Privileged Japanese transnational families in Hawaii as lifestyle migrants

This study of privileged Japanese families in Hawaii revisits the claim that East Asian transnational families relocate overseas either to improve their well‐being or to enhance their status through their children's international education. Existing scholarship has focused mainly on the second pattern of status‐seeking migration, conceptualized as ‘education migration’. By employing Benson and O'Reilly's concept of ‘lifestyle migration’, I consider the less widely studied case of migration strategies designed to increase well‐being. The central difference between the two types of migrants lies in the way that migrant women construct their gendered identity through their transnational split‐household arrangement – a freer self (lifestyle migrants) or a sacrificial self (education migrants). In conclusion, I call for further research on this neglected topic and propose an important dimension to facilitate lifestyle migration, gender.     

Toward a critical sociology of lifestyle migration: reconceptualizing migration and the search for a better way of life

This article places under critical and reflexive examination the theoretical underpinnings of the concept of lifestyle migration. Developed to explain the migration of the relatively affluent in search of a better way of life, this concept draws attention to the role of lifestyle within migration, alongside understandings of migration as one stage within the ongoing lifestyle choices and trajectories of individual migrants. Through a focus on two paradigms that are currently at work within theorizations of this social phenomenon – individualization and mobilities – we evaluate their contribution to this flourishing field of research. In this way, we demonstrate the limitations and constraints of these for understanding lifestyle migration; engaging with long‐standing debates around structure and agency to make a case for the recognition of history in understanding the pursuit of ‘a better way of life’; questioning the extent to which meaning is made through movement, and the politics and ethics of replacing migration with mobilities. Through this systematic consideration, we pave the way for re‐invigorated theorizing on this topic, and the development of a critical sociology of lifestyle migration.     

Migration Planning Among Female Prospective Labour Migrants from Nepal: A Comparison of First‐Time and Repeat‐Migrants

As international female labour migration has increased, so too have efforts to prevent the exploitation of labour migrants. However, evidence to underpin prevention efforts remains limited, with little known about labour migrants’ migration planning processes. Using data from a survey of female prospective labour migrants from Nepal, this article compares socio‐demographics and migration‐planning processes between first‐time and repeat‐migrants. We identified several factors which might increase repeat‐migrants’ vulnerability to exploitation during the migration process, or obstruct their engagement in pre‐migration interventions: more rapid migration planning than first‐time migrants; lower involvement in community groups; and a perception that they already have the knowledge they need. Only one‐third of repeat‐migrants planned to go to the same destination and 42 per cent to work in the same sector as previously. With repeat‐migration a common livelihoods strategy, it is crucial that interventions are guided by evidence on the needs of both first‐time‐ and repeat‐migrants.     

Socio‐Cultural Incorporation of Skilled Migrants at Work: Employer and Migrant Perspectives

Migration studies have predominantly investigated the socio‐cultural incorporation of low‐skilled migrants and refugees, fuelled by concerns that these migrants may pose a burden on the state and a threat to social cohesion. Few studies have investigated the socio‐cultural incorporation of skilled migrants, perhaps assuming that they will fare well in a country of destination. Using the petroleum industry in Norway as a case study, this article examines the workplace as a key site of transmission of norms and values of the host society. We investigate firm initiatives for the socio‐cultural incorporation of skilled migrants and analyse the challenges that these workers experience in the workplace. We then discuss the roles of non‐state actors in the incorporation process and offer suggestions that may enhance the socio‐cultural incorporation of skilled migrants into the host society.     

Recession and Migration: A New Era for Labor Migration?

The current recession, the worst in a half century, is likely to affect international migration differently than past recessions. In 1973–1974 and 1981–1982, rising oil prices led to recessions in oil‐importing countries and economic booms in oil‐exporting countries, enabling some migrants to shift from bust to boom areas, as from Europe to the Middle East. The 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis did not spread globally, and was followed by a relatively quick resumption of economic and job growth that attracted migrant workers. The 2008–2009 recession is most severe in countries that had the most severe debt excesses, including the U.S., Spain, and Eastern Europe, and in countries most dependent on trade, including many Asian countries. New deployments of migrants are likely to slow, but what is not yet clear is how many migrants who lose jobs will remain abroad.     

