Although a growing body of migration literature has focused on the determinants of migrants' plans to return to the home country, the role major life events play in return migration ...intention--including transitions and turning points, key concepts of the life course approach--has barely been examined. We address the following research question: What are the effects of family, work, and health events on the return intentions of first- and second-generation Turks living in Germany? We answer this research question using longitudinal data of first- and second-generation Turkish migrants who participated in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) study between 1984 and 2012. The results for first-generation Turkish migrants show that entering the empty-nest stage, becoming unemployed, and becoming employed in Germany increase the likelihood of intending to return, while partnership dissolution and childbirth act as a deterrent. Partnership formation, entering retirement, and health deterioration neither trigger nor deter the intention to return. For the second generation, becoming unemployed increases the intention to return, while partnership formation has the opposite effect. Partnership dissolution, childbirth, becoming employed in Germany, and health deterioration have no impact on the likelihood of intending to return. Our study shows that a number of key life events are important triggers of international relocation, although differences emerge when comparing first- and second-generation migrants. Further research could reveal whether these results are specific to the Turkish community.
Ageing and migration are two of Europe’s fundamental demographic processes, challenging a wide range of social policies. Their intersection generates a wide taxonomy of types of individuals, from the ...most well-off and active ones to those more deprived and marginalised and for whom being old and having a migration background represents a double jeopardy. Yet in discussions of the ‘demographic time bomb’ of ageing, the special circumstances of ageing migrants are rarely recognised. Thus far, in Europe, very little is known about ageing populations with a migratory background, and this is even more true for Italy, that turned into an immigration country only in the late 1980s and where older migrants are a neglected, although growing, group in the Italian population. In this paper, we unpack ageing migrants’ wellbeing by focusing on life satisfaction, as a broader indicator of individual’s wellbeing; in particular, we analyse the effect of migration experiences on migrants’ perception of the quality of life in old age. We use data from the Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens survey (2011–2012) and build several indicators related to different structural and socio-cultural dimensions of integration to analyse different patterns of association with life satisfaction among different groups of ageing migrants in Italy. Our study has important implications form both theoretical and policy perspective as it contributes to the advancement of original knowledge on the factors that shape wellbeing in later life in a context of migration.
This study focuses on the social wellbeing of older migrants in Italy, an important yet neglected topic in the Italian political and scholarly debate. Knowledge about the lived experience of ...loneliness and its perceived causes was gathered by means of 34 in-depth interviews with Albanian and Moroccan migrants aged 50 and above living in the Marche region. Our findings show that the participants are surrounded by family and are largely satisfied with the contact they have with relatives; this protects them from social isolation but not from loneliness. Although they rarely express this to their spouse and friends (men) or their children (men and women), feelings of loneliness are widely experienced among the participants. The root of their loneliness largely relates to a lack of meaningful relationships with non-related age peers – having a chat, remembering old times, socialising with others when family members are busy, talking about intimate matters they cannot or will not share with relatives – which supports the argument of loneliness scholars that different types of relationships serve different functions and fulfil different needs. Having more contact with people outside the family circle, especially with co-ethnic peers, could reduce these feelings of loneliness substantially, but factors such as discrimination and lack of Italian language proficiency, free time, financial resources and nearby contact facilities are hindrances. These factors offer clues for public loneliness interventions.
The aim of this article is to investigate the remittance behavior of host country-born children of migrants – the second generation – in various European cities. We address the following question: ...Are second-generation remitters driven more by altruism or by self-interest? Data from “The Integration of the European Second Generation” (TIES) survey are utilized and encompass individuals with at least one migrant parent from Morocco, Turkey, or former Yugoslavia. Using logistic models, we test different classical theories on microeconomic determinants of remittances and add some additional expectations for the second generation. The results show that those second-generation Moroccans, Turks, and former Yugoslavs who send money are motivated by two main reasons: Emotional attachment to their parents’ home country (altruism motive) or to pay people who look after their investments or other material assets that are likely to be part of their preparation for “returning” (self-interest – exchange motive). These two motives are not necessarily exclusive: As part of a well-prepared return, to integrate easily once back “home,” it is not only relevant to ensure that people take care of one's investments and other material assets, but also to strengthen social ties and be well informed about the situation in the country of origin. This interpretation fits closely with the return model, which deserves more attention in the theoretical literature on remittances.
Although migration literature has largely explored the determinants of the intention to return to the country of origin, older migrants have only more recently become the focus of scientific ...interest. Building on the literature related to return migration, well‐being and ageing, we investigate quantitatively the determinants of return intentions in later life. We draw on longitudinal data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel (GSOEP) for the period 1984–2013 to address the role of subjective and objective well‐being in shaping later‐life (im)mobility intentions. Our findings highlight the key role of different dimensions of well‐being (economic and psychological factors) whose effects on return intentions are greatly shaped by gender; men are more influenced by economic conditions than women, for whom more intimate and subjective considerations seem to play a major role. Satisfaction with life in Germany plays a major role in permanent settlement for both female and male migrants. Other factors related to integration and to the (transnational) family structure significantly affect the desire to return to the country of origin.
