ISSN 2300 - 1682

Central and Eastern European Migration Review

Issue edited by: Dariusz Stola

Articles

Abstract  

On the one hand, research shows that immigrant entrepreneurs find support for their business among other immigrants, within immigrant enclaves. On the other hand, the economic theory of industrial organisation clearly suggests that business concentration is detrimental to profits, which in turn creates disincentives for potential newcomers. This article aims to find an answer to this conundrum. It asks three questions: is business competition present at all among immigrants? If yes, then is it the market mechanism that reconciles the existence of immigrant business solidarity with immigrant business competition? And what determines the fine line between generating positive and negative externalities for other immigrant businesses? Through an analysis of migration networks among immigrant businessmen, this research concludes that both processes might in fact occur. The factor that determines whether it is one or the other is the specificity of the industry in which a given business operates.

Abstract  

Labour migration is discussed here in the context of the transformation of the Russian labour market. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of changes in the labour market and to the way these changes affect the structure of employment for migrant workers, their inclusion in local labour markets, and the prevalence of illegal and informal employment. Of central importance is the analysis of migrants’ vertical occupational mobility. It is concluded that the education, qualifications, and professional knowledge of migrants are not in demand in the Russian labour market; the typical path of migrants in the labour market is downward labour mobility – occupying a position that is worse than the one they previously held in their home country. Upward labour mobility is extremely rare and characteristic almost exclusively of unskilled workers.

Abstract  

The paper considers applying post-imperial approach to contemporary migration processes in the post-Soviet area. It presents arguments for and against application of the post-imperial perspective to migration studies on post-Soviet states and tries to answer the question whether we can actually label migrants coming from the CIS states to Russia as post-imperial migrants. Domination of Russia among destination countries for migrants from the CIS, special rights they enjoy comparing to citizens of ‘far-abroad’ countries (e.g. visa free regime), Soviet legacy of infrastructural, cultural, political and economic ties between the sending and receiving countries partially justify a post-imperial approach. However, motivation of migrants in the post-Soviet territory being a continuous area may differ significantly from the one of ‘classic’ post-imperial migrants coming to their former metropolis from overseas. Moreover, recent changes on the post-Soviet migration map may be an evidence of the decreasing role of post-imperial factors in determining directions of migration flows and of growing significance of the demand factor.

Abstract  

This article aims at considering the question whether various migration theories, especially in the fields of demography and sociology, could be useful in the analysis of migration from Poland to Australia in the 1980s. The author is not able to propose definitive answers, however he suggests that the division between political and economic migration, commonly used by researchers, does not provide an effective instrument for describing this specific social group. The article shows that the majority of Poles who did have an official refugee status did not in fact fit well into the definition of a refugee. Meanwhile, among the migrants who did not obtain the refugee status, one could find many active members of the Solidarity movement and also people persecuted by the Polish authorities. Within the research on migration motives, migration transfer, adaptation processes and, to some extent, political activity of Polish migrants in Australia, the author found the following models most useful and applicable: various social network theories, Oded Stark's relative deprivation model, the model of decision-making process developed by Gerald Haberkorn or the concept of Oddyssean and Rubicon refugees by Danièle Joly. None of these theories can provide a universal tool which could allow the researcher to cover all methodological problems related to the subject of Polish migration to Australia between 1980 and 1989 – especially in the area of understanding migrants’ public activity in the new country.

Abstract  

The study of integration policies at the national level of individual countries has been dominant for a long time in Europe. There has been an outstanding set of comparative studies of national integration policies of immigrants. In recent years studies of integration process at the level of cities and municipalities have gained growing interest among researchers. While the European Union started its integration policy in 2003 multi-level governance in this area has become clearly relevant. In this model all three levels: European, national and local have started to play an important role in the development of frames and goals for the European approach to integration of third country nationals. This article aims at presenting the growing role of local level in integration policies and cooperation of cities’ networks with European institutions. In the new model of governance cities have started to evaluate and exchange their practical knowledge in integration policies with the European institutions by bypassing the national level.

Abstract  

This paper explores a range of health care seeking actions adopted by Polish migrants living in London. It is based on the in-depth interviews with 62 Polish migrants who resided in London in 2007 and 2008. The study reflects experiences of a diverse group of participants encompassing individuals of different ages, family circumstances and employment statuses. It uncovered a number of actions such as avoiding contact with any health services, self-medication, utilising Polish private doctors in London, and accessing public health services in Poland and London. These services and strategies were often used successively, concurrently or interchangeably depending on individual’s assessment of their situation and circumstances at the time of experiencing a particular medical need. The research uncovered a prominence of transnational health care seeking practices as most participants continued to access at least some form of health care in Poland. It also noted the impact of the length of stay, knowledge of English and labour market position on patterns of health care use. Engagement with the British National Health Service (NHS) was characterised initially by lack of knowledge of the system resulting in meandering between different institutions. There was also a sense of cultural unease and mismatch of expectations characterising doctor-patient encounters. However, the pathways of access and attitudes towards the NHS began to change as migrants learned their way through the English health care system. This underlines an importance of taking into account a longitudinal dimension in studies of migrant health care seeking behaviour.

Book Reviews

Extract  

Whereas Polish migration to the UK has for many years now attracted scholarly and literary attention, the unprecedented post-2004 influx of Poles to Ireland has been addressed to a lesser degree. Given the recent shift of the Irish economy ‘from boom to bust’, New mobilities in Europe emerges at most perfect time. The volume will be a touchstone for those interested in European – particularly recent East-West – mobility, labour migration, migrant identities as well as the application of qualitative longitudinal studies. Written in an engaging way, it will be a compelling read not only for researchers, but also for students and wider non-academic public.

Extract  

Remus Gabriel Anghel’s book takes on a Homeric task of introducing its readers to the less- known and more complex aspects of Romanian migration. With wordsmanship and building on a rich empirical material, Anghel engages in exploring the experiences of mobile Romanians in Western Europe. Anghel finely tunes his analysis to explore the motivations of the Romanians for seeking work abroad, their migration stories, their understanding of a changing status from often unauthorised migrants to legal residents and to European citizens; their relationship with “home” and the “new home”; and, their making sense of their changing social status in the new society.   The book is comparative in purpose and sophisticated in design, aiming to contrast the experiences of the Romanians who migrated to different destinations in Europe- Italy and Germany – under different legal regimes.

Extract  

Książka Izabeli Szczygielskiej wpisuje się w popularny w europejskich studiach migracyjnych – jednak niezbyt licznie reprezentowany w Polsce – nurt badań nad migracjami kobiet. Jak sama Autorka zauważa na stronie 56, płeć była czynnikiem pomijanym w początkowych badaniach nad migracjami. Podmiotem procesu migracyjnego byli młodzi mężczyźni, natomiast temat kobiet był podejmowany jedynie na marginesie.

Extract  

The aim of this publication is to contribute towards the contemporary discourse on migration policy and to put it in a wider, historical and international context. The point of departure for the analysis is to what extent the increase in international migration flows is to be seen as ‘undesirable’. The main thesis of the book is that advantages of migration outweigh its disadvantages. As Goldin, Cameron and Balarajan show, migration laid out foundations for major civilisations, it links labour markets, has a positive impact on the global economy and contributes to social diversity in receiving states. Moreover, as the authors predict, in the coming decades the West will need migrants more than ever before. Published in the years of the economic crisis, the books tries to allay the fears of the increased immigration in contemporary societies, as well as to inform the reader about the misconceptions and fears about the consequences of immigration. It offers a broad analysis of migration movements, put in a long-term historical perspective.