The employment of migrant workers in West Germany and Belgium. A comparative illustration of the life-cycle of economic migration (1960-1980)
Moulaert, F.; Deryckere, P.
International Migration 22(3): 178-198
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0020-7985 PMID: 12159572 Document Number: 410812
A comparison of foreign labor migration patterns in Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany is presented for the period from the 1960s to the 1980s. The authors note that this migration follows a structural pattern, which they classify as the life cycle of economic migration, and is strictly linked to trends in the economy. However, a cyclical pattern of migration exists in Germany but not in Belgium. The reasons for the differences observed are considered, and the authors suggest that these differences may be due to the longer tradition of economic immigration existing in Belgium. Thus, immigrants are more integrated into the Belgian economy, whereas they are more separated in Germany and therefore more susceptible to ebbs and flows caused by changing migration policies.