Granting family residence rights to third country national EU family members is a controversial issue that has been the object of a lively debate, especially in recent years. The debate has been particularly focused on the role played by the Court of Justice of the European Union in deciding cases involving EU citizens and their third country national family members. The Court has been criticized for inconsistent judgments and providing a lack of legal certainty. The object of this thesis is to analyse the intricate jurisprudential scenario of family reunifications between EU citizens and third country nationals. In order to do so I will place the Court’s case law in its broader historical context. Through my analysis, I will show how the phenomenon of family reunification between EU citizens and third country nationals is the fruit of a development that, starting from the legislation of the first post World War II era reached its climax in the more recent judgments of the CJEU. Using a historical prospective, I will outline that the original meaning of the first family reunification legislative provisions, their more recent CJEU interpretation and the new application of the concept of EU citizenship find their ground on specific trends that have characterized the process of European integration for years. I will look in particular at the development of the Common Market project, focused on eliminating obstacles that would hinder the right of free movement of workers and at the strengthening of the rights deriving from the EU citizenship status. I will also show how since the oil economic crises these two currents begun to clash with the stricter immigration policies adopted by some Member States. I will argue that the approach of the Court can be better appreciated when placed at the interplay of this clash.

My thesis is an ethnographic study of Sierra Leonean living in London. I examine the interrelationships between diasporic orientations and the specific locality in which people are living. As such, my research is at the intersection between literatures on African diasporas, and research on new immigration and diversity, two fields which I argue deal with the same ‘problem' – that of the incorporation of migrants into some form of nation-state identification. In my empirical chapters I explore Sierra Leoneans encounters with diversity in a range of places within London, and engage with Brah's (1996) conception of diaspora space, as well as recent work on the topic of super-diversity (Vertovec 2007) as a way to elucidate such these interactions. I focus on key sites within Sierra Leonean London – a popular street market, the religious spaces of a church and a mosque, and the temporary spaces used for the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Sierra Leonean independence. I explore how individuals manage the twin pressures of incorporation from both the UK and Sierra Leonean states, and how these pressures reconcile in efforts to create lives in the interstices of two cultural systems. I look at how a specific cultural heritage shapes their engagements with each other and with outsiders, and how encounters with others and the experience of life in London affect their relationship with their country of origin. The thesis argues that Sierra Leoneans living in London manage these pressures using a cultural imaginary rooted in postcoloniality – i.e. shaped by the enduring effects of colonialism and its aftermath. This legacy has resulted in a profound ambivalence towards both London and Sierra Leone, as poles of this relationship, with many Sierra Leoneans coming to see the diaspora as “home”: a productive ‘”third space” with resources and opportunities beyond that of their home country. The dependence of these diasporic spaces on the contributions of diverse ‘others'provides broader affiliations, that result in a less tightly-held national identity, with Pan-West-African and African identification, becoming increasingly salient.

Studies of transnational advocacy mainly explore separate processes – e.g. the use of persuasion, socialization, leverage, incentives and penalties – through which specific actors influence policy and law at national and transnational levels. These processes can be seen as strings pulled by the actors involved in order to promote their aims. However, the existing literature stops short of explaining the dynamics of advocacy across time, the number of strings necessary for inducing change and the failure of advocacy. In order to address these shortcomings this thesis analyses the interactions between various processes that constitute transnational advocacy and proposes a conceptual model – labelled the integrated strings model of advocacy – to facilitate the understanding of the dynamics of advocacy. This model suggests that transnational advocacy is constituted by the following interlinked processes, labelled stages and strings in order to emphasize their dynamics: - The stages are: the making of pilot or past solutions-in-practice, problematization, the development of a common frame for possible solutions, the creation of solutions-on-paper and the making of solutions-in-practice; - These stages are constituted by six strings: the creation of social enterprises, the use of expertise, regulations, technology, the formation of alliances and the marketization of ideas and services. This model provides a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of advocacy than the existing literature and explains why some advocacy processes were successful while other failed. The model is illustrated through three case studies of advocacy focused on: (a) heritage conservation and sustainable development in Romania; (b) children's rights in Romania; and (c) access to the UK' labour market for Romanian migrants in Britain. The integrated model was developed through empirical multi-sited research conducted in Romania and the UK. My methodology was influenced by multi-sited ethnography (Marcus 1998), grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin 1990) and actor-network theory (Callon 1986; Latour 2005).

