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51 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
1998, Vol. 36, N° 2
99.51.7 - LI, F. L. N.; FINDLAY, A. M.; JONES, H.
A cultural economy perspective on service sector migration in the global city: The case of Hong Kong.
This article argues that in order to fully understand the geography of labour migration to global cities, it is necessary to consider economic forces in conjunction with mediating socio-cultural influences. Reported here are the results of an analysis of recently released 1996 by-census data, and the authors' interviews with foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. These findings have shown that highly skilled immigrant workers were drawn largely from developed countries, the main sources of inward investment in this city, while less skilled immigrants were drawn from less developed neighbouring labour markets. While the geographical pattern of immigration followed broadly that predicted from Hong Kong's position in the world economy, the results have revealed that cultural influences such as language and social networks are also important in shaping the economic roles of migrant workers.
English - pp. 131-157.
F. L. N. Li, A. M. Findlay and H. Jones, Department of Geography, University of Dundee, Scotland.
(HONG KONG, IMMIGRANT WORKERS, MEGALOPOLIS, MIGRATION DETERMINANTS, CULTURE)
99.51.8 - YEOH, Brenda S. A.; KHOO, Louisa-May.
Home, work and community: Skilled international migration and expatriate women in Singapore.
In the recent research on international labour circuit, women have usually been relegated to the role of "trailing spouses" and are generally invisible in the migration process. Using a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews, this article attempts to reinstate the importance of women's roles by portraying them as active agents who adopt a range of strategies in negotiating the move and coming to terms with the transformtions wrought by the move in the domains of home, work and community. It argues that skilled labour migration is a strongly gendered process, producing different sets of experiences for the men and women involved in it. While international circulation often represents "career moves" for expatriate men, their spouses often experience a devalorization of their productive functions and a relegation to the domestic sphere. As an adaptive strategy, expatriate women often turn to the social and community sphere to reach for grounding in their lives. The article also highlights the diversity of experience and strategy observed between "western" expatriates and "Asian" expatriates.
English - pp. 159-186.
B. S. A. Yeoh, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
(SINGAPORE, IMMIGRANT WORKERS, SKILLED WORKERS, MARRIED WOMEN, MIGRANT ASSIMILATION, SEX DIFFERENTIALS)
Characteristics and assimilation of Chinese immigrants in the US labour market.
Using US Public Use Samples, this article examines differences in the quality and assimilation rate of different Chinese immigrant groups (immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China) in the US labour market. The descriptive statistics show great differences among Chinese immigrants from the three areas in their ages, wage rates, years of schooling and industrial and occupational distributions. This article also finds that the three Chinese immigrant groups have much more dispersed wage distributions than US-born workers have. The three Chinese immigrant groups also experienced substantial assimilation into the US labour market during the 1980s.
English - pp. 187-210.
S.-J. Chen, Institute of Human Resource Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
(UNITED STATES, CHINA, TAIWAN, HONG KONG, IMMIGRANT WORKERS, MIGRANT ASSIMILATION, LABOUR MARKET)
The State, refugees and migration in sub-Saharan Africa.
Population moves, the movements of refugees and migrations are commonplace in sub-Saharan Africa and are currently increasing. For several years, the first reason for this phenomenon was war, in itself an effect or a symptom of more fundamental problems such as the weakness of the State in Africa. The State is incapable of organizing the equal distribution of resources, competition, or the conservation of the environment. Neither is it able to resist the pressures of the global economy. For example, structural adjustment programs prevent African countries from using their resources to solve their internal problems. This climate tends to provoke all sorts of conflicts resulting in the movements of refugees and emigrants. These types of migrations have many negative effects on the refugees and migrants themselves, who experience traumatic situations, on their countries of origin, which lose their human resources, and on the countries of destination, for which the refugees represent a burden. The author proposes different measures towards solving this problem.
English - pp. 211-234.
J. K. Akokpari, Department of Political and Administrative Studies, The National University of Lesotho, Lesotho.
(AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, REFUGEES, WAR, MIGRATION DETERMINANTS, GOVERNMENT POLICY)
99.51.11 - RIDDLE, Liesl A.; BUCKLEY, Cynthia.
Forced migration and destination choice: Armenian forced settlers and refugees in the Russian Federation.