Pre‐ and Post‐Migration Determinants of Socio‐Cultural Integration of African Immigrants in Italy and Spain

Using a unique dataset (N=2,014), we examine the pre‐ and post‐migration determinants of socio‐cultural integration among first‐generation immigrant groups in southern Europe: Moroccan and Senegalese migrants in Spain, and Egyptian and Ghanaian migrants in Italy. The results of the pooled and immigrant‐group specific regression analyses partly highlight the dominance of pre‐migration factors. Immigrants who were well‐educated and well‐informed prior to migrating and who migrate at a young age, achieve higher levels of socio‐cultural integration. Going against some hypotheses found in the literature, female gender and North African origin have a positive effect on socio‐cultural integration as opposed to male gender and sub‐Saharan origin. With regard to post‐migration factors, occupational status is the main economic determinant of socio‐cultural integration. Interestingly, being employed as such has no significant effect on socio‐cultural integration. This suggests that labour market segmentation and discrimination negatively impact upon socio‐cultural integration. The results also suggest that policies allowing immigrants to benefit from the human capital they carry across borders and achieve upward socio‐economic mobility are likely to enhance their socio‐cultural integration.     

Transnational family strategies and education in the contemporary Chinese diaspora

Abstract In this article I examine the role of education in the family strategies of recent East Asian migrants, contributing to intellectual debates around transnationalism and the contemporary Chinese diaspora. Empirically, the article provides an insight into the experiences and objectives of an often‐neglected group within studies of Chinese migration – students. I also attempt to understand the particular role that children play within a wider family project of capital accumulation. Drawing upon the work of Bourdieu, I emphasize the significance of different forms of capital in underpinning the spatial strategies of East Asian families. The research for this article was conducted in Vancouver, Canada and Hong Kong, involving in‐depth interviews with university students, recent graduates and their families. In conclusion, in the article I maintain that a geographically informed theory of ‘cultural capital’ and its relationship to the family unit can help elucidate recent patterns of trans‐Pacific, transnational mobility, moving beyond more common ‘political’ and ‘economic’ interpretations of this contemporary migration.     

Using reflexivity to explain variations in migration among the highly-skilled

ABSTRACT

Migration literature has traditionally distinguished between different motivations of migration, such as labour, family and newly also lifestyle migration, never fully exploring the background of these motivations. This article suggests that these different motivations may be explained by different modes of reflexivity as distinguished by Margaret Archer. Linking modes of reflexivity with migration motivations addresses two problems in current migration literature. First, it provides for practical application of reflexivity in explaining migration motivations, which has been missing so far. Second, the article advocates using psycho-social approach as opposed to more commonly adapted ethnical or class based explanations in understanding migration behavior, hence avoiding the potential trap of falling into the trap of methodological nationalism or classism. Through the interview with highly-skilled Estonian migrants it is shown that the reasons of migration among highly skilled are versatile and cannot be explained solely by their class background.     

Embedding or Uprooting? The Effects of International Labour Migration on Rural Households in Armenia

The impact of international labour migration on human wellbeing and socioeconomic development in communities of origin is an important yet understudied issue in contemporary migration research. This study examines whether men's labour migration from rural Armenia to Russia and other international destinations enhances the economic and social connections of the left‐behind households to their communities or, on the contrary, undermines those connections and encourages household members' own migration. Using survey data, it compares families of migrants and non‐migrants with respect to ownership of productive and major non‐productive assets in the community and women's non‐farm labour force participation, their social engagement in the village, and their desires to migrate abroad. The results of statistical tests indicate that men's migration is negatively associated with households' asset ownership and with women's non‐farm employment. The results for women's social engagement in their villages are less consistent. Finally, regardless of economic attachment, social engagement, and a host of other factors, wives of migrants were significantly more likely to wish to move abroad than women married to non‐migrants, and the difference in propensity to emigrate between migrants' and non‐migrants' wives increases with duration of husband's migration. We situate these findings in the context of Central Eurasia's international labour migration system and discuss their implications for future migration trends and for socioeconomic development of Armenia and similar settings.     

Intergenerational Transnationalism: 1.5 Generation Asian Migrants in New Zealand1

This paper explores some of the issues associated with the nature of contemporary transnationalism and the particular experiences and strategies of a specific cohort of migrants, the 1.5 generation. Based on a study of East Asian migrant adolescents to New Zealand, we argue that the experiences and strategies of this generation differ from those of their parents, the original decision‐makers in the migration process, as well as from the historical experiences of earlier migrants. There is an ambivalence (in‐betweenness) about settlement and attachment that raises some key questions about the assumptions of the immigration literature and of policy/political communities. The paper suggests that the 1.5 generation represents a particular group that deserves more attention in the migration and transnationalism literature.     

