Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets

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Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets
Labor movement (2006) by Harald Bauder.jpeg
Cover
AuthorHarald Bauder
LanguageEnglish
SubjectMigration, labor markets
GenreNon-fiction
Publisher Oxford University Press
Publication date
February 2006
Pages288
ISBN 978-0195180879

Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets is a monograph by German-Canadian economic geographer and academic Harald Bauder. The book explores the crucial role of international migrants in sustaining industrialized economies by serving in various sectors such as childcare, construction, and agriculture. Bauder challenges conventional economic theories by suggesting that migration shapes labor markets through social and cultural mechanisms rather than being solely driven by economic demand. Using case studies from Europe and North America, Bauder illustrates how the labor of migrants is systematically devalued and marginalized, proposing new perspectives on migrant labor's socio-economic impact. [1]

Contents

Background

The book is based on research Bauder conducted as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia and during his first professorial appointment at the University of Guelph. He subsequently developed his ideas on immigration to Canada and Germany in the book Immigration Dialectic, [2] on critical perspectives of international borders and migration in Migration Borders Freedom, [3] and on the global state-system's role of migrant exclusion and urban migrant solidarity in From Sovereignty to Solidarity. [4]

Synopsis

The book provides an analysis of the interplay between immigration and labor market dynamics in neoliberal economies. Bauder challenges the conventional perspective that labor market needs drive immigration, positing instead that the presence of immigrant and migrant workers actively shapes labor markets. He employs labor market segmentation theory and the concepts of social and cultural capital, particularly drawing on Bourdieu’s theories, to explore how immigrant labor is systematically devalued and segmented into lower tiers of the labor market, thus benefiting native workers and employers.

Through three detailed case studies in Vancouver, Berlin, and rural Ontario, Bauder illustrates how immigration policies and cultural representations perpetuate labor market segmentation. In Vancouver, South Asian and former Yugoslav immigrants face deskilling despite their qualifications, reflecting the Canadian state's dual role in recognizing and devaluing foreign credentials. In Berlin, legal distinctions between citizens and non-citizens, as well as historical experiences, shape the labor market experiences of immigrants from the former Yugoslavia and ethnic Germans from the Soviet Union (also known as Aussiedler und Spätaussiedler ). The study in Ontario focuses on how seasonal farm workers from the Caribbean and Mexico are discursively marginalized to justify their exploitation. Bauder's work underscores the complexity of labor market regulation through immigration, revealing the socio-economic processes that maintain these hierarchies. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Reviews

Catherine Nolin highlighted Bauder's insightful analysis on the critical role and vulnerability of immigrant workers in labor markets in Vancouver, Berlin, and rural Ontario. While she praised its empirical richness and relevance for policymakers but critiqued the book for an uneasy fit between vulnerability and the concept of integration, Nolin noted that Bauder's market-centric view of integration seems to reinforce exclusion and vulnerability. Nolin thought the book is valuable for university courses on migration and settlement. [9]

Marion Traub-Werner said the book is a well-timed and insightful study that effectively demonstrates how immigration policies and labor market segmentation systematically undermine immigrant workers' opportunities. Traub-Werner stressed the thorough analysis but noted some limitations, such as the under-exploration of political economies in specific locales and the oversimplification of social differences under the citizen/non-citizen binary. [8]

Oded Stark found the book to be theoretically interesting but lacking in depth and rigor in its arguments. Stark highlighted Bauder's emphasis on the role of culture in migration but criticized the book for not thoroughly investigating its claims. He said the book raises valid points about the economic effects of migration, even when not economically motivated. Stark suggested that the book could benefit from more empirical analysis and a clearer differentiation between family traditions and networks in migration. He saw potential in Bauder's perspectives but called for more substantive and disciplined exploration. [7]

In her review, Susan W. Hardwick thought the work is comprehensive, with meticulous analysis of how international migration regulates labor markets. She appreciated the book's theoretical framework, empirical case studies, and its blend of various methods and approaches. Hardwick acknowledged the book's occasional lack of cohesiveness and complex theoretical arguments but praised its accessibility for students and activists. [10]

Christian Berndt thought the work to be a valuable contribution to understanding low-wage labor migration, particularly through its empirical case studies of Canada and Germany. He appreciated the book's challenge to the prevailing view that labor market demand drives migration, highlighting instead the role of migrant labor supply. Berndt still criticized the book for not sufficiently integrating the case studies and for superficial engagement with theoretical concepts like Bourdieu's capital and habitus. He also noted a lack of discussion on transnational migration networks. [11]

