This article examines the effect of individual and contextual variables on preference formation towards European Union (EU) freedom of movement. Our multilevel analyses of Eurobarometer data show ...that citizens with low levels of human capital and strong feelings of national identity are more likely to oppose intra-EU migration. However, we argue that in order to fully grasp variation in public preferences, we need to consider the domestic context. Utilitarian and affective theories have more explanatory power in richer countries, but in less affluent member states support for free movement is evenly high irrespective of individual dispositions. Our findings have implications for the progress of European integration, especially at a time when the EU is in the process of deciding on a course of action about its future direction.
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BFBNIB, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Freedom of Movement (FoM) has paradoxical implications for Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries: it facilitates brain drain and general population loss but also enjoys continuously high ...appreciation from Eastern Europeans. Against this background, the article addresses the question: how do FoM-driven expectation gaps- gaps between FoM policy design and outcomes - trigger policy responses? Borrowing from institutional change theories the article identifies new institutions that are added to FoM at the EU level. It argues that these new institutions, called 'layers', are established alongside the existing EU principle for the purpose of addressing critique that arises from gaps. To preserve the status quo of the FoM principle and its function for the single market, the layers define incremental changes to the overall policy framework of FoM. They introduce a compensation mechanism for population loss and Commission agency on demographic change and migrant return.
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BFBNIB, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Human mobility impacts many aspects of a city, from its spatial structure
to its response to an epidemic
. It is also ultimately key to social interactions
, innovation
and productivity
. However, ...our quantitative understanding of the aggregate movements of individuals remains incomplete. Existing models-such as the gravity law
or the radiation model
-concentrate on the purely spatial dependence of mobility flows and do not capture the varying frequencies of recurrent visits to the same locations. Here we reveal a simple and robust scaling law that captures the temporal and spatial spectrum of population movement on the basis of large-scale mobility data from diverse cities around the globe. According to this law, the number of visitors to any location decreases as the inverse square of the product of their visiting frequency and travel distance. We further show that the spatio-temporal flows to different locations give rise to prominent spatial clusters with an area distribution that follows Zipf's law
. Finally, we build an individual mobility model based on exploration and preferential return to provide a mechanistic explanation for the discovered scaling law and the emerging spatial structure. Our findings corroborate long-standing conjectures in human geography (such as central place theory
and Weber's theory of emergent optimality
) and allow for predictions of recurrent flows, providing a basis for applications in urban planning, traffic engineering and the mitigation of epidemic diseases.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ
•Contact tracing as an extreme case of the privacy paradox: which values?•Present benefits: freedom of movement, not morally responsible.•Future risks: privacy, habituation to security policies and ...health.•In crisis situations, contact tracing apps contribute to self-disciplining.•French government plays on the paradox and downplays long term concerns.
Contact tracing apps are presented as a solution, if not the solution, to curb pandemics in the Covid-19 crisis. In France, despite heated public institutional debate on privacy related issues, the app was presented by government as an essential benefit for protecting health and lives, thus avoiding both politicians and citizens to feel morally responsible and looking guilty, and as essential to recover our freedom to move. However we argue that, while detection of cases have still not been reported after 10 days and one million app downloads - a situation comparable to Australia who launched its app a month before -, the adoption of the app generates important risks to our informational privacy, surveillance and habituation to security policies. It also may create discrimination, distrust and generate other health problems such as addiction and others as 5G technology continues to be deployed without prior impact studies. Finally the smartphone app against covid epidemics appears as an extreme case of the privacy paradox where the government plays on the immediate benefits and downplays long-term concerns while inducing a technology of self. Contact tracing apps may become an emblematic case for digital transformation and value changes in the western world.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the globe have implemented a certain degree of lockdown, restricting citizens' freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. This article aims to ...illustrate the impact that the measures against the spread of COVID-19 have on forest recreation, building on a study in an urban context around Bonn (Germany) that was conducted between April 2019 and February 2020. The quantitative and qualitative data on urban forest visits from that study were supplemented with new census data supported by selected expert interviews. We found that visitor numbers since the inception of COVID-19 measures in March 2020 have more than doubled. Visitor patterns have drastically shifted, from an even distribution throughout the day with small peaks before and after office hours to a culmination in the late afternoon. Lastly, the interviewed forestry professionals have noted that a new set of visitors, i.e. young people, families with children and non-locals, has arrived to the forest. This influx of more and novice visitors poses challenges for forest managers and urban forest policy. It is, however, also a unique opportunity for a substantial engagement of forestry with society at large, that has implications for forest policy, especially in urban areas, possibly beyond the COVID-19 pandemic era.
