The Common Nordic Labour Market at 50

Labour, 1998

The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether variations in mobility grants have affected internal migration in Sweden. The paper also contains an exploration of how changing labour market conditions influence the migratory behaviour of the unemployed in comparison with other individuals. The results indicate that total migration flows respond to changes in labour market conditions in accordance with predictions from economic theory. This finding seems mainly to stem from the migratory behaviour of the unemployed. Furthermore, non-matching migration subsidies at the levels employed are not found to be migration enhancing.

2014

The paper focuses on examining cross-border labour mobility between the neighbouring countries looking for the answer to the question whether cross-border labour mobility can pursue win-win expectations of increasing international labour movement after the EU eastward enlargement. The aim of the paper is to outline differences in the socio-demographic and employment characteristics of Estonian people who have worked in a neighbouring country – Finland and Sweden (East-West mobility) and Latvia or Russia (East-East mobility). The results of the study show that the possible consequences of cross-border labour mobility are twofold. Cross-border labour mobility can support economic development of both source and target country but also generate some threats of brain waste taking into account the sharp increase of lower-skilled jobs of people who are working in economically well-developed neighbouring countries.

IZA Journal of Development and Migration

Migration policies can have a strong impact on the selection of immigrants, who in turn can affect the host country's innovation development. This paper examines the effects of the liberalization of migration on the skill composition of immigrants from the EU-15 to Sweden after the inception of the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1994. We examine its effect on immigrants' education levels and probability of becoming an inventor, comparing immigrants from the EU-15 with those from other developed regions in difference-indifferences regressions. The results show that the liberalization of migration had a negative effect on the educational profile of new EU-15 immigrants in the short run, but there is no such effect in the long run. Moreover, the liberalization of migration has no systematic effect on the EU-15 immigrants' probability of becoming an inventor in neither the short nor the long run. These patterns are consistent with the theoretical implication that reduction in migration costs associated with the EEA mainly stimulated migration from the lower end of the education distribution.

1998

This paper analyses the role which migration has in augmenting the likelihood of employment, by examining employment status of migrants and nonmigrants at the end of the migration interval on the basis of microdata. The paper continues the analysis of the paper by Tervo (1997) which examined the impact of unemployment on labour force mobility. Together these two papers address the role which interregional migration has as a labour market equilibrating mechanism. The empirical analysis is concerned with the situation of Finland. The data is taken from the Finnish longitudinal census data file from which a 1% sample has been taken. It contains data gathered at the censuses 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995. The analysis is directed at those individuals belonging to the labour force, in which case the sample size is about 20 - 22 000, depending on the time period. The analysis deals with long-distance migration which is defined as occurring where an individual is resident in a diff...

Labor: Supply & Demand, 2000

The purpose in this paper is to survey the course of immigration into Denmark and research and studies related to the problems encountered in this area. The first part of the paper describes the actual flows of migrants in the most recent decades. The directly job-related part of migration cannot be identified precisely. A survey of research results indicate net migration flows towards other OECD countries is sensitive to cyclical indicators and thus mainly labour market related. The paper goes on to survey immigration policy and available evidence regarding the labour market integration of both 1. and 2. generation immigrants. Immigrants and refugees are recorded on average with much higher unemployment and much lower labour market participation than Danish citizens. The status in the late 1990s points to the pressing need for policy initiatives to improve this situation. Finally, the paper summarizes available results regarding the impact on public finances from immigration.

Ever since the Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community in 1958, including the free movement of workers within its borders, the European Union (EU) has been a laboratory for the development and management of policy tools aimed at creating Single EU Labour Market. Progress over the past fifty years has been gradual but often innovative. It has oscillated between a functionalist approach to face unintended or unexpected consequences of free movement; and a finalist political approach based on the vision of an integrated Union with a common set of laws and regulations governing workers’ protection. Interestingly, this process has been possible without a substantial transfer of competences from the Member States to the EU institutions so far. It has often involved not only EU Member States, but also the members of the European Economic Area and candidate States, and even certain neighbouring partner countries. This note provides a quick review of the main tools developed to frame this process.

2015

The aim of this paper is to outline differences in the socio-demographic and employment characteristics of Estonian people who have worked in a neighbouring country – Finland,

2009

Labor Mobility and the Integration of European Labor Markets This paper outlines the importance of labor mobility for the improvement in allocating and distributing economic resources. We are faced with an increasing lack of skilled workers and a growing tendency of unemployment amongst the low-skilled. A central political objective for the future will not only be education policy but also the recruitment of high-skilled workers from international and European labor markets. Additional skilled labor increases well-being and reduces inequality. However, internal European barriers to mobility are difficult to break through. An improved transparency of the European labor market, a greater command of languages and a standardization of the social security system can strengthen mobility. The key to mobility is in promoting the integration of international workers in the European migration process, which can be strengthened through circular migration. The European "blue card" initiative and the opening of labor markets to foreign graduates who have been trained in Europe could set a new course.

LABOUR, 2013

European economies display large variations in unemployment rates across regions as well as between education groups. Insufficient labour mobility is widely believed to contribute to higher regional disparities and overall unemployment, but few studies have compared mobility responses of different education groups to regional shocks. This paper employs administrative registers covering the entire Norwegian population to compute annual time series from 1994 to 2004 of migration flows and regional labour market conditions by educational level for 90 travel-to-work areas. We find that regional disparities in unemployment rates are decreasing in education level, whereas the response of migration flows to regional unemployment shocks is increasing in education level. The results suggest that low regional mobility of low-educated workers may contribute to higher regional disparities and higher overall unemployment among the low educated.

2013

Nordic cooperation Nordic cooperation is one of the world's most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving

IOM, 2012

A short description on phases of intemal migration and industrial changes in Finland is given from a historical perspective. The main part of the article concentrates on special features of intemal migration that are related to the specialisation of the labour markets in the l 990s. Three interconnected developments are anal ysed-intemal migration and growth of urban centres with well-developed high-tech industries, unemployment, and the relationship of intemal and intemational migration. Urban centres with developed high-tech industries have strengthened their edge over others in developing a new economy of network societies. The l 990s are also characterised by increased migration of the unemployed. The trend started during the depression in the l 990s, and seems to have continued ever since. Intemal and intemational migration are related to each other. The largest urban centres play an important role as linking points of these two forms of migration. Intemal migration can be seen...

Social Science Research Network, 2015

2005

European Labour Mobility: Challenges and Potentials * European Union economies are pressed by (i) a demographic change that induces population ageing and a decline of the workforce, and (ii) a split labour market that is characterized by high levels of unemployment for low-skilled people and a simultaneous shortage of skilled workers. This lack of flexible high-skilled workers and the ageing process has created the image of an immobile labour force and the eurosklerosis phenomenon. In such a situation, an economically motivated immigration policy at the European level can generate welfare improvements. A selective policy that discourages unskilled migrants and attracts skilled foreign workers will vitalize the labour market, foster growth and increase demand for unskilled native workers. The paper summarizes the available economic insights, and suggests (i) the need to harmonize the single-country migration policies across Europe and (ii) that the European Union needs to become an active player on the international labour markets.