Who Needs Migrant Workers?
Labour shortages, immigration, and public policy
1st Edition
Published on 17. May 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-19-965361-4 (ISBN)
Description
Are migrant workers needed to 'do the jobs that locals will not do' or are they simply a more exploitable labour force? Do they have a better 'work ethic' or are they less able to complain? Is migrant labour the solution to 'skills shortages' or actually part of the problem? This book provides a comprehensive framework for analysing the demand for migrant workers in high-income countries. It demonstrates how a wide range of government policies, often unrelated to migration, contribute to creating a growing demand for migrant labour. This demand can persist even during economic downturns. The book includes quantitative and qualitative analyses of the changing role of migrants in the UK economy. The empirical chapters include in-depth examinations of the nature of staff shortages and the use of migrant workers in six sectors: health; social care; hospitality; food production; construction; and financial services.
The book's conceptual framework and empirical findings are of importance to academic and policy debates about labour immigration in all high-income countries. The final chapter presents a comparative analysis of research and policy approaches to assessing labour shortages in the UK and the US. It examines the potential lessons of the UK's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) for current debates about labour shortages and immigration reform in the US. The book will be of significant interest to policy-makers, stakeholders, academics and students.
The book's conceptual framework and empirical findings are of importance to academic and policy debates about labour immigration in all high-income countries. The final chapter presents a comparative analysis of research and policy approaches to assessing labour shortages in the UK and the US. It examines the potential lessons of the UK's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) for current debates about labour shortages and immigration reform in the US. The book will be of significant interest to policy-makers, stakeholders, academics and students.
Reviews / Votes
Population scientists and practitioners will find this volume exceptionally helpful. * Stuart Basten, European Journal of Population * Who Needs Migrant Workers? should be highly recommended to anybody interested not only in immigration but in the governance of modern economies and labour markets in general. * Alexandre Afonso, Swiss Political Science Review * The books chapters alongside short commentaries, which follow them, provide an authoritative and valuable source for industrial relations scholars interested in migration. * Zinovijus Ciupijus, British Journal of Industrial Relations * The volume is excellent, and the sectoral studies provide a wealth of data on the unique character of labour demand in each. The editors provide a thoughtful and careful meditation on the complexities. * Nigel Harris, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies * Highly welcome... probably the most accessible set-piece introduction to migrant work in the UK yet published... Population scientists and practitioners will find this volume exceptionally helpful...the book both explicitly and implicitly provides valuable insights for both sending and receiving countries the world over. * Stuart Basten, European Journal of Population * A masterful volume on the role of immigration policy in addressing current and future labor shortages. Drawing on a stellar group of experts, the edited volume addresses the employment of foreign workers in a wide range of industries at all skill levels. This comprehensive review of migrant worker programs is a welcome compendium for academics, practitioners and policy makers alike. * Susan Martin, Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University * Ruhs and Anderson have put together a terrific team to analyse immigration for work in the UK. An excellent overview by the editors is followed by detailed studies of six sectors: health; social-care; hospitality; food production; construction; and financial services. This is the definitive research on the demand for migrant workers and will inform the debate for years to come. * David Metcalf, CBE, Emeritus Professor, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics * How labour migration can and should be regulated is one of the most pressing issues of our time. This excellent book is a feasibility study dealing with perceived staff shortages. It provides substantial insights by an outstanding group of scientists and contributes significantly to our understanding of an extremely contentious policy problem. * Klaus F. Zimmermann, Director IZA and Professor of Economics, University of Bonn * In good times many people profit from the goods and services produced by migrant workers. In times if crisis the same people see them as unfair competitors. This masterly written and edited book fights prejudices with empirical evidence from the UK on labour shortage and the ways in which such gaps can be filled. This is of significance well beyond the UK. It is a must read for everyone interested in migration policy development and the evolution of labour markets. * Rainer Muenz, Erste Bank and Hamburg Institute of International Economics * Who Needs Migrant Workers? presents both a rigorous analytical methodology to measure labor shortages and a practical conceptual framework to assess whether migrants should be imported to fill those shortages Who Needs Migrant Workers? is must reading for all who are interested in this important subject. * Ray Marshall, US Secretary of Labor and Emeritus, University of Texas * Those searching for a proper sense of perspective on [the debate over migrant workers] will welcome this volume. * Don Flynn, Chartist. *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Academics and researchers interested in labour economics, immigration, sociology, public policy, and human geography. Policy-makers in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The general reader with an interest in immigration, public policy, and employment and economic issues in specific sectors.
Illustrations
10 Figures, 30 Tables
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
516 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-965361-4 (9780199653614)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Martin Ruhs | Bridget Anderson
Who Needs Migrant Workers?
Labour shortages, immigration, and public policy
Book
08/2010
1st Edition
Oxford University Press
€115.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Martin Ruhs' research focuses on the economics and politics of labour immigration, with a strong international comparative dimension. Recent publications include 'Economic Research and Labour Immigration Policy' and 'Semi-compliance and illegality in migrant labour markets.' Martin is a member of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a highly influential body of independent academic economists advising the UK government on labour immigration policy. He was Specialist Adviser to a recent House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee Inquiry into the economic impacts of immigration in the UK. He has provided migration policy analysis and advice for various national governments and international institutions including the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Bridget Anderson's research interests include low waged labour migration, legal status, and citizenship. Publications include 'Migrants and Work Related Rights' (Ethics and International Affairs 2008), and Doing the Dirty Work? The global politics of Domestic Labour (Zed Books 2000). She has worked with the Trades Union Congress, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the International Labour Organisation, and a wide range of national and international NGOs.
Bridget Anderson's research interests include low waged labour migration, legal status, and citizenship. Publications include 'Migrants and Work Related Rights' (Ethics and International Affairs 2008), and Doing the Dirty Work? The global politics of Domestic Labour (Zed Books 2000). She has worked with the Trades Union Congress, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the International Labour Organisation, and a wide range of national and international NGOs.
Content
1. Introduction ; 2. Migrant workers: who needs them? A framework for the analysis of shortages, immigration, and public policy ; Commentary by Ken Mayhew ; 3. The changing shares of migrant labour in different sectors and occupation in the UK economy: An overview ; 4. Achieving a self-sufficient workforce? The utilization of migrant labour in healthcare ; Commentary by Robert Elliott ; 5. Competing with myths: migrant labour in social care ; Commentary by Alessio Cangiano ; 6. The use of migrant labour in the hospitality sector: current and future implications ; Commentary by Linda McDowell ; 7. UK food businesses' reliance on low-wage migrant labour: A case of choice or constraint? ; Commentary by Ben Rogaly ; 8. The dynamics of migrant employment in construction: Can supply of skilled labour ever match demand? ; Commentary by Howard Gospel ; 9. Immigration and the UK labour market in financial services: A case of conflicting policy challenges? ; Commentary by Jonathan Beaverstock ; 10. A need for migrant labour? UK-US comparisons