Melbourne and Stockholm led to heterogeneous and somewhat surprising conclusions with regard to the length of residency on immigrants' propensity to seek naturalization, the effects of other characteristics of the sample immigrant population under study turned out to be less contradictory. Men would appear to be more inclined to seek naturalization than women. Apart from the variations related to sex, there are considerable variations in the pattern of new citizenship, depending on the immigrants' age upon arrival, their place of birth, their education, their occupation and their linguistic abilities.
It is not easy to say whether the gaps revealed by the two surveys are the result of the historical, social and economic contexts of the migratory movements towards these two countries or of the different characteristics of the Turkish immigrant populations, or even a combination of these two factors. The surprising conclusions to which the study leads from the point of view of the effect of length of residency on naturalization could be a reflection of this complexity. While the difference between the two case studies is obvious, there is some similarity between the Melbourne immigrants and those in Stockholm with regard to their perception of and their attitudes towards the processes of settlement and accession to naturalization. It can also be observed that the Turkish immigrants in Sweden are more inclined to perceive their situation as being temporary than do their counterparts in Australia, but, for the large majority of these two immigrant populations, the issue of naturalization is, first and foremost, a pragmatic choice rather than a moral engagement or a step towards normalization. (TURKEY, SWEDEN, AUSTRALIA, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, MIGRANT ASSIMILATION, NATURALIZATION, DURATION OF RESIDENCE)
97.51.4 - English - Mostafa H. EL-SHALAKANI, Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Amal Y. A. EL-SABAH, Department of Geography, and Mahmoud A. ISKANDER, Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Kuwait University (Kuwait)
An optimized model for substitution of expatriate workforce in a Gulf-council country: The case of Kuwait (p. 273-295)
One of the primary objectives of planning policies brought into force in Kuwait following the recent war was to restrict the arrival of foreign workers and to reduce the length of time they could stay. This article presents a proposal for a model of the substitution of expatriate workers by the recruitment of Kuwaitis in the public sector, as well as a proposed model of target programming. On the basis of the mechanism and the model presented herewith, the authors state that the "Kuwait-isation" process can take place in a simple and natural fashion. When applied to actual data, this approach would lead to a 77% decline in expatriate labour in the space of five years. (KUWAIT, IMMIGRANT WORKERS, LABOUR TURNOVER)
97.51.5 - English - S. ROBOLIS and E. XIDEAS, Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean, Chios (Greece)
The economic determinants of Greek return migration to the islands of the East Aegean (p. 297-319)
International migration has had a considerable impact on the Greek economy during the past 35 years. Most of the emigration from Greece was directed towards Western Europe, with a peak in 1971, while, from 1973 onwards, there was more return migration than departures. The authors study the economic determinants of return migration towards the islands in the East Aegean. Empirical estimates are based on a model which takes into account both factors of repulsion and attraction and uses regional data for the period 1970 to 1988.
Compared to previous empirical surveys, the present study reveals the varying impact of economic factors on return migration to the islands. The level of production in the settlement area chosen, and the employment and income conditions which are prevalent in the area of origin, are determinants which help in the decision about return migration. Because of the local economic characteristics, unemployment in the islands does not have an impact on the decision to return home.
The authors are of the opinion that this model can be used to predict future trends in Greek return migration. Further research on estimating return migration at a regional level would facilitate the work of decision makers when planning the development of each region. (GREECE, RETURN MIGRATION, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS)
1996 - VOLUME 34, NUMBER 4
97.51.6 - English - Tamar HOROWITZ, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva (Israel)
Value-oriented parameters in migration policies in the 1990s: The Israeli experience (p. 513-537)
The author's study is centred around six parameters connected with the values system : the law of return, the relationships between Israel and the diaspora, pluralism and the melting pot, the perception of notions of equality, preference and anti-discriminatory measures (in favour of minorities), interventionism and the labour market and, finally, the dispersion of populations in comparison to their concentration. Three values models have been used in Israeli politics. There was the 1950s/1960s model which was, above all, of the "melting pot" kind, that is, a Sionist model which ignored the existence of a diaspora. Economic absorption was on the agenda, to the same degree as social and cultural absorption. The second model appeared towards the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s. It was a Sionist model, but tended less towards denial of the diaspora. Economic, social and cultural absorption was considered to be the duty of the State, but the necessity was now felt to permit certain immigrant communities to express their cultural identity and to preserve their own culture. The third model, which was developed during the 1990s, conferred a much greater degree of legitimacy to the diaspora. The attitude towards immigrants was less collective and more individual. The State no longer afforded as much attention to social and cultural absorption and a more pluralist absorption model was discovered. For the first time, Israel applied anti-discriminatory measures to Ethiopian immigrants. In this article, the author presents the results of the policies applied in Israel since the 1950s according to the three models described above. (ISRAEL, IMMIGRATION POLICY, VALUE SYSTEMS, ETHNIC MINORITIES, CULTURE)
97.51.7 - English - Prema-Chandra ATHUKORALA, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra (Australia), and Piyasiri WICKRAMASEKARA, ILO East Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, Bangkok (Thailand)
