15.02.2023

Migration and Labour

WIFO Economist Peter Huber Collaborated on Book by Gudrun Biffl
Under the title "Migration und Arbeit", the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) has just published a book by former WIFO economist Gudrun Biffl. WIFO regional economist Peter Huber contributed to the work and wrote a chapter on EU enlargement to the East.

According to Huber, the EU's eastern enlargement increased both internal migration and the European Union's resilience to crises. The welfare gains, however, were distributed very differently, according to recent studies. "In the accession countries, low-skilled workers were the biggest winners. In the EU-15 countries, high-skilled workers benefited while low-skilled workers suffered losses," Huber said.

The book highlights a wide range of academic debates and research findings on migration and work in Austria in an international comparison. It shows why the labour market needs migrants, where they come from, where they find work and what role the social partnership and the welfare model play in their integration into the workforce.

Themes will also include health-related workloads and discrimination, as well as the cross-border posting of workers and self-employment in private 24-hour care. The legal framework and policy options are also discussed and scenarios for possible future developments in labour migration are outlined.

The book "Migration und Arbeit" is part of the ÖAW publication series "Migration und ..." and is available online free of charge here.