Return Migration: The Experience of Eastern Europe¹

Abstract

Over the last decade, a significant share of the labour force in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been exposed to work spells abroad followed by return migration. Although there is a growing literature on CEE return migration, most previous studies are country-specific and no enquiry for the region as a whole has been undertaken so far. In this paper, we attempt to fill this gap. We collate data from the European Union (EU) Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) for a cross-country analysis of return migration in CEE countries. The aim of the paper is threefold. We first review the available evidence and literature on the characteristics and labour market behaviour of return migrants in CEE countries. Second, we provide a descriptive analysis of recent returnees using EU-LFS data. Third, we specifically analyse the income premia for work experience abroad, the occupational choices and the selectivity patterns of recent returnees in CEE countries from a cross-country perspective. Consistent with previous results, we find that the average income premia for work abroad range between 10 per cent and 45 per cent. Migrants are less likely to actively participate in the labour market upon return. They are, however, more likely to choose self-employment rather than dependent employment upon return. Recent migrants are also more likely to experience spells of unemployment in the first year after their return. The latter two findings are reversed, however, when adjusting for the unobserved heterogeneity of return migrants and for regional effects.

Emigration from the Perspective of the School-to-Work Transition in Bulgaria

“…Previous emigration experience is the strongest predictor of emigration intentions. The explanation is that emigration experience has positive effects in both an economic and a broader social perspective, as has been documented in previous research [Martin and Radu 2009;Zaiceva and Zimmerman 2012]. The social remittances from experience with work abroad may include better language skills, labour market experience, better labour skills, and accumulated experience with living in a foreign country, and experiencing living away from the parents' family.…”

“…A comparative study on migration flows between Eastern and Western Europe shows that in the recent period there has been a strong trend of return migration to Eastern Europe. In Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania, the returnees are most often male, young, not married, with secondary or higher education [Martin and Radu 2009]. The chances of circular mobility and the duration of work abroad depend on the educational status of migrants.…”

Returning home: An evaluation of Hungarian return migration

“…But so far, the main objective of this initiative has been retention . Such initiatives are significant in the academic world not only in Hungary, but in other countries, as well (Martin, R. and Radu, D. 2012).…”

“…In view of these negative factors, lower skilled people are more likely to leave their home country again; hence, they could be regarded as potential circular migrants (Illés, S. and Kincses, Á. 2012;Martin, R. and Radu, D. 2012).…”

Intentions to Return: Evidence from Romanian Migrants

“…The study by Mintchev and Boshnakov (2006) finds that Bulgarian households with a return migrant are more likely to have benefited from remittances in terms of household earnings and are more likely to have their own business, consistent with the work of Mesnard (2004). Iara (2006) and Martin and Radu (2012) find that returning migrants from across Central and Eastern Europe earn more than non-migrants in both self-employment and paid employment, while there is mixed evidence on the type of economic activity return migrants are likely to undertake.…”