Salabè, Chiara; (2004) Immigration and the Need for Flexibility: The Case of Italy. Masters thesis (M.Phil), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

As far as immigration is concerned Italy has become an important host country within the European Union. Even though in terms of stock of foreign population on total population it is still behind many European immigration countries, including new immigration countries like Greece, as far as new arrivals are concerned it represents one of the main attraction poles in the European Union, especially if undocumented immigration is considered. Migration flows of the past twenty-five years differ from those that occurred in the post-war period not only because new destination and origin countries emerged - namely Southern European countries on the one hand and Eastern European, African and Asian countries on the other hand - but also for the features of the pull dimension explaining the migratory phenomenon. The transition from the Fordist to the post-Fordist paradigm and the changing international context have shifted the focus of pull factors from labour shortage more towards flexibility. Mutating labour standards and peculiar organization of production show this evolution most clearly. New immigration waves directed to Italy are explained to a great extent by this transition, which is founded on a number of preexisting features of the country. The review of migration theories shows that alternative theoretical explanatory frameworks are complementary rather than exclusive ways to read the phenomenon. Historical contexts and the level of analysis are determining criteria for selecting a combination of theories. Besides migration theory, the definition of flexibility has emerged as a central concept to explain migration flows to Italy. The analysis of available official data on immigration on the one hand, and on the Italian labour market and entrepreneurial structure on the other hand, provides some empirical evidence on the link between immigration and the need for flexibility.

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