Poverty, networks, resistance: The economic sociology of Roma migration for begging

Abstract

AbstractMigration for begging and informal street work in Western Europe has become a common livelihood strategy in many Romanian Roma communities, and over the last decade, Scandinavia has emerged as an important new destination. Using a combination of quantitative survey data on Romanian migrant beggars and street workers in Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen, and qualitative fieldworks in Scandinavia and Romania, this article presents a framework for studying migration for begging that goes beyond widespread narratives rooted in either culture or poverty. I argue that migration for begging is a purposeful economic adaptation, embedded in three distinct sets of social phenomena. First, the social and economic processes of marginalization of Roma communities in post-socialist Romania can help explain the motive for migration in terms of poverty and lack of alternative options. Second, the structure of social capital within Roma households and communities can help explain why they are able to engage in transnational migration under extremely difficult conditions despite lacking economic and educational resources. Third, ‘oppositional’ Roma identities can help to explain why some are willing to engage in ‘transgressional’ activities that others perceive as shameful, thus allowing the exploitation of marginal economic resources in times of economic hardship.