Introducing the special issue, this paper provides a state-of-the-art on established and new trends in the study of international retirement migration (IRM) and summarises the five papers that ...follow. Early studies on IRM were mainly within Europe and drew on the conceptual framework of lifestyle migration, with some reference to the transnational and mobilities paradigms. New frontiers in IRM are presented under three heads. Firstly, new geographical frontiers extend IRM to new destinations within and proximate to Europe, and to new locations in the global South such as Thailand and Ecuador. Secondly, new typological frontiers involve a broadening of the class and wealth backgrounds of the retirees, including the ‘return of retirement’ of labour migrants to their countries of origin, and attentiveness to IRM's gendered aspects. Thirdly, new conceptual and theoretical frontiers of IRM involve a more in-depth investigation of its transnational aspects, exploration of the various regimes of mobility and, most importantly, a political economy perspective which stresses global inequalities and histories of colonialism in shaping access to privileged lifestyles. In the final part of the paper, the original features of each paper in the special issue are highlighted, demonstrating how they are collectively integrated and contribute to the advancement of IRM research.
This paper focuses on the so-called 'zero generation': the parents of first-generation migrants who are initially left behind in the migrant country of origin and who may subsequently follow their ...children in migration or engage in transnational back-and-forth mobility. We challenge the prevailing optic on the left-behind older generation that sees them as dependent and in need of care, and stress instead their active participation both in migration and in the administration of care and support to their children and grandchildren. Drawing on interviews with mainly zero-generation Albanians, and also some first-generation migrants, in various geographical contexts - Albania, Italy, Greece, and the UK - we trace their evolving patterns of mobility, intergenerational care, well-being, and loneliness both in Albania and abroad. In telling the often-overlooked story of the zero generation, we highlight both their vulnerability and agency in different circumstances and at different times, shaped by family composition and the ageing process. Adapted from the source document.
Within the linked fields of population, migration, and ageing, international retirement migration (IRM) has emerged as a strong focus for empirical research. Thus far, the classic studies have been ...on European North–South IRM, with a specific concentration on iconic regions such as the Costa del Sol, southern France, and Tuscany. But the geography of IRM is constantly changing, as prior destination regions become “saturated” and perhaps too expensive, so that new “frontiers” are opened up. One such frontier is the Italian region of Marche, now seen as a cheaper and more “authentic” region than Tuscany. This paper uses interview narratives from 69 older age British, Dutch, and German people who have relocated, as either permanent settlers or seasonal residents, in the Marche, in order to answer two questions. The questions relate first to the main drivers of IRM at the decision‐making level and, second, to the experiences of living there, including advantages and disadvantages. We find the participants for the most part engaged in active ageing, growing their own produce, and joining in local community life and are appreciative of the beauty of the hilly landscape. However, “full” integration is hampered by language and cultural barriers, whereas the bureaucracy is their main complaint.
Children of immigrants are generally disadvantaged in terms of educational outcomes in most European countries and this remains true even after controlling for their socioeconomic status. Factors ...affecting the long‐term educational careers among children of immigrants and natives have been broadly investigated in the literature, although limited attention has been paid so far to the role of subjective well‐being in this context. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap by analyzing how subjective well‐being in the school and family context is related to objective school outcomes of immigrant and native children residing in Italy, after controlling for several relevant socio‐demographic factors. We use rich and unique data from the ‘Integration of the Second Generation’ survey carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in 2015, that has not been used to analyse this relationship so far. The national representative sample includes 68,127 students interviewed in both lower and upper secondary schools. Around 47% of them are immigrant children without Italian citizenship. Our results show that subjective well‐being is positively correlated with school performance, but well‐being at school is much more important for immigrant students’ achievements, as compared to their native peers, especially in the lower secondary school. The same result does not hold for well‐being in the family domain.
Within the general framework of ‘lifestyle migration’, the paper explores three materialities associated with the arrival and settlement of British, German and Dutch later-life migrants in the ...Italian region of Marche, a relatively new ‘frontier’ region for international retirement migration. The first is about the aesthetics of landscape and the scenic and emotional qualities of the physical and social environment. The second concerns ‘home’, where we examine house types, property location and home-making practices in terms of ‘authenticity’, material objects and the cultivation of land for productive purposes. The paper's third thematic focus is on consumption patterns. Most of the 69 participants interviewed for this study hanker after what they perceive as a simpler, more genuine way of life, in tune with the surrounding mixed-farming agricultural environment and distinct from other regions where tourism has taken hold. Many grow their own produce, including some who have small vineyards and olive groves. They enjoy shopping in local markets, eating out in inexpensive local hostelries, visiting museums and cultural festivals, and exploring the many pretty villages and historic towns of the region. The participants embody later-life migration as ‘active ageing’, but those who are older and/or frailer must consider, often reluctantly, the reality of a less-active and more isolated life in the Italian countryside.
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