The 1951 Refugee Convention aims to provide international legal protection to all asylum seekers. Individuals making asylum claims based on persecution which relates to their sexual orientation however are not explicitly represented in Article 1A (2) of the Convention. As a consequence, cases based on sexual orientation are usually argued under the ‘membership of a particular social group' category, a classification which has long remained the most contested of the Refugee Convention grounds for granting asylum. This thesis focuses on the experiences of lesbian women as they navigate the UK asylum process. The research explores how sexuality is constructed and performed as women seek asylum as well as how this impacts upon their social and sexual identity. A theoretical framework for the study is principally (though not exclusively) drawn from the works of Judith Butler (1990, 2004, 2006) and Michel Foucault (1978, 1979), as well as Ken Plummer's (1995) ‘telling sexual stories'. The research draws upon in-depth, repeat interviews with eleven lesbian asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. These women all reported to have experienced physical and sexual violence in their home countries as a consequence of their homosexuality and all had sought international protection in the UK on the basis of their sexuality. The analysis presented in this thesis reveals that the experience of going through the UK asylum process was, for the women in this study, an emotionally challenging and confusing experience. As a consequence of women's traumatic experiences in their home countries, they were often over familiar with secrecy which added to the difficulties of self-identifying as a lesbian in the UK. The legal requirement to evidence and ‘prove' one's sexual orientation was considered problematic and frequently left women feeling compelled to ‘perform' their sexual identity in order to be believed as a credible lesbian. In addition the analysis presented demonstrates that the requirement to share intimate narratives on demand and in an open and public way had a range of significant implications on women themselves. This included how women felt that their sexuality was persistently judged and the devastating impact of not being believed. This thesis also shows how navigating complex legal procedures impacts upon women's social and sexual identity. The study demonstrates that living in limbo, without permanency and stability exacerbated women's experiences of social isolation and rejection and left them occupying a distinct social space, excluded from British, asylum seeking and migrant groups. Despite these struggles however, the data presented in the thesis also reveals women's ability to recognise, fight and campaign for their legal citizenship and to enjoy the freedom to express their sexual identity and sexual self-esteem. The desire to create a safe space, to understand their sexuality and to re-construct a sense of belonging was paramount as women fought for their sexual entitlements.

The notion of environmental migration, and the associated desire to predict the likely scale of the phenomenon in the future, has frequented academic debate since the 1980s. Despite this, current estimates of the numbers of people likely to be displaced by environmental change by 2050 range from 150 million to 1 billion. By developing an agent-based model this research attempts to provide a rigorous means of quantifying the influence of future changes in climate (using rainfall as a proxy) upon migration trends within the context of Burkina Faso. Located in dryland West Africa, the population and economy of Burkina Faso are highly dependent upon rain-fed agriculture, placing them in a position of considerable vulnerability to future changes in rainfall. The conceptual basis behind the Agent Migration Adaptation to Rainfall Change (AMARC) model presented by this thesis is developed using contributions from the fields of climate adaptation and social psychology to focus upon three Theory of Planned Behaviour components of the migration decision: behavioural attitude; subjective norm; and perceived behavioural control. Rules of behaviour defined within the model are developed and parameterised using information gained from both retrospective migration data analysis and the responses of interviewees in focus groups conducted across Burkina Faso. Following a process of stringent model validation and testing the AMARC model is used to investigate the role of changes in rainfall variability upon past and future modelled migration. Although a relatively clear hierarchical impact of (from highest to lowest modelled migration) average, dry and wet rainfall conditions upon total modelled migration is identified, the individual flows of migrants that make up the total show unique and varied relationships with changes in rainfall. Furthermore, modelled internal and international migration flows show both similarities and differences when compared with relationships identified between rainfall and migration within existing literature.

