The London School of Economics and Political Science
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The London School of Economics and Political Science New Eurostars? The labour market incorporation of East European professionals in London Krisztina Csedo Thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009 UMI Number: U613420 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U613420 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 THCSG f- lon n't 5431 Declaration 2 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. 2 i f i -Q I U l ! Abstract 3 Abstract Professional and graduate mobility represents an increasing component of international migration streams due to the globalisation of markets, the expansion of the knowledge economy, and the global competition for talent While in the last twenty years considerable attention was given to East-West mobility flows within Europe, little research has been done on mobile professionals’ and graduates’ occupational attainment abroad. In the thesis I analyse the social organisation of professional mobility, focusing on the determinants of mobility, the destination choice, and the job-seeking practices of East European professionals and graduates in London. Several bodies of literature deliver the conceptual basis for this research. Applying an economic sociological framework, I rely on three major currents among the theoretical approaches to migration and mobility: human capital, global cities and labour market segmentation theories. I use quantitative and qualitative techniques to analyse primary and secondary data, including an online survey and semi-structured interviews with Hungarian and Romanian professionals and graduates working in London, and London-based employers of East European graduates, as well as official statistics. While aiming to question the atomised economic individualism associated with well- educated migrants and to draw the profile of the potentially new ‘Eurostars’, the thesis reaches four main conclusions. First, I emphasise the need to investigate the social process leading to labour market incorporation of foreign professionals from a transnational perspective. I argue that the social structures and institutions at both destination and origin influence immigrants’ labour market positions at destination. Second, I have found that mobility decisions are shaped by individual perceptions of relative deprivation when comparing their own social and occupational positions to the ones of members of groups they consider referential. Third, social ties act as centrifugal forces in sending professionals and graduates to either the top or the bottom of the occupational hierarchies at destination. Typically, however, professional and graduate mobility is a market-dependent phenomenon, influenced less by the existence of social ties, more by the supply and demand on the global labour, education and migration policy markets. These social institutions, together with social networks and migrants’ self-selection contribute to the creation of labour market segments at destination. Finally, the thesis challenges the idea that the international transfer of human capital is a seamless process. Instead, I argue that it is the social aspects of human capital creation, transfer and appreciation which shape to a great extent what is socially recognised as being ‘skilled’ or ‘highly qualified’. Being ‘highly skilled’ is an outcome of negotiations between employers and migrants on the socially constituted labour markets around the value and the value-attached significance of employable human capital. Acknowledgements 4 Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Patrick McGovern for his supervision, encouragement, great humour and guidance throughout my PhD studies. My time at LSE was an intellectually enriching experience for which I acknowledge both my supervisor and the Department of Sociology at the London School of Economics. I would also like to thank Dr Don Slater for his guiding hand down the sometimes-rocky path of a PhD. Special thanks go also to Professor Adrian Favell and Dr Istvan Horvath for their insightful comments on early drafts and their enthusiasm for the topic of my research, which represented for me a constant source of inspiration and energy. I also recall with great joy the discussions I had during these years with Professors Godfried Engbersen and Allan Findlay, Dr Michal Garapich, Dr Maria Redei, Dr Martin Ruhs and Professor Endre Sik at various conferences, workshops or summer universities. These conversations prompted me to ask new questions and to develop new thoughts about my research. Naturally, sincere thanks to all my interviewees. Without their contribution I could not have written this PhD, and would have been deprived of many enjoyable conversations. Thanks also to various Hungarian and Romanian cultural and diplomatic institutions which helped me to get started with the fieldwork, especially Sinziana Drago§, Karoly Gruber, Radufa Matache, Ramona Mitrica, Csaba Sz. Nagy, Bogdan Patriniche and Ferenc Viragh. Inno Brezeanu and Andras Ferencz provided invaluable help with my online survey increasing its reach to the widest research population possible. I am also grateful for the financial support I have received during my studies. Throughout my doctorate I have benefited from the generous support of Universities UK (Overseas Research Students Award), London School of Economics (Karl Mannheim Scholarship, Sociology Research Studentship, Alfred Zauberman Award, Morris Finer Memorial Studentship), the Open Society Institute (Global Supplementary Grant) and The Ratiu Foundation UK (Ratiu Scholarship). Writing up a thesis is often a test of persistence and I am most grateful to my family as well as friends at LSE and Goodenough College for never ceasing to believe in the success of the end product. My warmest thanks go especially to Tessa Boyd-Caine, as well as to Colin Marx, Patrik Meier and Carola Niimberg for the inspiring PhD-chats, shared laughs and, most importantly, their friendship. Table of Contents 5 Table of Contents Declaration........................................................................................................................2 Abstract .............................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................4 List of Tables....................................................................................................................8 List of Figures...................................................................................................................9 Introduction.....................................................................................................................10 1. Theoretical approaches to highly skilled migration.................................................... 19 1.1 About the conceptual framework..........................................................................21 1.2 The homo economicus and the ‘invisible hand’ ....................................................24 1.2.1 Neoclassical economic theory........................................................................25 1.2.2 Limitations of the neoclassical approach.......................................................26 1.2.3 The emergence of differentiated multi-level theories....................................28 1.3 Global city destinations.........................................................................................32 1.3.1 Demand-led explanations ...............................................................................32 1.3.2 On supply-led explanations ............................................................................36 1.4 Labour market incorporation.................................................................................37 1.4.1 Measures of incorporation..............................................................................38 1.4.2 Sources of labour market segmentation.........................................................40 1.4.3 Barriers to incorporation................................................................................51 1.4.4 Gender, migration and labour market incorporation......................................53