Explaining low international labour mobility: the role of networks, personality, and perceived labour market opportunities

Abstract

Why is international labour mobility so low in high‐income regions of the European Union? To shed light on this issue, we examine international labour migration intentions of the Dutch potential labour force. A key characteristic of intended (temporary) labour migration of the Dutch is that it occurs at a low level and is strongly age related. The low expected rate of migration is closely connected to (low) expectations about finding work abroad and the expectation that foreign work experience is not perceived to be of value to employers. In addition to these barriers to move abroad, it appears that the personality of potential migrants (nationalistic, risk averse) matters as well as the lack of social networks abroad. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mobility, risk tolerance and competence to manage risks

“…The level of explanation (R 2 ) was greatest for Stayers -those who have never migrated and do not intend to migrate in future, followed by Roamers, and then Aspirers. The overall level of explanation provided by risk and risk-related competences and motivations is reasonable, or relatively good, compared to many analyses of the determinants of migration (Zaiceva and Zimmermann 2008;van Dalen and Henkens 2012). The distribution of coefficient values confirmed that there are striking contrasts between the four mobility groups in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics, tolerance of risk (general versus mobility-specific risks) and competence to manage risks.…”

“…In contrast, Baláž and Williams' (2011) study of Slovakian students found virtually no differences in risk tolerance between migrant and non-migrant men, but that female migrants had significantly higher general risk-tolerance levels than female non-migrants regardless of perceived competence. Van Dalen and Henkens 2012) found that less tangible elements such as sensation seeking and self-efficacy captured most of the effects of the socioeconomic variables, while also increasing threefold the explained variance in migration intentions.…”

Tourism, risk tolerance and competences: Travel organization and tourism hazards

“… Younger people are more risk tolerant than older ones (van Dalen & Henkens, 2012;Hallahan, Faff & McKenzie, 2004). This is substantiated in tourism by Gibson and Yiannakis (2002), although Sönmez and Graefe (1998a) did not find any consistent relationships between age and risk perception.…”

Anticipated job benefits, career aspiration, and generalized self-efficacy as predictors for migration decision-making

“…For example, in a study of Dutch migrants, unemployment and social networks - though important predictors - were not the main drivers of actual migration (Van Dalen & Henkens, 2012, 2013). Therefore, researchers call for studies that consider person-level factors such as expectations, values, beliefs, and personality traits as predictors for migration decision-making (Boneva & Frieze, 2001; Tabor & Milfont, 2011).…”

“…A few studies on international migration between high income countries have revealed that anticipation of career advancement, rather than merely finding a job, also plays an important role. For example, in a study on potential Dutch migrants, prospects of career advancement predicted their intention to migrate along with expectations of finding a job (Van Dalen & Henkens, 2012). In the context of migration of highly skilled professionals, a study among Spanish medical students revealed that the main drivers of migration intentions are expectations of career advancement in addition to better working conditions and higher wages (Bernardini-Zambrini et al, 2011).…”