Emerging Patterns of East-West Migration

Sted: FAFO

Researchers at Fafo: Jon Erik Dølvik (leader), May-Len Skilbrei, Jon Horgen Friberg and Guri Tyldum
Partners: Aadne Aasland at NIBR and Centre for Migration Research

Duration: 2008-2009

Funded by RCN (IMER programme). This is a cooperation between Fafo and NIBR in Oslo and Centre for Migration Studies in Warsaw. The project addresses the twofold dynamics of economic migration facing EU/EEA member states, focusing on the interrelation between immigration across the external borders of the EU/EEA area and the growing mobility within the European single market between new and old EU member states. The project consists of two PhD projects undertaken by Fafo researchers Jon Horgen Friberg (Polish migration to Norway - Understanding new patterns of mobility in an enlarged Europe) and Guri Tyldum (Understanding migration-decisions and outcomes in a framework of opportunity and risk) described below, as well as of analytical contributions by Dølvik, Skilbrei and Aasland.

• Polish migration to Norway - Understanding new patterns of mobility in an enlarged Europe

The overall purpose of this project is to analyze how individual strategies, transnational networks, institutional regulations and labour markets in sending and receiving regions work together in shaping new patterns of migration between Poland and Norway in the years after the EU-enlargement in 2004. Central focuses of research is how people make decisions about migration (to travel or stay, where to go, what kind of jobs, duration of stay, return and settlement), and how they interpret their experiences in different stages of the migration process; the consequences of migration in Polish communities; and the situation of Polish migrants in the Norwegian labour market and society. The study will be based on qualitative interviews with migrants (in Poland and Norway) and their employers, as well as quantitative surveys and register data from Poland and Norway collected in cooperation with the Centre for Migration Research at the University of Warsaw.

Researcher responsible for the sub-project: PhD candidate Jon Horgen Friberg

• Understanding migration-decisions and outcomes in a framework of opportunity and risk

This project focuses on labour migration from Western Ukraine into the European union. In the Ukrainian setting, potential migrants (in particular unskilled migrants) make the decision to migrate or stay behind, in a context of high gain and high risk. Among the migrants that do decide to leave, only some are able to reach their goals, whether this goal was a new life in a new country or the ability to earn money abroad. This PhD project aims at explaining differences in migration strategies and outcomes among migrants attempting to enter the European area, focussing on migration from Ukraine. The analysis is based on qualitative fieldworks in the city of Lviv and nearby rural and semi-rural areas.

Researcher responsible for the sub-project: PhD candidate Guri Tyldum