Inequality and migration: what different European patterns of migration tell us

Abstract

Migration flows are often thought of as stemming from a reserve army of labour from developing countries, putting downward pressure on wages of low‐qualified workers in developed countries. This paper analyses the major determinants of migration flows among European countries and stresses their diversity through a combination of labour market factors in receiving countries and network effects attached to countries of origin. The first part of the paper describes the changes in the dynamics of European migration flows. The second part estimates a reduced form of model of the relative determinants of migration flows, distinguishing between labour market and network effects. The results of these estimations lead to a distinction among various ‘regimes of labour migration’ among European countries. These are briefly compared with the pattern of migration observed in the US.