International labour migration statistics in Asia: An appraisal (p. 539-566)
This study analyses the characteristics and the restrictions of official data on international labour migration in Asian countries which export workers abroad, where the aim is to provide a guide to research in the field of migration and to stimulate institutional support for attempts to improve the existing data. The basic message is that the scope of migration analysis is seriously restricted by the excessive dependence on administrative data which it is very difficult to compare, both from a chronological point of view and from one country and another. While it is undoubtedly possible to improve these administrative data, developing a satisfactory information database requires an integrated data collection strategy which takes into account the phenomenon of international labour migration as an integral part of the border control system, as well as national censuses and sample surveys undertaken in the countries which export manpower. (ASIA, DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS, LABOUR MIGRATION, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, QUALITY OF DATA)
97.51.8 - English - Xisowei ZANG and Riaz HASSAN, Department of Sociology, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia (Australia)
Residential choices of immigrants in Australia (p. 567-582)
In public debates on recent migration policies and trends in Australia, the increased immigration flows arriving from Asia have sometimes been quoted as a factor underpinning the emergence of ethnic enclaves in cities around the country. Australia's Asian communities have been criticized for their assumed propensity to live within a "closed society" and in "ethnic ghettos". In the present article, the authors use data from surveys undertaken in 1991 in Sydney and Melbourne (Housing and Location Preference Surveys) in order to demonstrate that, if certain immigrant groups do indeed prefer to settle in close proximity to their family and their own kind for either practical or sentimental reasons, any such preference is not specifically notable from an ethnic point of view. Immigrants of Asian origin are no more and no less likely to change their place of residence in order to maintain their social or family contacts than are those residents born in Australia or immigrants from Western Europe. And taking into account, in the data analysis, variables such as education level, income, type of dwelling, age or date of arrival in the country changes practically nothing in the preferences demonstrated either by immigrant communities or by residents born in Australia. On the other hand, the authors show that, rather than family or social contacts, the determinants which do model Asian immigrants' choice of place of residence are proximity of the wife's place of work, services available in the vicinity and cost of accommodation. (AUSTRALIA, ASIA, IMMIGRANTS, RESIDENCE, POPULATION DISTRIBUTION)
97.51.9 - English - Xiao-Feng LIU, Department of Geography, York University, Ontario (Canada)
A case study of the labour market status of recent mainland Chinese immigrants, metropolitan Toronto (p. 583-607)
Using a survey carried out in 1993 in metropolitan Toronto, the present study analyses the effects which the individual characteristics of Chinese immigrants recently arrived from mainland China might have on their status within the labour market. Education, linguistic ability, sex and date of arrival are all factors which can explain the sometimes significant differences in status within this group. Amongst all these factors, it is the education level which is the most important for status. In comparison with other factors, belonging to one sex or another is relatively less important when all of these factors are brought together within a logical model. The author concludes that, in a society where immigrants' economic adaptation is controlled at a very general level by society's structural conditions and the labour market, their individual profiles can still bring some weight to bear in the process at a micro-economic level, which can result in variations within the group. To better understand this, the networks and general distribution of the group's immigrants in the labour market should be studied, taking into account the structural conditions. But this latter aspect requires the use of overall data which are not as yet available. (CANADA, CHINA, IMMIGRANT WORKERS, LABOUR MARKET)
97.51.10 - English - Branka GOLUB, Institute of Social Research, Zagreb (Croatia)
Croatian scientists' drain and its roots (p. 609-625)
The mobility of scientists, in terms of brain drain or gain and depending on which point of view is being focussed upon, is a phenomenon which only appeared in Europe in the latter half of the 19th century, when national economies had been built up and the human brain (intelligence, capacity and knowledge) was beginning to be recognised as a very powerful instrument in the race for progress and prosperity. The culminating point of interest caused by the brain drain on a world scale lies in the period spanning the 1960s and 1970s; this interest has severely declined since then, but has not completely disappeared. Furthermore, it is perceived differently from one country to another. In this way, Croatia has lost some people of a highly educated level, in particular scientists, when it was still part of ex-Yugoslavia. Today, this phenomenon is perceived in an even more cruel manner : the social disruption created by the transformation of the Socialist order into a market economy and a multi-party democracy, further aggravated by the war, have stimulated this exodus which, at present, is going completely over the score for a country of the size and development level of Croatia. The national scientific system is now undergoing reconstruction. One of the basic conditions underlying any qualitative change consists in treating investment in the sciences and education as a productive investment and not as a source of expenditure. This is the primary attitude to have in order to create an environment in which economic and social development could lead to an increase in Croatia's scientific capital. Increased financial assistance and improved infrastructures (IT and communication equipment) would place Croatia's scientists in a better position to dialogue with the world scientific community and would thus reduce the haemorraging brain drain towards foreign countries. (CROATIA, BRAIN DRAIN)
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