Sustainability of Labor Migration and Its Impact on Economic Development in Europe

Dear Colleagues,

Current labor migration flows in Europe, including their extent and intensity, have been largely shaped over the last three decades under the influence of political and economic changes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The processes in labor migration flows which were formed in the post-war period prevail only in some European countries. Despite the large number of studies on this issue, the examination and evaluation of labor migration in Europe still remains in most cases just at an empirical level and does not delve into macroeconomic and political analyzes and generalizations. That means that the results of the existing studies do not fully answer questions such as: in which direction are labor migration flows evolving and how do they subsequently affect economic and social development in both migrants' countries of origin and destination countries? To what extent are these labor migration flows and economic growth sustainable in the long term? How are these processes evolving and what are the projections for their development in the future?

We cannot perceive labor migration only as a consequence of the macroeconomic regulation of the free movement of capital, goods, and labor, which results in all subjects having certain economic advantages. Over the last three decades, the prevailing view has been that the free movement of labor in the European area leads to the creation of an equilibrium in the labor market, i.e., that national labor markets are offering employment opportunities to workers from countries with higher unemployment rates. However, the reality is rather different. Labor migration flows (if not today then certainly in the future) point out a state of imperfect competition when it comes to attracting labor, and at the same time discriminatory practices are emerging in terms of competition for this scarce production factor between economically developed European countries and the rest of Europe.

Generally speaking, the impact of labor migration on economic development is a long-term process. Therefore, it is important to identify and predict how current labor migration flows will affect the economic development of both destination countries and migrants' countries of origin in the future. In addition, to this day, there is no well-established unambiguous assessment within the professional and academic community as to whether the final impact of labor migration on the economic development of both the countries of origin and the countries of destination is ultimately positive or negative. Examining the causes and effects of labor migration on the economic development of migrant countries in terms of push and pull factors does not provide comprehensive and unambiguous answers to the proposed questions. An adequate scientific debate and adopting a complex view on the sustainability of economic development within the context of labor migration flows in the European Economic Area would be an appropriate tool to address these issues.

 The study and evaluation of labor migration is based on the macroeconomic reality of the free movement of capital, goods, and labor. Based on this, it is accepted that labor migration, as a manifestation of this reality, clearly has a positive impact on the economic growth of concerned countries. However, there is a lack of research on whether, under certain conditions, the free movement of labor and subsequent labor migration, especially in the long term, can have a negative impact on the economic growth of the countries in question.

The optimal range of this Special Issue is approx. 8-12 studies. The aim of this Special Issue is to advance the examination of the impact of labor migration on economic growth and place it into a more comprehensive macroeconomic context.

Studying labor migration and economic growth within a broader macroeconomic context will complement existing, predominantly empirical, studies and provide a more comprehensive picture of the impact of labor migration on the economic development of European countries.

Prof. Sergej Vojtovič
Prof. Yuriy Bilan
Dr. Marcel Kordoš
Guest Editors

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• sustainability of labor migration
• empirical study of labor migration
• labor migration and economic growth in the macroeconomic context
• comprehensive study of labor migration and economic growth
• long-term impact of labor migration on economic growth
• negative impact of labor migration on economic growth