Many analysts have criticized resettlement institutions for placing displaced people in inappropriate and desolate areas. This article seeks to determine the extent to which the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) plays an active, systematic role in the placement of dislocated peoples, focusing on refugees (bezhentsii) and forced settlers (pereselentsii) in the Russian Federation arriving from the Republic of Armenia. Using data on regional-level forced migrations flows, we investigate structural- and choice-based models for the prediction of settlement patterns. Findings indicate that variables associated with models of individual choice best predict the resettlement pattern for forced settlers and refugees from the Armenian Republic in the Russian Federation. Our findings question previously held assumptions regarding the meaning of refugee status and the influence of institutions on settlement location patterns.
English - pp. 235-255.
L. A. Riddle and C. Buckley, Population Research Center and Department of Sociology, The University of Texas, Austin, U.S.A.
(RUSSIA, ARMENIA, FORCED MIGRATION, REFUGEES, METHODOLOGY, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION)
99.51.12 - LOBO, A. P.; SALVO, J. J.
Resurgent Irish immigration to the US in the 1980s and early 1990s: A socio-demographic profile.
Traditionally, Irish migration towards the United States was due to unemployment in Ireland. During the big recession from 1980 to 1985, resurgence in Irish emigration resulted in the presence in the United States of many illegal immigrants from Ireland whose situation was eventually regularized. Contrary to the former Irish waves of immigrants, a high proportion of the immigrants in this wave was composed of qualified workers. Based on American statistics the authors compare the professional qualifications and the type of integration of the Irish immigrants of older and more recent waves of immigrants. Recent immigrants have a much more diversified professional profile than their predecessors. Since 1985 high economic growth in Ireland has encouraged the return of the more qualified emigrants without slowing down the exodus of young, less qualified people.
English - pp. 257-280.
A. P. Lobo and J. J. Salvo, Population Division, New York City Department of City Planning, New York, U.S.A.
(IRELAND, UNITED STATES, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, MIGRATION TRENDS, OCCUPATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS, RETURN OF SKILLED WORKERS)
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51 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
1998, Vol. 36, N° 3
99.51.13 - RAIJMAN, Rebecca; SEMYONOV, Moshe.
Best of times, worst of times, and occupational mobility: The case of Soviet immigrants in Israel.
This article compares the incorporation of two groups of immigrants from the former Soviet Union into the Israeli labour market. The first group arrived in Israel in 1979 and the second arrived in 1990. The first period was characterized by a small number of immigrants (best of times), and the second period was characterized by mass migration (worst of times). Using data sets assembled by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, labour froce status of the two groups in Israel were examined four years after arrival (1983 and 1994, respectively). We found no difference in rate of labour force participation but considerable differences in the rate of occupational mobility between the two groups of immigrants. Specifically, the data reveal that immigrants were able to find employment in both periods. However, during periods of mass migration, recent immigrants had experienced higher rates of downward occupational mobility and greater loss of occupational status.
English - pp. 291-311.
R. Raijman, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Haifa, Israel.
(ISRAEL, COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDANT STATES, MIGRANT WORKERS, MIGRANT ASSIMILATION, OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY)
Ethnic return migration: An Estonian case.
This article examines return migration during the post World War II period of descendants of Estonians who emigrated to Russia at the end of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th centuries. A case return migration of West-Siberian Estonians from the Omsk province is used as an example. Structuration theory is adopted and return migration is treated as a behavioural norm that evolves, spreads and becomes embedded within an ethnic minority living outside its homeland. The research shows that in the case of West-Siberian Estonians, the main carrier of the migration behavioural norm is a generation. The behavioural norm of Estonians born in the 1910s-1920s has been return migration to Estonia, while the migration behaviour of the 1930s-1940s and the 1950s-1960s generations can be characterized by urbanization in West Siberia. Behind these inter-generational differences in migration behaviour can be found the different socialization of the generations, appearing largely on the level of practical consciousness. The results give reason to assume that ethnic return migration over a long period depends neither directly nor indirectly on momentary environmental changes, but rather on changes in people's values, habits, identity etc., which in the case of an ethnic minority living outside its historical homeland may be followed generation by generation.
English - pp. 313-335.