Adina Batnitzky agreed with Bauder's main argument that arduous and poorly paid jobs exist because immigrant workers are present to fill them, not the other way around. Batnitzky praised the thorough theoretical grounding in labor market segmentation theory, though she noted the omission of gender, race, and ethnicity in the analysis. She lauded the detailed case studies in Vancouver, Berlin, and rural Ontario but pointed out the lack of comparison with local labor markets and other migrant groups. [6]

Fletcher Baragar applauded Bauder's critical, nuanced analysis of how migration regulates labor markets, particularly through the lens of segmented labor market theory. He found Bauder's exploration of the mechanisms that allocate migrant labor to the lower segments of the workforce insightful, though he noted some conceptual errors and a lack of thematic and methodological unity. Baragar considered Bauder's work valuable for social scientists, despite the need for grounding its application in specific contexts. [5]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free migration</span> View that people may live in any country

Free migration or open immigration is the position that people should be able to migrate to whatever country they choose with few restrictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic enclave</span> Geographical spot with high concentration of certain ethnic groups

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration</span> Movement of people into another country or region to which they are not native

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In international economics, international factor movements are movements of labor, capital, and other factors of production between countries. International factor movements occur in three ways: immigration/emigration, capital transfers through international borrowing and lending, and foreign direct investment. International factor movements also raise political and social issues not present in trade in goods and services. Nations frequently restrict immigration, capital flows, and foreign direct investment.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emigration from Mexico</span> Mexicans moving abroad

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Michael Andrew Clemens is an American economist who studies international migration and global economic development.

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Christian Dustmann, FBA, is a German economist who currently serves as Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics of University College London. There, he also works as Director of the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), which he helped found. Dustmann belongs to the world's foremost labour economists and migration scholars.

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Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes is a Spanish economist, a Professor in the Economics and Business Management faculty at the University of California, Merced and a Professor and Department Chair at San Diego State University. Since 2015, she has been the Western Representative for a standing committee called the Committee for the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP). Her field of work focuses on the fundamentals of labour economics and international migration, particularly the nature of immigration policies and its impact on migrant's assimilation into the community at a state and local level. Amuedo-Dorantes has published multiple articles in refereed journals including Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Population Economics, International Migration, and Journal of Development Economics.

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References

  1. "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets". academic.oup.com.
  2. "University of Toronto Press - Immigration Dialectic". University of Toronto Press.
  3. Bauder, Harald (2016-09-01). Migration Borders Freedom. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315638300/migration-borders-freedom-harald-bauder. ISBN   978-1-315-63830-0.
  4. "From Sovereignty to Solidarity: Rethinking Human Migration". Routledge & CRC Press.
  5. 1 2 Baragar, Fletcher (June 2008). "Harald Bauder, Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets: Oxford University Press, 1st edition, February 2006, English, 288 pages, ISBN-10: 0195180887, ISBN-13: 978-0195180886". Journal of International Migration and Integration / Revue de l'integration et de la migration internationale. 9 (2): 239–240. doi:10.1007/s12134-008-0060-1. ISSN   1488-3473.
  6. 1 2 Batnitzky, Adina (March 2008). "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets – By Harald Bauder". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 32 (1): 232–233. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2008.00775_5.x. ISSN   0309-1317.
  7. 1 2 Stark, Oded (August 2008). "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets, by Harald Bauder". Journal of Regional Science. 48 (3): 660–663. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9787.2008.00567_3.x. ISSN   0022-4146.
  8. 1 2 Traub-Werner, Marion (July 2008). "Book Review: Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets". Human Geography. 1 (2): 124–125. doi:10.1177/194277860800100217. ISSN   1942-7786.
  9. Nolin, Catherine (March 2008). "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets by HaraldBauder, Oxford University Press, Toronto, Ontario, 2006, x + 269 pp., paper US$45.50 (ISBN 0‐19‐518088‐7)". Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes. 52 (1): 123–124. doi:10.1111/j.1541-0064.2008.00204_3.x. ISSN   0008-3658.
  10. Hardwick, Susan W. (November 2007). "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets". The Professional Geographer. 59 (4): 548–550. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9272.2007.00642.x. ISSN   0033-0124.
  11. Berndt, Christian (October 2008). "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets – By Harald Bauder". Economic Geography. 84 (4): 475–476. doi:10.1111/j.1944-8287.2008.00011.x. ISSN   0013-0095.