Migration, Remittances and the Current Economic Crisis: Implications for Central and Eastern Europe

In recent years labour migration from Central and Eastern Europe has increased, resulting in a comparatively stable and high inflow of remittances into these countries. This briefing explores how the current economic crisis impacts on the development of migration and remittance flows into EU-10 and CIS countries. There is evidence for a reduction of migration movements in the short run and a likely decrease of remittance flows into this region

Migration, remittances and the current economic crisis: implications for Central and Eastern Europe

In recent years labour migration from Central and Eastern Europe has increased, resulting in a comparatively stable and high inflow of remittances into these countries. This briefing explores how the current economic crisis impacts on the development of migration and remittance flows into EU-10 and CIS countries. There is evidence for a reduction of migration movements in the short run and a likely decrease of remittance flows into this region.

Migration policy challenges at the new Eastern borders of the enlarged European Union : The Ukrainian case

With the enlargement of the European Union, new bordering countries emerged in the East which are characterized by comparatively low incomes and living standards, incomplete democratization and a number of latent political conflicts. Against this background it can be expected that migrations from these countries into the European Union will be growing, although a considerable part of the expected movements might be temporary or circular. Focussing on the Ukraine which shares borders with four European Union countries (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania) and which entertains migration relations with a number of European Union member states, this study identifies the new migration challenges at the Eastern borders of the enlarged European Union. The study reveals, that some European Union states are particularly addressed by Ukrainian labour migrations. Whereas high income differences and a lack of job opportunities in the home country trigger these movements in general, they are additionally based on traditional migration patterns and network relations in states such as Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech and the Slovak Republic. In other EU member states, such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, the demand for low-skilled labour in segmented markets, particularly in the nontraded goods sectors of the economy seems to have primarily supported the movement of Ukrainian labour migrants. Although the European Union has recently undertaken some efforts to develop common migration regulations, many of the proposed policy measurements are still indeterminate, particularly in the case of lowskilled labour movements.

Migration and Remittances in Macedonia : A Review

This paper explores migration movements and remittances patterns in Macedonia since independence and studies the migration policy challenges Macedonia will be likely to face after its entry into the EU. Concerning recent migration movements, considerable outflows from Macedonia are found as well as indications for a serious brain drain. Remittances to Macedonia–which are quite big–seem to constitute a relevant support for a number of households and can be expected to diminish the incidence of poverty. In the light of the EU accession process, the Macedonian government will have to introduce policies which enhance the opportunities of migration and remittances and reduce their risks.Macedonia, migration, remittances

Van Hove Singularities and Excited-State Quantum Phase Transitions in Graphene-like Microwave Billiards

We discuss solutions of an algebraic model of the hexagonal lattice vibrations, which point out interesting localization properties of the eigenstates at van Hove singularities (vHs), whose energies correspond to Excited-State Quantum Phase Transitions (ESQPT). We show that these states form stripes oriented parallel to the zig-zag direction of the lattice, similar to the well-known edge states found at the Dirac point, however the vHs-stripes appear in the bulk. We interpret the states as lines of cell-tilting vibrations, and inspect their stability in the large lattice-size limit. The model can be experimentally realized by superconducting 2D microwave resonators containing triangular lattices of metallic cylinders, which simulate finite-sized graphene flakes. Thus we can assume that the effects discussed here could be experimentally observed.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to appear in AIP Conference Proceedings, SYMMETRIES AND ORDER: ALGEBRAIC METHODS IN MANY BODY SYSTEMS, In honor of Professor Francesco Iachello on the occasion of his retirement, October 5-6, 2018 at Yale Universit

Determinants of internal migration in Kazakhstan

In this paper we analyze the determinants of interregional migration in Kazakhstan using quarterly panel data on region to region migration in 2008–2010. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study on interregional population flows in Central Asia. We find that migration is determined by economic factors, first of all income: People are more likely to leave regions where incomes are low and more likely to move to regions with a higher income level. Furthermore, mobility is larger between more populated regions. Distance has a strong negative impact on migration, indicating high migration related costs and risks. Assuming that high migration costs are caused by poor infrastructure, investments in public and social infrastructure should facilitate regional income convergence in Kazakhstan and improve living standards in depressed regions.Interregional migration; Kazakhstan; Gravity model

Economic Migration, Networks and Human Capital Transferability from the New European Borderlands. A Comparison of Five Eastern European Countries.

In the paper we use a unique new data set which has been collected in late 2006 in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to investigate the determinants for short term migration and its destination and duration patterns. Special attention is paid to the role played by personal networks to Eastern and Western destinations as well as investments into the transferability of human capital made by migrants prior to their stay abroad. We find that many determinants and migration patterns are quite similar across the CIS countries under consideration but exhibit some surprising differences to standard results from the migration literature, e.g. the prevalence of older migrants and the low importance of children in the migration decision process. Networks and human capital transferability are the main explaining factors for the migration and destination decision, a result proofing robust after correcting for endogeneity. We expect that migration is likely to grow in importance for some countries at the European Borderlands, as networks develop and the costs of migration decrease. However, our analysis reveals that fears of brain drain have little substance as the educational background of migrants is rather low. As a considerable number of migrants have invested into destination country specific human capital prior to migration, this improved human capital endowment can benefit both, migrants and the society of sending countries, alike. --Migration,human capital transferability,migration networks,cross-country study

Temporary Labour Migration and Welfare at the New European Fringe : A Comparison of Five Eastern European Countries

This paper investigates patterns and determinants of temporary labour migration in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine after EU enlargement in 2004. Migration incidence, destination choices and migration determinants differ between poorer and better-off countries. Although broadly in line with general results from the migration literature, we observe some peculiarities like the high share of older migrants and a modest role of family obligations in the migration decision process. We find no indication of a brain drain related to temporary migration in sending regions as the educational background of migrants is rather low. Migration is used as household insurance against unemployment and is associated with lower incidence of poverty. This finding remains robust when attempting to reduce the potential omitted variable bias with an instrumental variable approach.Temporary migration, welfare, Eastern Europe, cross-country study

Temporary Labour Migration and Welfare at the New European Fringe: A Comparison of Five Eastern European Countries

This paper investigates patterns and determinants of temporary labour migration in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine after EU enlargement in 2004. Migration incidence, destination choices and migration determinants differ between poorer and better-off countries. Although broadly in line with general results from the migration literature, we observe some peculiarities like the high share of older migrants and a modest role of family obligations in the migration decision process. We find no indication of a brain drain related to temporary migration in sending regions as the educational background of migrants is rather low. Migration is used as household insurance against unemployment and is associated with lower incidence of poverty. This finding remains robust when attempting to reduce the potential omitted variable bias with an instrumental variable approach.temporary migration, welfare, Eastern Europe, cross-country study

Migration and Population Change: Central and East Europeans in Germany are on the rise

Immigration to Germany has increased since 2009 and reached a preliminary high in 2013. Triggered by the comparably stable German economy and the abolition of transitional immigration restrictions, the majority of immigrants arrive from East European Union enlargement countries of 2004 and 2007. As a result of recent inflows, the immigrant population from Central and Eastern Europe in Germany clearly increased. Although many newcomers are comparatively well skilled, they were often not successful in transferring their skills to the German labour market