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Abstract

European employers are rediscovering liberalised labour migration and are attempting to lobby governments to modify previously restrictive regulatory approaches. This article analyses these newly embraced interest positions, drawing on empirical evidence from the United Kingdom and Germany. Employers do not simply desire more migrants or are indifferent to their skills profile, but rather seek newcomers who can be easily accommodated and complement existing corporate strategies and skills requirements. However, they may also seek to ‘import’ missing skills that domestic educational facilities do not generate. The profile of ‘desirable’ economic migrants varies and is conditioned by production strategies and education and training schemes associated with different varieties of capitalism. This article proposes bridging the gap between comparative political economy and migration studies.

Keywords

labour migration models of capitalism employer associations

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Employer Preferences for Labour Migration: Exploring ‘Varieties of Capitalism’-Based Contextual Conditionality in Germany and the United Kingdom

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