Ethnic Minority–Majority Unions in Estonia

Ethnic minority–majority unions—also referred to as mixed ethnic unions—are often seen as the ultimate evidence of the integration of ethnic minorities into their host societies. We investigated minority–majority unions in Estonia, where ethnic minorities account for one-third of the total population (Russians 26%, followed by Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Finns and other smaller groups). Using data from the 2000 Estonian census and regression models, we found that Slavic women are less likely to be in minority–majority unions than are members of other minority groups, with Russians being the least likely. Finns, who are culturally most similar to the Estonian majority population, are the most likely to form a union with an Estonian. For ethnic minority women, the likelihood of being in minority–majority unions is highest in rural areas and increases over generations, with third-generation immigrants being the most likely. Estonian women are most likely to have a minority partner when they or their parents were born abroad and when they live in urban areas. Our findings suggest that both the opportunity to meet potential partners and openness to other ethnic groups are important factors for understanding the dynamics of minority–majority unions

Illegal Immigration, Deportation Policy, and the Optimal Timing of Return

Countries with strict immigration policies often resort to deportation measures to reduce their stocks of illegal immigrants. Many of their undocumented foreign workers, however, are not deported but rather choose to return home voluntarily. This paper studies the optimizing behavior of undocumented immigrants who continuously face the risk of deportation, modeled by a stochastic process, and must decide how long to remain in the host country. It is found that the presence of uncertainty with respect to the length of stay abroad unambiguously reduces the desired migration duration and may trigger a voluntary return when a permanent stay would otherwise be optimal. Voluntary return is motivated by both economic and psychological factors. Calibration of the model to match the evidence on undocumented Thai migrants in Japan suggests that the psychological impact of being abroad as an illegal alien may be equivalent to as large as a 68% cut in the consumption rate at the point of return

How Migration Motives Change over Migration Distance: Evidence on Variation across Socio-economic and Demographic Groups

Niedomysl T. How migration motives change over migration distance: evidence on variation across socio-economic and demographic groups, Regional Studies. Migration researchers have long known that the motives for changing place of residence vary over migration distance. Typically, short-distance moves are regarded as motivated by housing considerations and longer-distance moves primarily by employment considerations. Using a large-scale survey on migration motives, this paper explores how migration motives change over migration distance. Particular attention is paid to variations across socio-economic and demographic groups. The results show that the housing- versus employment-driven migration dichotomy, over short and long distances, respectively, is still somewhat valid, though the present findings give a much more nuanced interpretation. The paper reveals considerable variation in migration motives, not only over migration distance, but also particularly in relation to migrant socio-economic and demographic characteristics. [image omitted] Niedomysl T. Comment les motifs de migration varient en fonction de la distance: des preuves de la variation des groupes socio-professionnels et demographiques, Regional Studies. Ceux qui font des recherches sur la migration savent depuis longtemps que les raisons qui expliquent la migration varient en fonction de la distance. Il n'est pas a surprendre que l'on considere que la migration a courte distance s'explique par la demande de logement et que la migration a plus grande distance s'explique essentiellement par la demande d'emploi. A partir d'une enquete a grande echelle sur les motifs de migration, le present article examine comment les motifs de migration varient en fonction de la distance. On prete une attention particuliere a la variation des groupes socio-professionnelles et demographiques. Les resultats laissent voir que la dichotomie qui se pose - a savoir, la migration, a courte ou a grande distance, est-elle determinee par le logement ou par l'emploi? - reste plutot valable, bien que les preuves actuelles fournissent une interpretation beaucoup plus nuancee. L'article laisse voir d'importantes variations des motifs de migration, non seulement en fonction de la distance, mais aussi par rapport aux caracteristiques socio-professionnelles et demographiques des migrants. Migration Motifs Distance Donnees observees Suede Niedomysl T. Wie sich Migrationsmotive mit der Migrationsdistanz andern: Belege fur Abweichungen zwischen verschiedenen soziookonomischen und demografischen Gruppen, Regional Studies. Unter Migrationsforschern ist seit langem bekannt, dass sich die Motive fur einen Wohnortswechsel mit zunehmender Migrationsdistanz andern. In der Regel gelten Ortswechsel uber kurze Entfernungen als durch Aspekte der Wohnung motiviert und Ortswechsel uber langere Entfernungen als vornehmlich durch Arbeitsfaktoren verursacht. In diesem Beitrag wird mit Hilfe einer umfangreichen Erhebung uber Migrationsmotive untersucht, wie sich die Motive fur eine Migration mit der Migrationsdistanz andern. Hierbei wird insbesondere auf Abweichungen zwischen verschiedenen soziookonomischen und demografischen Gruppen geachtet. Aus den Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass die Dichotomie der wohnungsbedingten Migration uber kurze Entfernungen und der arbeitsbedingten Migration uber langere Entfernungen weiterhin eine gewisse Gultigkeit besitzt, wobei aber die vorliegenden Resultate eine weitaus nuanciertere Interpretation ermoglichen. Es zeigen sich erhebliche Schwankungen hinsichtlich der Migrationsmotive, die nicht nur mit der Migrationsdistanz, sondern insbesondere auch mit den soziookonomischen und demografischen Merkmalen der Migranten zusammenhangen. Migration Motive Distanz Erhebungsdaten Schweden Niedomysl T. Como cambian los motivos de migracion con la distancia de migracion: ejemplos de variacion entre grupos socioeconomicos y demograficos, Regional Studies. Los investigadores sobre migracion saben desde hace mucho tiempo que los motivos de cambiar de residencia varian segun la distancia de migracion. En general se considera que los desplazamientos de cortas distancias estan motivados por cuestiones de vivienda y los de largas distancias sobre todo por cuestiones de empleo. Con ayuda de un estudio a gran escala sobre los motivos de migracion, en este articulo analizamos como cambian los motivos de migracion en funcion de las distancias. Prestamos especial atencion a las variaciones entre grupos socioeconomicos y demograficos. Los resultados indican que la dicotomia de la migracion motivada por la vivienda frente a la motivada por el empleo, en cortas y largas distancias respectivamente, todavia tiene cierta validez, si bien los presentes resultados dan una interpretacion mucho mas exhaustiva. En este articulo mostramos que hay una variacion considerable en los motivos de migracion, no solamente con respecto a la distancia de migracion sino tambien en particular con relacion a las caracteristicas socioeconomicas y demograficas de los migrantes. Migracion Motivos Distancia Datos de estudios SueciaMigration, Motives, Distance, Survey data, Sweden,