H. Kulu, Institute of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia.
(ESTONIA, RUSSIA, RETURN MIGRATION, ETHNIC MINORITIES, SOCIAL NORMS, GENERATION EFFECT)
99.51.15 - SIKLOS, Pierre L.; MARR, William.
The unemployment insurance compensation usage of Canada's immigrants in selected provinces, 1981-1988.
This paper explores the relationship between province of residence and the use of unemployment insurance (UI) among immigrants who landed in Canada during the period 1981-88. Use of a new data set, the Longitudinal Immigration Data Base, overcomes the restriction that other data sets are cross-sectional only in nature of do not identify birthplace. Our principal conclusion is that more generous UI benefits and poorer economic conditions than the Canadian average have a positive impact on the fraction of immigrants who receive UI. In addition, the province of residence has a separate effect on the likelihood of claiming UI, perhaps due to mobility costs. Because national immigration policies have a differential impact across provinces, it is understandable that provincial policy makers wish to have greater influence over federal immigration policies.
English - pp. 337-355.
P. L. Siklos and W. Marr, Department of Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
(CANADA, PROVINCES, IMMIGRANT WORKERS, UNEMPLOYMENT, INSURANCE, IMMIGRATION POLICY)
Migrant remittances in Greece and Portugal: Distribution by country of provenance and the role of the banking presence.
The article examines migrant remittances per country of origin of remittances for two emigration countries, Greece and Portugal. It also examines the relationship between remittances and the number of banks of the emigration country in the host country. From the analysis it appears that remmittances are concentrated in a small number of host countries - the US and Germany for the Greek case; France (mainly) and the US, Germany and Switzerland for the Portuguese case. Remittances followed similar trends, characterized by especially high growth during the 1970s and also during the second half of the 1980s. For both countries similar trends are observed regarding the relationship between remittances and remittances per migrant with the presence of banks of the home country at the important countries of origin of remittances. The growth of the banking presence in host countries had a significant impact on the growth of migrant remittances. However, remittances and migrant population are neither the unique nor main reason for banking expansion abroad. The common European financial and banking market is expected to play a major role in the banking presence abroad, particularly in European Union countries.
English - pp. 357-380.
S. Karafolas, Ministry of Development of Greece, Veria, Greece.
(GREECE, PORTUGAL, EMIGRANTS, REMITTANCES, PLACE OF ORIGIN, PLACE OF DESTINATION, BANKS)
International trade, labour migrations and capital flows: Long-term evidence for Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The historical links between international factor mobility and the extent of international trade are analysed over the long term for three high labour immigration countries (Australia, Canada and the United States) and one high labour emigration country (the United Kingdom). Time series data are used. Current international openness is assessed relative to this experience. International factor market integration has increased over time with trade liberalization, suggesting that traditional Hecksher-Ohlin thinking cannot be readily used to account for long-term trends in several important economies. Both trade and factor mobility have an episodic character that makes it misleading to assess current international openness only in terms of post-World War II economic trends.
English - pp. 383-408.
H. Clarke, School of Business, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, CANADA, UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM, LABOUR MIGRATION, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, CAPITAL MOVEMENTS)
Do migrants worsen the current account?.
There is some concern in Australia that immigration contributes to a widening of its current account deficit. Several cross-section studies have found that migrant households have a lower saving rate than the local born households. In conjunction with a well-known national income identity that the current account deficit is equal to the excess of investment over saving, such findings have been interpreted by many to mean that the migrants contribute to increasing the level of foreign liabilities at a rate greater than that by the local-born. However, it should be realized that immigration impacts on the economy in a complex way through various demand and supply side channels. Its direct and chain effects on such variables as the current account are spread over both the short and the long term. These effects are neither unidirectional nor always easy to isolate. The final outcome, which is the sum total of all the effects, is uncertain, and cannot be fully understood from a knowledge of cross-sectional saving performance alone. This article utilizes aggregate time series data to investigate the relationship between the current account and immigration. It finds that although an increase in net migration tends to raise the current account deficit, the longer term effect of immigration on the current account is negligible.
English - pp. 409-425.
M. A. Taslim, Department of Economics, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, IMMIGRATION, ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY, BALANCE OF PAYMENTS)
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