Understanding Transit Asylum Migration: Evidence from Serbia

Due to its geographic location and borders along the European Union (EU), in recent years, the Republic of Serbia has faced an increased number of irregular migrants from third‐world countries claiming asylum on their way into a western EU member state. Some of these migrants stay for a while in asylum centres in Serbia to rest or renew contacts. In order to explore the main socio‐demographic features of the study population, their migration history and intentions, a questionnaire‐based research was conducted in Banja Kovilja?a asylum centre. The results also give insights into the underlying question “how” and the role of social networks in migration. Most of asylum seekers are unmarried males at peak working age, from countries affected by war and political turmoil. The results indicate this is a transit migration where, besides fleeing to safety, economic status and migration networks have a significant impact on migration flows.     

Migrant family visits and the life course: interrelationships between age,capacity and desire

Migrant visits to the country of origin play a crucial role in transnational family cohesion and migrant well‐being; the research on them so far has focused primarily on the relationship between migrant integration and transnational engagement. In this article, I extend the discussion by adding a life course perspective to Carling and Hoelscher's (2013) framework for studying transnational activities, which incorporates capacity and desire. I explore whether age has an independent effect on migrants' family visits and how it relates to socio‐economic resources, migration status and transnational ties. Using data from a survey of Peruvian migrants around the globe (n=7,741), I show that migrants' stage in the life course has a partial effect on their propensity to travel through the interrelationship between age, capacity and desire. The findings show that the capacity and desire of migrants to visit their country of origin are particularly strong after reaching retirement age, suggesting a favourable combination of resources at later stages in life. However, whether this expresses a positive approach to ageing, or is a strategy to balance transnational family obligations and to postpone return decisions, remains open for future research.     

Rights of Foreign Workers and the Politics of Migration in South-East and East Asia

The issue of cross‐border migration in South‐East and East Asia is linked to the integration of regional, if not global, labour markets. The types of labour that are currently in demand have changed substantially since the 1990s in terms of (1) overall magnitude, (2) gender composition, and (3) increased diversification. This paper, however, focuses upon those workers classified as unskilled as they constitute numerically the largest and most vulnerable group. The challenges to provide adequate protection from, and prevention of, exploitative and abusive practices that seriously minimize the socio‐economic benefits for these workers are linked to migration policies and the issue of rights in the origin and destination countries. This paper's objective is to provide a broad outline of the emerging trends and issues revolving around contemporary cross‐border labour migration and the politics of migrants' rights in South‐East and East Asia, illustrated by the difficulties experienced with the ratification of the 1990 United Nations Convention on the Rights of All Migrants and their Families (ICMR). The data this paper is based upon were collected for a report commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with fieldwork carried out in seven countries located in the Asia Pacific region. It is argued that ratification of the ICMR is obstructed by politics and by a lack of political will. A rights‐based approach to the protection of migrant labour is thus related to a number of macro and micro level issues, revolving around development and practices of “good governance” in addition to interstate relations. This means that the promotion of migrants' rights requires a holistic approach addressing national and transnational issues in an era of increasing mobility across borders.     

Impacts of Return Migration on Rural U.S. Communities

Rural population loss is caused as much by low in‐migration as by high out‐migration, and for geographically disadvantaged nonmetropolitan counties in the United States, return migration plays a crucial role. This research captures impacts of return migrants on population, economy, and society in declining rural U.S. communities using a qualitative, multisited approach. Interviews conducted at high school reunions with rural returnees in their late 20s to late 40s show that the vast majority of returnees brought spouses and children back with them, increasing the short‐term and long‐term population. They also brought back much needed human capital, including education, job skills, and life experiences, and filled professional positions that are often hard to fill in rural communities. Entrepreneurial activities and self‐employment of many return migrants favorably affected rural economies by improving the employment base and expanding available services. Interviews show how decisions to move back were grounded in social relations that promoted civic engagement. While they mainly moved back for their children and their families, return migrants valued involvement in familiar social networks and the opportunities to make a difference in their rural hometowns.     

Historical writing on migration into the commonwealth Caribbean: A bibliographical review of the period c.1838‐c.1938

For almost a century after slave emancipation in the Commonwealth Caribbean a steady stream of immigrants entered the colonies, from such diverse places as India, Africa, Europe, China, North America, Syria and Lebanon. Historical scholarship on these migrants has concentrated heavily on the Indians, while almost completely neglecting the Syrian/Lebanese. Moreover, the main emphasis has been on the economic roles of the migrants within the dominant plantation sector. Recently, however, increasing attention has been focused on the non‐plantation sectors, while interesting and scholarly work is also emerging on the socio‐cultural aspects of immigrant society. Much research still needs to be done on migrants into the smaller Caribbean islands. Although small in number by comparison with those migrating to Guyana and Trinidad, a knowledge of their roles in and adaptation to their host societies will help us to understand more fully the impact of post‐emancipation migration on the Commonwealth Caribbean.     

Patriarchal bargains in short-term women's migration from Bangladesh

This paper looks at the migration of women from Bangladesh to the Middle East as short-term migrants, mainly for work in the domestic care sector as domestic workers, housekeepers, nannies, cooks, etc. This group accounts for about 15 per cent of the total short-term migration cohort. They face particular challenges around not only the precarity of their employment but also in navigating a series of patriarchal norms in both Bangladesh and the destination countries in the Middle East. The paper will build on the work of Deniz Kandiyoti and her seminal work on patriarchal bargains. This paper will explore the challenges women face in migrating to the Middle East: in their decision to migrate, their experiences abroad, and on return and reintegration into Bangladesh society and their home life, and how these are determined by a series of patriarchal bargains both in Bangladesh and the destination country.     

Labour Migration and Competitiveness in the European Union

The study is about the characteristics and phenomena of the labour migration that fluxes from, through, and into the East Central European region. The typical groups of migrant workers are emphasized, like the qualified employees, the commuters, the illegal workers, or the migrants according to the family's income optimization. The brain drain is analyzed as a problem of the absence of experts in the region. The tools and possibilities of migration policy are discussed, too, to find suggestions for the state how to turn the direction of migration to the desired way. Through this topic, the countries of destination are introduced with the competitive position of the eastern migrants. The study also reflects on the problem of asymmetric flux of labour out of the region.     

Grandparents on the move: a multilevel framework analysis to understand diversity in zero‐generation care arrangements in Switzerland

Among the various forms of transnational grandparenting is the engagement of the so‐called zero generation – the transnationally mobile parents of adult migrants – in caring for their grandchildren abroad. It constitutes a distinct kind of intergenerational solidarity within transnational families. By taking migrant families in Switzerland as a case in point, in this article we attempt to broaden the existing research by adopting a comparative, qualitative approach towards understanding the commonalities and differences of childcare organization involving grandparental support in European and non‐European transnational families. By taking into account the main objective and the temporality of grandparents' visits in Switzerland, we identify six different types of childcare arrangements. While these arrangements are shaped by the discriminatory Swiss migration regime, several other institutional, familial, and individual factors help to promote or impede them, or to change their dynamics. Thus, we introduce an innovative, multi‐level, analytical approach towards studying the various ways in which the parents of adult migrants of different nationalities take part in the transnational circulation of care.     

International labour migration and tacit knowledge transactions: a multi‐level perspective

Abstract There has been limited research on the role of international migration in the transfer of tacit knowledge, as opposed to skills and capital. In part, this results from lack of engagement between research on migration and that on knowledge and learning, even in debates concerning the relative importance of distanciated versus localized knowledge transfers. However, positioning international migration in relation to the literature on knowledge management opens up new perspectives on its role in the overall transfer of knowledge in the economy. Starting from the premise that all tacit knowledge transactions are socially situated, in this article I set out a multi‐level approach to understanding the role of migrants in knowledge exchanges. The national, the urban and the firm constitute key levels in this study, although these are understood as interfolded rather than as discrete sites of analysis.     

Women migrants in the global economy: a global overview (and regional perspectives)

ABSTRACT

Huge advances have been made in deepening and expanding our knowledge of gendered migration over the last decades in both theoretical and methodological terms. Empirically it is, however, still the case that North–South migration is at the basis of most theorisations, leaving the characteristics of South–South migration at the margins. In this paper we, therefore, shift the focus to intra- and trans-regional migration in a South–South context in exploring what this means for women migrants. While feminist scholars have highlighted care and the ways in which migration challenges social reproduction as an important issue, mainstream approaches continue to focus predominantly on the ‘productive’ lives of migrant workers. With migration theories still largely drawing on the experience of South–North migration, there continues to be relatively little understanding of South–South migration’s gender dynamics, despite the fact that many of the highly feminised, yet hyper-precarious, migration flows occur intra-regionally.