MOVEMENTS OF LABOR IN THE GLOBALIΖATION ERA: AN

Transcript:MOVEMENTS OF LABOR IN THE GLOBALIΖATION ERA: AN:
MOVEMENTS OF LABOR IN THE GLOBALIΖATION ERA: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE MOVEMENTS IN AN ENLARGING EUROPEAN UNION Christos Nikas 1. Introduction: The Framework of the Contemporary Movements of Labor Contemporary movements of labor differ significantly from those of previous periods. Classic migration schemes (intercontinental permanent emigration to the new countries, temporary emigration from the Mediterranean to the industrially developed countries of Northern Europe) seem to be outdated, since new characteristics seem to apply regarding the typology and the geographic characteristics of the contemporary movements of labor. The new framework consists of four new elements: The on-going process of globalization which influences international economic relations in general and therefore, their basic ingredient, migration. The new directives and characteristics of the contemporary migrations. The fact that the accelerating, in this period, progress of European Integration, is also influencing the movements of labor within the European Union. The collapse of the socialist system and the release of unprecedented (in terms of the recent history) push factors for emigration on behalf of the Eastern European countries which are in the process of economic transition. These four factors and how they influence the contemporary movements of labor will be thoroughly analyzed in this lecture. 2. Movements of Labor in the Globalization Era If we define globalization as a process of liberalization of economic transactions on a global scale, than it’s content must include by definition the free labor mobility, exactly as it includes the free mobility of goods, services and capital. In fact the worldwide trend, as globalization accelerates, is that migration will concern increasingly more and more countries of the world. It is indicative that in the 1970s, 39 countries of the world could be considered as immigration ones and 29 as emigration ones, in the 1990s, the corresponding numbers were 67 and 55 (a doubling), a development which can be partly attributed to the breaking down of the multi-ethnic states (USSR, Yugoslavia). More important, in the same period, the number of countries, which qualified, both as emigration and immigration ones increased from 4 to 15. The expansion of economic disparities and the fact that globalization is increasing rather than reducing them, intensified the pressures for larger scale migrations from poorer to richer countries. However, the double talking characterizing the rhetoric of contemporary liberalism and the ability of richer countries to arrange their international economic relations according to their interests led to the