Ibrahim Sirkeci

Migration and Remittances during the Global Financial Crisis and Beyond

Immigrants tend to be more negatively affected by economic crisis than natives, particularly when governments apply strict immigration controls. With the onset of the financial crisis in the latter half of 2008, there were widespread concerns: would migrants return to sending countries and communities in large numbers, adding further economic woes to countries already facing difficulties? Would remittance flows slow and potentially cease? The literature offers little guidance on these questions. It is always a challenge to collect data, analyze, interpret, and make recommendations as the phenomenon under study is still unfolding to reveal new turns and twists. The most recent financial crisis and its repercussions are yet to be completed, and scholars have only begun processing the event. This volume is an effort to bring together in one place fresh thinking and evidence from around the world on the outcomes of mobility in the context of global financial crisis. This book is perhaps the first comprehensive study of remittances during the financial crisis and is a timely addition to the literature. It comes at a time when countries are grappling with the global financial crisis and its after effects. The resilience of remittances is good news for developing countries, but leveraging remittances for socioeconomic development remains a key challenge. The studies in this book identify and discuss key patterns observed in remittance practices across the world and possibilities for the future.

Ethno-religious categories and measuring occupational attainment in relation to education in England and Wales: a multilevel analysis

It has been suggested that ‘ethnic penalties’ exist in British labour markets, whereby members of ethnic minority groups fail to get into occupations commensurate with their qualifications. Often these analyses of occupational attainment by education treat minority groups as homogeneous, not recognising that in several there is substantial heterogeneity on other criteria, such as religion, which may also influence occupational attainment. We argue that there are significant variations among these ethno-religious minorities regarding their labour-market performance, which is measured using a continuous scale of skill-level distances—a measure of returns to education.

Socio-economic Development and International Migration: A Turkish Study

The root causes of international migration have been the subject of a considerable number of studies for many years, a vast majority of them being based on development theories dominated by economy-oriented perspectives. An underlying assumption is that poverty breeds migration. The results, and the conclusions drawn from these studies differ widely. For instance, whether emigration grows when poverty becomes more extreme or less extreme, or why it reaches certain levels are issues on which research still offers a mixed answer. This article investigates the relationship between economic development and migration by taking into consideration the question of what degrees of economic development form thresholds for migrations. The paper focuses on recent evidence on the development and emigration relationship in Turkey which reflects a dimension of the dynamics and mechanisms facilitating or restricting migratory flows from the country. Using data from the 1995 District-level Socio-economic Development Index of Turkey (DSDI) and the 1990 Census, the principal aim of this study is to provide an analytical base which will identify the degrees of local level of development in Turkey, relate these to the international migration flows, and consequently to examine patterns of development-migration relationship.

Determinants of choosing withdrawal over modern contraceptive methods in Turkey.

Objectives The determinants of the use of withdrawal in Turkey are examined using a multinomial logistic model. Methods Data were drawn from a nation-wide population-based cross-sectional study, the Turkish Demographic Health Surveys that took place in 1998 and 2003. Detailed interviews were conducted with 8576 women aged 15–49 and analysed using SPSS. Results Contextual, cultural and demographic characteristics define womens choice of withdrawal over modern methods. Socio-economic status, education, employment status, and past fertility behaviour are among key determinants. First-ever used contraception method has a very strong impact on later choices. Urban women, the more educated, those with better socioeconomic status, and those living in less crowded households resort less to withdrawal. Experience and empowerment positively linked to modern contraceptive use among women in Turkey. Conclusions The use of contraceptive methods in Turkey differs greatly. Empowerment of women in terms of better socioeconomic status, better education, modern and liberal attitudes towards women and family planning seem to reduce withdrawal use as the main method of contraception. The results suggest the need for education (particularly targeting young women and couples), information and provision of modern contraceptive services particularly for disadvantaged groups.

Economic activity in the South-Asian population in Britain: the impact of ethnicity, religion, and class

Abstract This paper expands the existing literature on ethnicity and economic activity in Britain by studying the impact of religion and class. It argues that while the class location of the different South-Asian groups is important in determining their labour market outcomes, it does not operate independently from ethnicity; rather it is highly influenced by ethnicity in the process of determining the labour market participation of these groups. We use data obtained from the 2001 UK Census on Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi men and women aged between twenty and twenty nine. Our findings confirm that class structure of the South-Asian groups is highly ethnicized, in that the ethno-religious background and class are interwoven to the extent that the separation between them is not easy, if not impossible.

The Impact of Spatial Segregation on the Employment Outcomes Amongst Bangladeshi Men and Women in England and Wales

Studies of ethnic residential segregation and its impacts on labour market performance have reported both negative and positive outcomes for different groups in different geographies. We revisit the issue with a particular focus on the Bangladeshi minority in England and Wales using both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the impact of living in segregated areas upon their labour market outcomes. We analyse the 2001 UK Census Controlled Access Microdata Sample (CAMS) and a subset (34 Bangladeshis) of qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with 73 men and women from Indian, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean backgrounds in 2005. Our quantitative analysis does show a clear negative impact of living in segregated areas (i.e. Bangladeshi ethnic enclaves) on unemployment, economic inactivity and on the occupational returns on education. Qualitative material suggests that cultural and practical reasons very often lead Bangladeshis, including highly qualified persons, to live in enclaves or nearby. Also, ethnic businesses in enclaves appear to offer jobs to many Bangladeshi men and women, but these jobs are normally low-paid that does not require high qualifications increasing the risk of lower occupational returns further.

Transnational marketing and transnational consumers

Introduction.- Transnationalisation in a Global Era.- Transnationality of organisations.- Transnational marketing and transnational marketing strategy.- Transnationals: Transnational Consumers and Transnational Mobile Consumers.- Mobility and the transnationals.- Targeting and reaching transnationals and transnational mobiles.- Conclusions.- References.

Ethnicity, Religion, Residential Segregation and Life Chances

There is a wide range of work on aspects of ethnicity in the UK, but in a number of cases little is done to integrate those separate studies. Variation in educational and labour market experience across ethnic groups is one such area and another is residential segregation; the degree to which members of various groups live apart from each other. But are those different aspects of the minority group experience linked; does segregation matter as an influence on individuals’ labour market experiences? Much of the academic and related work has focused on the facts of segregation themselves, with some comparative studies showing that the British situation is considerably less extreme than that experienced in the USA, notably by African-Americans and Hispanics in recent decades.

Cultures of Migration and Conflict in Contemporary Human Mobility in Turkey

We approach Turkish mobility using a culture of migration perspective with reference to conflict. Conflicts are defined broadly into an array of situations including minor disputes, tensions or latent conflicts on the one hand and major violent events on the other. These situations, defined along a security continuum shape individual perceptions. Increasing perceptions of human insecurity are positively correlated to a rise in migration propensity. Applied to Turkey’s international migration history we note that major conflicts have determined inflows and outflows of populations and created a Turkish culture of migration, which reinforces continuous population flows between countries of destination and origin. Migration flows between Germany and Turkey are exemplary in this regard.

Little Turkey in Great Britain

underpins this measured analysis and makes the book a valuable tool for readers interested in particular events or aspects of Ennahda. Paradoxically, this strength may be indirectly connected to the book’s major weakness, which is that it does not put forward amajor thesis, a ‘big idea’, about the movement. While not breaking new ground in this latter way, however, the book makes a major contribution towards the scholarly understanding of Ennahda, no mean achievement in this age of ideological and emotive contestation over Islamist politics.