Diversification trends in Moldovan international migration: evidence from Czechia and Italy

Abstract

This contribution advances knowledge of contemporary Moldovan migration and is the first comparative description of the situation of Moldovans in Czechia and Italy. Our specific objective is to review evidence about how the concept of the migration-development nexus applies to the Moldovan situation. In the absence of comparable primary data on Moldovan migration our research design uses mixed methods and triangulates data from Moldova and across the main destinations for Moldovan migration, including Italy and Czechia. In addition to confirming prior research on the significance of remittances to the Moldovan economy since 1991, we report three additional findings. First, Moldovan migrants, particularly women who may work as domestic workers are often invisible and undercounted. Second, Moldovan migration is rapidly diversifying, with new destinations, selectivities, and forms and modes of mobility. Third, the global economic recession of 2008 had different implications for Moldovan migration patterns to and from Czechia and Italy. We conclude with a specific call for research that extends the migration-development nexus by examining social remittances and the mobility and labour strategies of Moldovan family reunifiers. The paper also argues for availability of robust data that would allow comparative analysis of international migration and could better support evidence-based debates about migration.

Migrant Remitting as Transnational Practice: Moldovans in Italy and Czechia

“…Moreover, the insignificance of the measure of country of destination or local language acquisition in either equation is consistent with the proposition that both civic and family remitting practices are embedded in transnational, rather than local or national, contexts. Likewise, our data did not support the hypothesis of direct diffusion of political remittances from Europe to Moldova (Drbohlav, Bailey, Čermák, et al, 2017; Drbohlav, Bailey, Lupták, & Čermáková, 2017). Contrary to orthodox views (Inglehart & Welzel, 2005), holding democratic or post-materialist values per se had no significant effect on civic or family remitting.…”

“…A multi-seeded snowball sampling method does not guarantee a representative sample. Using our long-standing contacts in Turin and Prague, we were able to reach out to a diverse group of Moldovans and, on the basis of income and occupation at least, produced a sample in line with the broader Moldovan population at large in Italy and Czechia (see further discussion in Drbohlav, Bailey, Čermák, et al, 2017). As a cross-sectional and destination-based study, we did not consider those who had lived in Italy or Czechia, and were currently living back in Moldova.…”

“…Moldovans have been migrating to Italy for longer and are a more integrated immigrant group, with some 142,000 migrants registered in the country (IDOS, 2016). There were an estimated 5,000 Moldovan migrants in Czechia (not including Moldovans with Romanian passports) who were employed in 2016 (Drbohlav, Bailey, Čermák, et al, 2017).…”

“…By contrast, civic remitting has been associated with those who have longer durations of residence (Poirine, 2006), and, we posit, those who obtain permanent residence yet maintain a geographically fluid concept of home. The presence of an expatriate community in the destination may also promote civic remitting practices (Drbohlav, Bailey, Čermák, et al, 2017).…”

How Transnational Migrants Integrate: The Case of Moldovans Living in Czechia and Italy

“…On the other hand, there is a longer tradition of Mol- dovan migration to Italy, represented by a larger and more strongly integrated community with a more homogeneous composition (e.g. more female carers in domestic and personal service; Drbohlav et al [2017]), and higher salaries. Not surprisingly, the lower transnational index in Italy relates to the higher sociocultural integration of Moldovans in Italy (see the theoretical part above).…”