Date: 2009
Type: Technical Report
The Impacts of the Current Financial and Economic Crisis on Migration in the Spain-Morocco Corridor
Technical Report, [Migration Policy Centre], [CARIM-South], CARIM Analytic and Synthetic Notes, 2009/39, Series on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on South and East Mediterranean Migration
ARANGO, Joaquín, GONZÁLEZ QUIÑONES, Fernando, The Impacts of the Current Financial and Economic Crisis on Migration in the Spain-Morocco Corridor, [Migration Policy Centre], [CARIM-South], CARIM Analytic and Synthetic Notes, 2009/39, Series on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on South and East Mediterranean Migration - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/12994
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
Abstract
In 2009, it seems clear that the period of relatively rapid and sustained increase of international migration has come to a halt or, at any rate, slowed down as a result of the financial and economic crisis that started in the summer of 2007. It can be surmised that Spain is likely to be counted among the countries in which the multiple repercussions of the crisis on immigration will be larger and deeper. One reason for it is the fact that in Spain the economic downturn results in exceptionally higher rates of unemployment. Another reason is that the contrast of the new reality generated by the crisis is bound to mark an especially stark contrast with the preceding one. This paper aims at analyzing the major implications of the present financial and economic crisis on Spanish immigration, with particular attention to the community of Moroccan background that lives and works in Spain. The consequences of the recession on migration flows, their changing volume and trends are analyzed, together with its impacts on the demand for labor, unemployment and living conditions. With the many limitations that the paucity of data impose, trends in return migration and in the volume of remittances are examined as well. Looking at the future, it is likely that a long time frame will be required in Spain until the deep effects of the crisis disappear, due to the peculiar characteristics of the Spanish labour market. In such a scenario, it is clear that the forecasts for the employment and opportunities of the immigrant population cannot avoid a certain degree of pessimism.
Résumé
En 2009, l’augmentation des flux migratoires a subi un fort ralentissement suite à la crise financière et économique qui a commencé au milieu de l'année 2007. On peut affirmer que l'Espagne va probablement figurer parmi les pays dans lesquels les répercussions multiples de la crise sur l'immigration seront plus grandes et plus profondes. Ceci dépend du fait qu’en Espagne le ralentissement de l'économie a provoqué des taux de chômage exceptionnellement plus hauts par rapport à d'autres pays. Une autre raison est que la nouvelle réalité produite par la crise est difficilement réversible. Cette étude propose d’analyser les implications de la crise financière et économique actuelle sur l'immigration espagnole, avec une attention particulière à la communauté marocaine qui vit et travaille en Espagne. Pour répondre à ces objectifs, sont analysés les implications de la récession sur les flux migratoires, leur ampleur et tendances, ainsi que l’impact sur la demande du travail, le chômage et les conditions de vie. Malgré les nombreuses limitations imposées par le manque de données, les tendances de la migration de retour et des transferts financiers sont également examinées. S’agissant des prévisions, il est probable que les effets de la crise ne disparaîtraient de sitôt, en raison des caractéristiques spécifiques du marché du travail espagnol. Dans un scénario pareil, il est clair que les prévisions concernant l'emploi et les opportunités de la population étrangère soient plutôt pessimistes.
Additional information:
Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM)
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/12994
External link: http://www.carim.org/
Series/Number: [Migration Policy Centre]; [CARIM-South]; CARIM Analytic and Synthetic Notes; 2009/39; Series on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on South and East Mediterranean Migration