European Migration: Push and Pull

Abstract

In recent decades Europe has experienced periods of push and pull migration. Whereas pull migration has been seen as economically beneficial, there is concern that push migration will accelerate the employment crisis. This article qualifies this view by arguing that migration may erode institutional constraints. The theoretical framework behind this idea accounts for heterogeneous labor, monopoly union behavior, and unemployment with regulated migration. A review of empirical studies for Europe concludes that migration was largely beneficial in the past. New econometric investigations suggest that immigration from countries that are targeted for recruitment was strongly driven by business cycle effects (demand-pull) and chain migration (supply-push), but that the processes changed with the halt in recruitment in 1973. Contrary to general expectations, (lows of asylum seekers and refugees (supply-push) are also affected by relative economic conditions in the receiving countries.