International Labour Migration 2400-ICU2ILM
The aim of the course is to present and to discuss a broad range of issues related to international labour migration. Migration is one of the most prominent traits of contemporary world as it was clearly indicated by the term ‘age of migration’. All regions of the world experience massive flows of different kind – from settlement migration and labour mobility through transit migration to forced migration of asylum seekers and refugees. Immigrants have become a structural component of modern societies, especially in more developed countries, and are a subject of interest on various scientific disciplines (economics, sociology, political sciences). The importance of migration became clearly evident during the so called refugee or migration crisis (2014-2015) but it is commonly discussed in the context of long-term socio-economic developments (e.g. migration and ageing, migration-development nexus etc.)
During the course an emphasis will be put on the economic discourse on international labour mobility, particularly on modelling of migratory behaviour. Different approaches will be presented and discussed extensively which attempt to explain migratory behaviour on various levels of aggregation. We will focus on the labour migration but students are welcomed to use economic tools to discuss / analyse other forms of mobility.
The course consists of a series of lectures, self-study of the literature and presentations to be prepared individually and presented during the last lecture.
By the end of the course students are expected to:
- know how migration / mobility is defined, measured and conceptualized
- be familiar with major historical and recent trends in migration
- be able to identify major migratory systems
- be able to explain observed migratory behaviour with use of economic methods and according to most influential theoretical frameworks
- be able to relate them to other socio-economic processes.
Structure of the class:
Lecture 1. Migration and mobility - basic concepts
Lecture 2. Basic facts on migration and mobility (I): past and present of main migration systems
Lecture 3. Basic facts on migration and mobility (II): trends and features of contemporary labour mobility
Lecture 4. The economic theory and migration – the neoclassical approach (I): H-O-S framework
Lecture 5. The economic theory and migration - the neoclassical approach (II): critics and extensions
Lecture 6. A structural approach to migration and mobility: world systems theory
Lecture 7. A structural approach to migration and mobility: dual labour market theory
Lecture 8. Migration decision-making (I) – microeconomic approach to labour mobility (human capital theory)
Lecture 9. Migration decision-making (II) – the New Economics of Labor Migration
Lecture 10. Migration as a socio-economic process - a synthesis
Lecture 11. Impacts of migration on sending countries (I) – labour market effects, monetary and social remittances
Lecture 12. Impacts of migration on receiving economies (I): labour market effects
Lecture 13. Impacts of migration on receiving economies and societies (II): migration and the contemporary welfare state
Meetings 14th and 15th: Presentations' sessions
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KW01, KW02, KW03, KW04, KW05, KU01, KU02, KU03, KU04, KU05, KU06, KU07, KK01, KK02, KK03
Assessment criteria
Requirements necessary for receiving a course credit:
- active participation in lectures (2 absences allowed)
- preparation of a presentation (in groups of max 2 persons) - to be presented during one of two last meetings (topic and outline should be submitted by students in advance and accepted by the lecturer)
- positive outcome of an essay-type exam (end-term exam) based on content of the class and required readings.
Bibliography
Beine, M., Docquier, F., and H. Rapoport (2001). Brain drain and economic growth: theory and evidence, Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 64, No. 1.
Borjas G. (1999). Immigration and Welfare Magnets, Journal of Labor Economics 17 (4).
Borjas, G. (1994). The Economics of Migration, Journal of Economic Literature 32.
Castles, S., Miller, M. (2009). The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World. London: Palgrave.
de Haas, H. (2009). Mobility and Human Development, Human Development Research Paper 2009 (01).
Guilmoto, Ch., Sandron, F. (2001).The Internal Dynamics of Migration Networks in Developing Countries. Population: An English Selection 13(2): 135-164.
Hammar, T., Brochmann, G., Tamas, K., Faist, T. (eds.) (2001). International Migration, Immobility and Development. Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Oxford: Berg.
Hatton, T.J. Williamson, J.G. (2002). What Fundamentals Drive World Migration? NBER Working Papers 9159, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Massey, D. (1999). Why Does Migration Occur? A Theoretical Synthesis, in: Hirschman, Ch., Kasinitz, P., DeWind, J. (ed.), The Handbook of International Migration: The American Experience, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Massey, D., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A., Taylor, E. (1999). Worlds in Motion. Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
OECD (2018 and other years). International Migration Outlook. Paris: OECD.
Piore, M.J. (1979). Birds of Passage. Migrant Labor and Industrial Societies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Piore, M.J. (1986). The Shifting Grounds for Immigration, The Annals of the American Academy 485.
Portes, A. (ed.) (1995). The Economic Sociology of Immigration. Essays on Networks, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Schierup, C.-U., Hansen, P., Castles, S. (2006). Migration, Citizenship, and the European Welfare State. An European Dilemma, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stark, O. (1991). The Migration of Labour, Cambridge: Basil Blackwell.
Stark, O., Bloom, D.E. (1985). The new economics of labor migration, American Economic Review 75.
Stark, O., Helmenstein, C., and A. Prskawetz (1997). A brain gain with a brain drain, ECOLET 55.
UNDP (2009). Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development. Human Development Report 2009, New York: UNDP (available on-line: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2009/)
Wallerstein, I. (1997). The capitalist world–economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: