Utsatthetens olika ansikten: Begreppsöversikt och analys

This paper has two purposes: the first is to give an introduction to and an analysis of the most important concepts for describing social disadvantage in contemporary Sweden – poverty, social exclusion and the concept “utanförskap”. The latter is difficult to give a proper English translation. The closest may be “alienation”, but in a more general sense than the Marxist one. Besides the fact that all these concepts have been used and are being used within academia, they have also been the subject of political struggle. Both of these arenas are treated in the paper. The second purpose is to discuss these concepts in relation to the research project “Causes and consequences of social alienation” at the Institute for Futures Studies. Despite the name of the project we argue that the well established concept of “Social exclusion” is better suited to be used as an analytical tool within the project. While the concept of utanförskap/alientation in contemporary Swedish political debate lacks a proper theoretical definition, it has in the academic sphere first and foremost been used in a social psychological sense, rather than in analyses of external observable factors such as unemployment and economic disadvantage. It is the latter type of analyses that are the focus of the research project.Social disadvantage; Poverty; Social exclusion; Discrimination; Welfare

Multiplex Migration and Aspects of Precarization : Sedish Retirement Migrants to Spain and their Service Providers

Exploring the relations between different migrants who meet in Spain, this article discusses issuesof mobility, the globalization of care and service work, and precarization of labor and livelihoods,of crucial importance to welfare states and the future of work and retirement conditions inEurope. A mélange of migratory processes are scrutinized along a Swedish-Spanish North-Southaxis. It analyzes longstanding conditions on the Spanish labor market combined with neoliberalde- and reregulation of work and welfare with a bearing on spatial and social inequalities acrossthe European Union. From a relational approach, the authors examine conditions of Swedishretirement migrants in Spain and of the workers and entrepreneurs who provide care and servicesfor them. Social networks, intermediaries and subcontractors are crucial to organization ofmigration as well as work and services. Some of these workers, especially third country migrants,occupy precarious, and sometimes informalized, low skilled jobs in an ethnically segmented andgendered labor market.Funding agencies: Swedish Research Council [VR] [421-2012-675]; Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE) [FAS] [2012-0223]</p

The market value of trans-cultural capital. A case study of the market of provision for Scandinavian retirement migrants in Spain

The aim of this article is to analyse in depth the market of provision for Scandinavian retirement migrants in Spain answering the following research questions: a) what kind of goods and services are typically on offer in the market oriented to Scandinavian retirees?; b) what are the main characteristics of the people who work in this market?; and c) how can we explain the varying levels of success that different providers have? To deal with the last research question we use a Bourdieusian framework to seek out connections between the type(s) of capital that each provider possesses (economic, social, cultural) as well as her/his living conditions. Our results indicate that ‘trans-cultural capital’ (Triandafyllidou, A. 2009. “Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Activists in Europe: Transcultural Capital and Transcultural Community Building.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 32 (1): 93–116) a form of cultural capital defined as the ability to navigate between two cultures, is the key determinant that differentiates those who can economically benefit from retirement migration from those left behind. High levels of trans-cultural capital almost guarantee success in this market, but the absence of this form of capital among the vast majority of the local population explains the relatively small impact that retirement migration has on economic employment opportunities for locals. Our results are based on interviews with 80 Swedish retirement migrants, 120 workers and entrepreneurs who provide services for these migrants, and 20 experts in 24 villages on the Southern coast of mainland Spain as well as in the Canary Islands.This work was supported by Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE) [FAS Dnr 2012-0223.]; the Swedish Research Council [VR Dnr 421-2012-675]Peer reviewe