Call for Papers AAG New Orleans April 10th – 14th 2018
Session title: International and Internal Skilled Labour Migration and the City
Organisers:
Catherine Harris, City REDI, University of Birmingham, [log in to unmask]
Anne Green, City REDI, University of Birmingham, [log in to unmask]
Session outline:
The economic performance of cities is increasingly dependent on the skills of their workforce. Cities face the challenge of both attracting and retaining high-skilled talent. Those cities that can offer businesses the high-skilled workers they need are likely to be the most successful. One of the important routes of contemporary knowledge transfer is via migration, particularly through skilled migration. These highly skilled individuals actively seek out opportunities in other countries, and cities and contribute to economic development with their skills and expertise, to fill shortages in the labour market.
Whilst international immigration has reached unprecedented levels and become a multifaceted phenomenon, there is an ongoing debate in population geography about a decline in rates of internal migration (Cooke, 2011; Shuttleworth and Champion, 2018). This is perhaps linked to the changing location and mobility decisions of dual career (/ dual earner) households (Green, 2017). At the same time, there is a clear separation between internal and international migration in the literature. However, recent thinking suggests that a link to be established understanding the intertwined nature of internal and international population movements (King and Skeldon, 2010). This is particularly important if cities are to gain from the knowledge transfer and skills that come with migration.
In response, this session seeks papers that consider the implications of international and/or internal labour migration for cities, particularly in terms of a contribution to skills. As well as the impact of migration on cities, we are also interested in papers that considered the drivers of internal and international labour migration, or in fact the barriers that may prevent skilled migration taking place. Both empirical and conceptual contributions are welcome.
Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:
• How migration can address a skills gap;
• How cities might respond to the economic opportunities brought about by migration;
• How cities might respond to the economic challenges brought about by migration;
• Drivers of skilled migration;
• Barriers to skilled migration;
• The family impacts of geographical mobility;
• The role of intermediaries in migration;
• Filling the gap between international and internal migration;
• How labour migration and the city should be studied;
• What makes cities attractive to skilled migrants?
• Migration policy changes and skilled migration;
Interested participants should send abstracts of 250 words or less to Catherine Harris ([log in to unmask]) and Anne Green ([log in to unmask]) by 16th October.
References:
Cooke TJ. 2011. It is not just the economy: declining migration and the rise of secular rootedness. Population, Space and Place 17: 193-203;
Champion T, Shuttleworth I. 2017. Are people moving home less? An analysis of migration within England and Wales, 1971-2011, by distance of move. Population Space and Place 23
Green A. (2018) ‘Understanding the drivers of internal migration’ in Champion T.,Cooke T. and Shuttleworth I. (eds.) Internal Migration in the Developed World: Are we Becoming Less Mobile? Routledge.
King R, Skeldon R. (2010) ‘Mind the Gap!': bridging the theoretical divide between internal and international migration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36 (10): 1619-1646
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