Labour Immigration During the Coronavirus Pandemic and its Consequences in the Socioeconomic Development of Modern Russia

The article is devoted to the analysis of trends and directions of the development of international labour migration in modern Russia. The focus of the work is trends, transformations and the consequences of attracting and using foreign labour in the national economy in the context of overcoming the consequences of the crisis associated with the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. The main content of the article, its theoretical and empirical provisions include: (i) study of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the transformation of labour immigration; (ii) identifying and disclosing the socioeconomic impact of international labour mobility before and during the coronavirus pandemic; (iii) consideration of the impact of the pandemic on the situation and migration behavior of labour migrants; (iv) discussion of the problems of regulating labour migration after the end of the active phase of combating the coronavirus epidemic. Based on the use of statistical methods and the results of sample sociological studies, an attempt is made to show what is happening in the country today with international labour mobility, its pros and cons in the development of the domestic economy. The article defines and describes the main features of labour immigration. The impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the processes of interaction between states in the field of international labour exchange is considered. The contradictory effects of the inflow and outflow of foreign workers on the functioning of the national labour market are analyzed. Estimates are given to the consequences of the epidemic's impact on the employment of migrants and their redistribution into the shadow economy. The features of the migration behavior of foreign workers are revealed. It is shown that in their migration intentions there is a fairly large number of those who are not going to leave and do not think to leave the country in the near future. Special attention is paid to the problems of regulation of external labour migration. Answers are given to fundamental questions about how the state the migration policy can and should change in the field of attracting and using foreign labour during the post-pandemic recovery of the domestic economy.

Labour Immigration Policy in the European Union: How to Overcome the Tension between Further Europeanisation and the Protection of National Interests?

This article critically assesses EU harmonisation in the field of labour immigration. It argues that EU directives are limited both in scope and intensity which explains their relatively low effectiveness and added value. Given the current political and institutional context, the article claims that a truly common labour immigration policy is unrealistic. Labour immigration remains a predominantly national prerogative and EU rules have done little to overcome normative competition between EU Member States. Looking forward, the EU should adopt complementary measures to Member States’ policies. The role of the EU in this sensitive policy area should be better defined and justified, in particular in relation to the principle of subsidiarity.

SUPPORTING IMMIGRATION FOR AN ENHANCED AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Given the amplitude of migration in Europe and its potential to encourage or hinder the agricultural development, the general objective of this paper is to assess this possible potential on the long term, within a sustainable development frame of reference. Along these lines, we have built up several scenarios that focus on the agricultural results attained by ten EU Member States mainly targeted by immigrants, throughout the 2020-2025 period (sustainable development extrapolation). We have elaborated a set of indicators and within a panel in order to implement the spatial analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM), as methodological endeavour. The results obtained, verified by testing four hypotheses, show that a positive tendency in terms of increased government agri-innovation support is revealed on the long run, through the economic (labour) migration. Our findings outline that conclusive results of labour immigration could reverse generating unbalances in the agricultural sector. Thus, the need to develop accurate tailored policies is more than necessary by acknowledging the complex problems of the rural areas and those of international migration, as well as the major discrepancies among countries and stronger socio-economic interconnections.

A guest-worker state? The declining power and agency of migrant labour in Australia

This article presents an historical and comparative analysis of the bargaining power and agency conferred upon migrant workers in Australia under distinct policy regimes. Through an assessment of four criteria – residency status, mobility, skill thresholds and institutional protections – we find that migrant workers arriving in Australia in the period from 1973 to 1996 had high levels of bargaining power and agency. Since 1996, migrant workers’ power and agency has been incrementally curtailed, to the extent that Australia’s labour immigration policy resembles a guest-worker regime where migrants’ rights are restricted, their capacity to bargain for decent working conditions with their employers is truncated and their agency to pursue opportunities available to citizens and permanent residents is diminished. In contrast to recent assessments that Australia’s temporary visa system is working effectively, our analysis indicates that it is failing to protect temporary migrants at work. JEL Codes: J24, J61, J83

Foreign labour in the russian labour market: Problems and decisions

In the current conditions of economic and socio-demographic development of the Russian Federation, the role of migration processes in making up for the loss of labour potential and ensuring a sustainable and balanced growth of the economy is increasing. Of great relevance are becoming studies of the problems of labour market balance in their interaction with migration processes and development of practical measures in the field of improving the regulation of labour immigration. The article analyzes statistical material characterizing the trends in attracting and using foreign labor in the modern Russian economy. The peculiarities of the functioning of the national labour market are identified and revealed. Quantitative and structural imbalances in the labour market between labour demand and supply are analyzed. It is shown that the labour market is central among the socio-economic determinants of labour immigration. There is made an assessment of the state and dynamics of the processes of attracting and using foreign labour in connection with the analysis of trends in the situation at the labour market. The impact of labor immigration and its structure on the functioning of the labour market and employment is revealed. The ambiguous consequences of the use of foreign labour for development of the national economy were considered. The positive and negative effects of labour immigration were highlighted. A special attention was paid to development of the issues of improving the state migration policy in the field of labour immigration. The most problematic components of attracting and using foreign workers are shown. There is proposed the development of tasks related to overcoming the existing miscalculations in the labour immigration management practice. There are identified specific measures for solution of the existing problems of receiving foreign labour in order to ensure both short-term and long-term economic and geopolitical interests of the country's development. There are developed proposals and recommendations on the regulation of flows of foreign migrant workers.

Labour immigration and union strength

Is labour mobility in the European Union a threat to the strength of unions? We argue that the combination of cheap labour, workforce heterogeneity and low unionisation among labour immigrants is a potential challenge for unions. The challenge will be severe if immigration affects natives’ unionisation. We use Norwegian administrative data in a natural experiment framework to examine this claim. The 2004 European Union expansion led to a rapid increase in labour migration to the building and construction industry, but licensing demands protected some workers from the labour supply shock. We show negative labour market effects for workers exposed to labour immigration, but no effect on union membership. Our results question theories of unionisation and are relevant for research on immigration, political behaviour and collective action.

Entrepreneurial response to changing opportunity structures

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the introduction of a liberalised regime for labour immigration in Sweden affected the self-selection of new immigrant entrepreneurs and to what extent the changes in entrepreneurial income among new immigrants was due to self-selection or to a changing business environment. Design/methodology/approach Based on rich microdata from Swedish administrative registers, this paper investigates how incomes changed during the years before and after the migration policy reform. By decomposing the income differential of new immigrant entrepreneurs arriving before and after the reform, this study estimates the contribution of a changed composition of migrants to the changing entrepreneurial income. Findings Entrepreneurial income among self-employed new immigrants improved after the reform, narrowing the immigrant–native income gap, while among employees, the income gap remained during the whole period of the study. Out of the total 10.9 per cent increase in log income, the authors find that 2.7 per cent was due to selectivity, i.e., changing characteristics of new immigrant entrepreneurs. The remaining 8.2 per cent was due to increased returns to characteristics, i.e., the characteristics of new immigrant entrepreneurs were better rewarded in the markets in the latter period. Hence, increases in entrepreneurial income among new immigrants were due both to self-selection and changes in the business environment. Practical implications The authors find that the migration policy reform had the effect of attracting successful immigrant entrepreneurs. Hence, the findings have implications for migration policy as well as for growth and employment policy. Originality/value This paper reveals a positive trend regarding income from the entrepreneurship of new immigrants after the liberalisation of labour immigration policy in Sweden. Theoretically and methodologically, the authors combine self-selection theory and the mixed-embeddedness perspective in a novel way, using rich data and a quantitative approach.