Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies
Volume 29, Number 4, July 2003
Irena Kogan
Ex-Yugoslavs in
the Austrian and Swedish Labour Markets: the significance of the period of
migration and the effect of citizenship acquisition
[Abstract]
Sako Musterd
Segregation and integration: a contested relationship [Abstract]
Joanne Hughes and Caitlin
Donnelly
Community relations in Northern Ireland: a shift in attitudes?
[Abstract]
Monder Ram, David
Smallbone, David Deakins and Trevor Jones
Banking on ‘break-out’: finance and the development of ethnic minority
businesses [Abstract]
Eva Østergaard-Nielsen
The democratic deficit of diaspora politics: Turkish Cypriots in Britain and
the Cyprus issue [Abstract]
Larissa Remennick
Career continuity among immigrant professionals: Russian engineers in Israel
[Abstract]
Christina Abuk
Urbanisation’s long shadows: Mariama Bâ’s So Long A Letter
[Abstract]
Alejandro I. Canales
Mexican labour migration to the United States in the age of globalisation
[Abstract]
Irena Kogan
Ex-Yugoslavs in
the Austrian and Swedish Labour Markets: the significance of the period of
migration and the effect of citizenship acquisition
Abstract
This paper assesses the labour market
integration of ex-Yugoslav immigrants in Austria and Sweden in terms of three
relevant structural characteristics of the two societies: immigration policies,
labour markets and welfare regulations. The Austrian 1996 micro-census and the
Swedish 1997 labour force survey data are utilised to explore the labour market
attainment of ex-Yugoslav citizens in Austria and Sweden in terms of four
outcomes: labour force participation, unemployment, economic sector
concentration and occupational status. The labour market situations of pre-1973
immigrants in Sweden and Austria were found to be quite similar, while more
recent immigrants to Sweden show distinctly lower activity rates and higher
unemployment risks as compared to natives than do their counterparts who went to
Austria. If successful in finding a job, recent Yugoslav immigrants in Sweden
managed to enter more prestigious occupations than their compatriots in Austria,
but immigrants in both countries are disadvantaged if compared to the
native-born. The study demonstrates that, when controlling for period of
migration, citizenship per se does not influence labour market outcomes in
Sweden. In Austria, in contrast, non-citizens have higher risks of employment in
the non-tertiary sector and hold jobs of lower occupational status.
Keywords: Immigrants; Labour market
integration; Citizenship; Comparative research
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 595-622, ©
2003 Taylor and Francis Ltd)
Sako
Musterd
Segregation and integration: a contested relationship
Abstract Many assume that high levels of social and/or ethnic
segregation, which often go hand-in-hand with high levels of ethnic
concentration, will obstruct integration and participation in society.
Concentration is also felt to hamper the social mobility of those with a weak
social position and/or low skills, particularly immigrants of non-Western
origin. Although these ideas may have some validity in contexts where extremely
high levels of social and ethnic segregation exist, they are hardly tested in
contexts with more moderate levels of segregation and stronger welfare states.
This paper addresses this deficiency by providing some evidence on the
relationship between segregation and integration in Dutch cities, Amsterdam in
particular. The findings show that, where a relationship between segregation and
integration does exist, it is not a very strong one. In Amsterdam some similarly
segregated population categories appear to perform differently in terms of
integration. In addition, the social mixture of the residential environment
hardly has any effect on the social mobility of those living there. On the other
hand, I find that the level of social inequality in society is important for
understanding the level of segregation. Educational programmes and variations in
labour market access are crucial for understanding variations in integration.
Consequently, programmes that are aimed at de-segregation, mainly by mixing
neighbourhoods socially and ethnically, will probably contribute little to
enhancing integration in society.
Keywords: Segregation; Concentration;
Integration; Neighbourhood-mix; Amsterdam
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 623-641, ©
2003 Taylor and Francis Ltd)
Joanne Hughes and Caitlin Donnelly
Community relations in Northern Ireland: a shift in attitudes?
Abstract Under the terms of the Belfast Agreement (1998),
community relations policy and practice has progressed from tackling symptoms of
the conflict towards adopting a more holistic approach that aims to also address
its root causes. In an effort to gauge the impact of political and policy
developments on relations between the Protestant and the Catholic communities,
this paper examines longitudinal survey evidence of attitudes towards community
relations issues amongst a representative sample of the Northern Ireland
population. The data (collected in 1989, 1996 and 1999) reveal a growing
disparity between Protestant and Catholic responses over time that reflect a
Catholic community growing in confidence and a Protestant community feeling
increasingly marginalised by wider political developments. In the final analysis
we argue that the increasingly negative Protestant response reflects a
perception that the current conflict resolution model promotes a
Nationalist/Republican agenda that de-legitimises Unionist concerns and
political aspirations.
