So close but yet so far? Labour Migration Governance in Italy and Spain

Abstract

Southern European countries have traditionally been perceived as weak immigration countries with inefficient legal entry avenues for foreign workers, high irregular migration rates and poor integration policies. In recent years, however, the adoption of more efficient control policies, new recruitment strategies and embryonic integration plans throughout the region has led to a change of paradigm in the governance of migration. And yet policy reforms do not seem to have produced the same results everywhere. The aim of this article is to enquire into possible explanations for the divergent paths of labour migration governance in Southern Europe, using Italy and Spain as comparative cases. As it will emerge, policy efficacy in the field of labour migration relates not only to the quality and consistency of policy design and implementation but also to factors that escape direct political control.

Looking for the Best and Brightest? Deservingness Regimes in Italian Labour Migration Management

“…A first set of explanations pertain to certain structural characteristics of the Italian labour market and welfare regime, and the role that migrants play in it (Ambrosini, ; Finotelli and Echeverrìa, ; Fullin and Reyneri, ; Pastore, Salis, and Villosio, ; Reyneri, , , 2004).…”

Towards a Systemic Theory of Irregular Migration

“…Similarly to what was underlined in the discussion of the Dutch case, a direct, slightly delayed correlation with the GDP is observable. Yet, in the case of Spain, the effects of this relation appear to be much more accentuated (Finotelli & Echeverría, 2017). As pointed out by Finotelli, this has to do with the high level of elasticity of the Spanish labour market, which makes it very sensitive to the GDP variations (Finotelli, 2012, pp.…”

Policing markets: The role of the social partners in internal immigration enforcement

“…In all three countries, immigration policy in recent years generally has not involved unions and business in collaborative discussions (Marino and Roosblad, 2008: 630; Marino et al, 2017: 355, 357). Left governments in Italy have at times turned to the union confederations for advice on drafting legislation (Rinaldini and Marino, 2017: 279), but there has been little effective coordination between the state and social partners on setting targets for labour migration (Finotelli and Escheverría, 2017: 45). In the UK, the British Home Office, TUC (Trade Union Confederation) and CBI (Confederation of British Industry) reached an agreement in 2005 to work together on managing labour migration, but subsequently unions were not regularly consulted (Fine and Tichenor, 2012: 542–543).…”