Migrants and Expats: The Swiss Migration and Mobility Nexus

Abstract

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Can Migrants’ Emigration Intentions Predict Their Actual Behaviors? Evidence from a Swiss Survey

“…The Migration-Mobility Survey, a biannual survey, was conducted for the first time in 2016 with a sample of 20,136 foreigners (Steiner and Wanner 2019). Among the people in the sample, 5973 responded online or by phone to a large variety of questions referring to their migration trajectories, their economic and social integration in Switzerland, their family life, and their expectations for the future.…”

“…In 2017, Switzerland had approximately 15 emigrations per 1000 inhabitants, a rate higher than that of other Western European countries of similar sizes, such as Austria (7.5 per 1000), Belgium (7.5 per 1000), and the Netherlands (6.3 per 1000 2 ). According to the Swiss Mobility Migration Survey (Steiner and Wanner 2019), immigration to Switzerland is mainly motivated by professional reasons. Because of the importance of labor force migration, in 2017, 82% of emigrants were aged from 20 to 64 at the time of their emigration, thereby impacting the labor market.…”

“…This absence of an examination of the relationship between the two dimensions is due to a lack of adequate data. A recent survey conducted among 5973 migrants in 2016 (Steiner and Wanner 2019) with a follow-up in 2018 filled this gap by providing a comparison of migrants' self-declared remigration intentions with their situations 2 years after the survey. By extension, this survey provided a better understanding of the factors that influence both intentions and actual behaviors, as well as the factors explaining the mismatch between the two dimensions.…”

Change and stability of migration intentions. Evidence from Italy

“…A limited number of studies have compared migrants' secondary migration with their previous intentions (e.g. Clark & Lisowski, 2018;de Groot et al, 2011;Dommermuth & Klüsener, 2018;Lu, 1999;Steiner & Wanner, 2019;Wanner, 2021). These have generally found that migrants tend to follow through on their intentions.…”