•Census data have shown a significant increase in forest visits during the COVID-19 lockdown in Bonn, Germany.•The new census data complete a long-running research on urban forest recreation and visitor preferences•The forest appears as a prime spot for recreation, due to its intrinsic characteristics as well as a lack of alternatives•Qualitative and quantitative data show a need for additional investments in order to accommodate a diverse public
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Following Brexit, European Union citizens now find their rights to live and work in the UK have changed and they had to make an application under the European Union Settlement Scheme, established ...under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, by 30 June 2021 to enable them to continue to live in the UK lawfully. This article examines the experience and perceptions of those navigating the European Union Settlement Scheme and how they feel about life in the UK post-Brexit. It raises questions about identity and belonging. We also examine the other routes European Union nationals, and their family members, are choosing to use to secure their status in the UK. Our research highlights how the impacts of Brexit and European Union Settlement Scheme are unevenly felt and experienced by different European Union national groups. The article concludes that it is likely that we will only be able to measure the true extent of the ‘success’ of the European Union Settlement Scheme after the application gateway has closed on 30 June 2021, by learning what happens to those who fall between the gap, especially those more vulnerable.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The relationship between the European Union's (EU) free movement regime and welfare has received ample scholarly attention. However, this has almost exclusively been from the perspective of ...destination countries. We know surprisingly little about the “other side” of the migration phenomenon, i.e., the welfare-related implications of large-scale emigration, which predominantly takes place from peripheral EU member states toward the core. In this paper, we break new ground using an original survey fielded in 15 EU member states in 2021. We ask how worries about immigration and emigration shape people's attitudes about social spending in their country of origin and whether they are associated with preferences for EU involvement in social policy. We show that, on average, immigration is salient across the board, but more so in core states (West and North), while emigration is a more salient issue in peripheral states (East and West). In terms of policy preferences, regression analyses indicate that worries about emigration versus immigration are linked in an inverted manner to social policy. Indeed, a preoccupation with incoming migration increases opposition to higher government social spending, while it is irrelevant for support for a stronger EU role in social matters; by contrast, a preoccupation with emigration increases support for both higher government social spending and a stronger EU role in social matters.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Using a gravity model, we explore the effects of distance and borders on trade, migration, and trade-and-migration policies and document three key differences between trade and migration patterns in ...otherwise equivalent specifications. Regional trade (freedom-of-movement) agreements boost trade (migration) less (more) the more distant the country pairs. Distance effects on trade (migration) decrease (are unchanged) over time. International border effects on trade (migration) decrease (are unchanged) over time.
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•Regional trade agreements (RTAs) boost trade less the more distant the signatory countries are.•Freedom-of-movement agreements (FMAs) boost migration more the more distant signatory countries are.•Distance effects on trade (migration) fall (are unchanged) over time.•International border effects on trade (migration) fall (are unchanged) over time.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
There is much debate about the use of immunity passports in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have argued that immunity passports are unethical and impractical, pointing to uncertainties ...relating to COVID-19 immunity, issues with testing, perverse incentives, doubtful economic benefits, privacy concerns, and the risk of discriminatory effects. We first review the scientific feasibility of immunity passports. Considerable hurdles remain, but increasing understanding of the neutralising antibody response to COVID-19 might make identifying members of the community at low risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19 possible. We respond to the ethical arguments against immunity passports and give the positive ethical arguments. First, a strong presumption should be in favour of preserving people's free movement if at all feasible. Second, failing to recognise the reduced infection threat immune individuals pose risks punishing people for low-risk behaviour. Finally, further individual and social benefits are likely to accrue from allowing people to engage in free movement. Challenges relating to the implementation of immunity passports ought to be met with targeted solutions so as to maximise their benefit.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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