Migrants, Refugees and Labor Markets: International Perspectives on Inclusion and Exclusion in the New Millennium

Dear Colleagues,

We invite interested scholars to contribute to the upcoming Special Issue of Societies titled “Migrants, Refugees and Labor Markets: International Perspectives on Inclusion and Exclusion in the New Millennium”.

In recent decades, immigration scholars have moved far beyond “straight line” models of incorporation to analysis that recognize the diverse experiences that migrants and refugees confront in host countries (Portes and Rumbaut 2001; Kasinitz et.al. 2008; Drouhot and Nee 2019). In a large part, the diverse trajectories evident among this population reflect distinct labor market prospects and outcomes. More specifically, the ways that immigrants are incorporated into the economy—or excluded—determines their class status and social mobility, physical and mental health, residential segregation or spatial assimilation, group memberships (e.g., union vs. non-union), and countless other opportunities and outcomes. Scholarship focusing on migrants’ distinct pathways of incorporation highlights the significance of politics and place (defined by national and regional boundaries as well as the urban/rural divide), race/ethnicity, gender, language, immigration status, and other social/legal factors that shape their experience. To adequately map the complex array of labor market outcomes for migrants, we need more intentionally intersectional and comparative approaches.

This Special Issue has an interdisciplinary and international perspective. We aim to collect papers that examine the labor market experiences of migrants and refugees from distinct methodological, theoretical, and geographic standpoints. We are especially interested in exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of labor market incorporation for migrants and refugees. This most recent global health crisis upended labor markets across the world, triggering an unprecedented economy-wide shutdown that drove up unemployment to record highs. At the same time, political leaders responded to the threat of COVID-19 by closing borders. In the last two years, both the economy and borders have re-opened. Scholars have yet to fully examine the impacts of this historic shift on labor market outcomes for migrants and refugees.

The contributions for this Special Issue may include, but are not limited to, the following issues:

• How did the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 differ in its impacts for migrants and refugees across host nations? How did COVID-19 impact those sectors in which migrants and refugees have been historically concentrated? In which sectors were migrants and refugees most likely to face heightened health risks? In which sectors were migrants most likely to face layoffs?
• How has COVID-19 impacted “ethnic enclaves” and entrepreneurial activity among migrants and refugees?
• How were the labor market impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for migrants and refugees similar or distinct from the impacts of earlier economic crisis?
• How has the re-emergence of nativist political leaders across Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere shaped the labor market opportunities available to migrants and refugees?
• What set of laws and policies mitigated or exacerbated the labor market impacts of COVID-19 for migrants and refugees (e.g., stimulus payments, housing policies, resettlement policies, etc.). How did NGOs advocate on behalf of migrants and refugees?
• In what ways has the role of social class, race, ethno-religious identities, gender, and legal status shaped the labor market experience of migrants and refugees across time and place?
• What role have human rights law and other international agreements shaped the labor market experience of migrants and refugees?
• How have migrants and refugees organized against labor market exploitation and discrimination? What conditions have fostered protest and resistance? What factors account for the success or failure of collective action in the workplace?

We invite empirical research articles, literature reviews, and conceptual papers addressing the topic of this Special Issue. Prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors should submit an abstract of 400‒500 words. Abstract submission closes 30 September 2023. Please send abstracts to guest editors (wahlam@wfu.edu or gunkelse@wfu.edu), or to the Societies Editorial Office (societies@mdpi.com). Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Contributions have to follow one of the three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper, or review) of the journal and address the topic of the Special Issue.

Dr. Ana-María González Wahl
Dr. Steven E. Gunkel
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• migrants
• refugees
• labor markets
• work and occupations
• immigration law and policy
• COVID-19