Keywords: Community relations; Conflict
resolution; Northern Ireland
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 643-661, ©
2003 Taylor and Francis Ltd)
Monder
Ram, David Smallbone, David Deakins and Trevor Jones
Banking on ‘break-out’: finance and the development of ethnic minority
businesses
Abstract
Reflecting recent changes in the pattern of ethnic minority business activity in
Britain, this paper examines the experiences of firms attempting to break out
from the cramped range of generally marginal activities historically occupied by
South Asian, African-Caribbean and other immigrant-origin entrepreneurs. Based
on in-depth case histories supplemented by a large-scale quantitative survey,
the present paper addresses the financial experiences of these firms in the
light of the assumption that break-out entails a shift from labour-intensive to
capital-intensive activities requiring external financing. Access to bank credit
continues to be problematic, with frequent perceptions of racist discrimination
even in the case of entrepreneurs with
seemingly impressive track records and personal resource endowments.
Keywords: Ethnic minority businesses;
Break-out; Human capital; Financial capital
(Journal of Ethnic and
Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 663-681, © 2003 Taylor and Francis Ltd)
Eva Østergaard-Nielsen
The democratic deficit of diaspora politics: Turkish Cypriots in Britain and
the Cyprus issue
Abstract This article critically examines transnational
political practices of migrants and their local and international political
ramifications. Recent literature on migrant transnationalism heralds the role
that migrants or refugees can play in democratisation in their countries of
origin or even as significant actors in global politics. Drawing on an in-depth
study of Turkish Cypriots in Britain, this article highlights two crucial and
interrelated aspects of migrants’ transnational political participation as it
unfolds in both their country of residence and their country of origin. First,
the paper illustrates the ambiguity of those patterns of political
representation that may characterise the interaction between migrants’ homeland
political associations and political actors in their countries of origin and
settlement. Second, Turkish Cypriot transnational lobbying in Britain highlights
how lack of access to the host-country political establishment limits migrants’
influence on processes of democratisation in their country of origin. The paper
explores the dynamics through which certain organisations manage to negotiate
their way into the host-country political system while others remain outside on
the ‘Hyde Park Corner’ of diaspora politics where central policy-makers rarely
pass by.
Keywords: Migration; Diasporas;
Transnationalism; Political participation; Democracy; Cyprus; United Kingdom
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 683-700, ©
2003 Taylor and Francis Ltd)
Larissa Remennick
Career continuity among immigrant professionals: Russian engineers in Israel
Abstract About 82,000 Soviet-trained engineers and
technologists arrived in Israel during the 1990s, joining some 30,000 of their
local colleagues and creating dramatic over-supply of engineering cadres on the
small Israeli market. This follow-up study explores costs and benefits of
different personal strategies of occupational adjustment among this group of
professionals, underscoring the roles of age, gender and specialisation. The
study included a three-wave survey and three focus groups with immigrant
engineers. Five hundred students of the special Hebrew courses for engineers
were recruited in 1992–93 (soon after their arrival in Israel) and then
contacted again in 1997 and 2001. With a final attrition level of 26 per cent
due to address change, non-response and other reasons, the final wave of
research included 372 participants. The results show that, in all age and
speciality groups, male engineers were much more likely to find engineering
posts than female ones; younger engineers (below age 45) were more successful
than older ones; specialists in electronics, computing and high technologies
reported better adjustment than engineers trained in more traditional fields
(metallurgy, mechanics, etc.). By 1997, around 20 per cent found work in their
old specialisation, 17 per cent retrained into other engineering branchess (most
often computing), about 25 per cent worked as qualified workers, 28 per cent had
various unskilled jobs, and some 9 per cent were unemployed. For respondents who
succeeded on the professional track, the mean time for finding their first
relevant job was 2.5 years. By 2001 the employment pattern remained largely the
same, meaning that the initial years in the host country are crucial for
professional adjustment.
Keywords: Career continuity; Engineers;
Russian migration; Israel
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 701-721, ©
2003 Taylor and Francis Ltd)
Christina Abuk
Urbanisation’s long shadows: Mariama Bâ’s So Long A Letter
Abstract This paper explores the text and context of
Miriama Bâ’s 1979 novel, So Long A Letter, as a view of globalist and
localist approaches to migration expressed in the popular cultural form of
narrative fiction. It contrasts migration with staying home as responses to
social pressures on contemporary Senegalese women. It identifies a hidden
discourse of grieving for the cultural and social losses involved in
urbanisation, in contradiction to the dominant discourse of syncretism’s
triumph.
Keywords: Literature and migration;
Senegal; Urbanisation; Women migrants; Cultural migration
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 723-740, ©
2003 Taylor and Francis Ltd)
Alejandro I. Canales
Mexican labour migration to the United States in the age of globalisation
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to review the evolution of Mexican migration to
the United States in an historical context, paying due attention to economic
factors in the two countries and, for more recent analysis, setting the
globalisation context. The article is in four parts. First, the profile and
trends of Mexican migration to the US are reviewed. Second, I present recent
evidence and data on the incorporation of Mexicans in the US labour market; this
helps to counteract the stereotype of Mexicans as temporary migrants. The third
section of the article overviews the structural transformation of the Mexican
economy, which helps toe xplain changing social, gender and geographical origins
of Mexican migration in recent years. Fourthly, attention is turned to the US
context, with a particular focus on processes of labour flexibilisation,
segmentation and polarisation.
Keywords: Mexican migration; United States; Labour market; Globalisation
(Journal of
Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 29 No. 4: 741-761, © 2003 Taylor and
Francis Ltd)