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the effects of public policies on rural-urban migration and human capital expansion, and to examine the role of human capital (among other domestic and external factors) in the long-term economic growth of developing countries. Human capital expansion and labor migration from villages to cities are two aspects of the structure of labor markets in poor countries that are continuously influenced by public policies— policies that are often either ineffective or have unintended adverse consequences. For example, while much of human resource policy in developing countries is directed toward increasing the supply of educated labor, inter sectoral in-country migration and unemployment have become more pronounced, requiring new thinking on policy responses. This dissertation analyzes the outcomes of such policies and offers insights into how they might be improved. Chapter 2 extends a two-sector, general-equilibrium model of rural-urban migration to include government spending. Provision of public goods acts as a productivity-enhancing input in private production that results in external economies of scale. This approach is generalized by introducing an unbalanced allocation of public expenditure in rural and urban sectors due to political economy considerations, differential sector output elasticities with respect to government input, and distortionary taxation. The chapter studies the effects of an increase in public spending and taxation on sectoral outputs, factor prices, urban unemployment, and welfare. Of particular concern here is to study the effect of an unbalanced allocation of government spending between rural and urban areas. Chapter 3 studies the effects of selected education policies on the size of the educated labor pool and on economic welfare using the “job ladder” model of education, which is relevant to liberal arts education in developing countries. The policies considered are (1) increasing the teacher student ratio, (2) raising the relative wage of teachers, and (3) increasing the direct subsidy per student. In addition, the chapter analyzes the impact of wage rigidities in the skilled or modern sector on the size of the educated labor force. The analysis consists of five major sections. First, it reformulates the Bhagwati-Srinivasan job ladder model to make it amenable to analyzing the comparative static results of the effects of selected policies. Second, since higher education is mostly publicly financed, the analysis extends the job ladder model to incorporate public financing of the education sector. It then examines that model along with the effects of changes in policy parameters. Third, the analysis develops another extension of the job ladder model to include private tuition practices by teachers that are prevalent in many developing countries. Fourth, to analyze the impact of wage rigidities in a less restrictive framework where individuals can choose education based on ability and cost, the chapter develops an overlapping generations model of education with job ladder assumptions of wage rigidities in the skilled or modern sector. The chapter examines the flexible market and fixed market (with wage rigidities) equilibrium scenarios, and compares the impact on the threshold level of abilities and the size of the educated labor force. Finally, using specific functional forms of human capital production, cost, and ability density functions, the chapter analyzes the equilibrium outcomes. The analysis shows that in an economy with wage rigidities in the skilled sectors (modern and education sectors), the result of quality-enhancing policies under the simple job ladder model is an increase in the total size of the educated labor force. However, under an extended version of the job ladder model, the result depends on the relative size of the effects of an increase in the cost of education and the effects of an increase in the expected wage. The overlapping generations/job ladder model formulation used in the chapter finds that an increase in the present value of the expected wage and/or an increase in the marginal product of education will increase the demand for education. The minimum threshold level of ability falls, and more people are encouraged to acquire educational skills. Chapter 4 estimates the effects of openness, trade orientation, human capital, and other factors on total factor productivity (TFP) and output for a pooled cross section, time-series sample of countries from Africa and Asia, as well as for the two regions separately. The models are estimated for the level and growth of both TFP and output by using panel fixed effects. The generalized method of moments is also applied to address endogeneity issues. Several variables related to political, financial, and economic risks are used as instruments, together with the lagged values of the dependent and endogenous explanatory variables. The data for this study span 40 years (1972–2011) and are grouped into five-year averages. Several sources were used to obtain the most updated data, including the newly released Penn World Table (Version 8.0). The chapter finds that inducing a greater outward orientation generally boosts TFP, per capita output, and growth. Greater accumulation of human capital has a consistently positive effect on output and TFP growth in both Africa and Asia. Its positive influence comes rather independently of trade variables than interactive terms with openness. Furthermore, inflation does not negatively affect growth, although inflation variability is found to adversely affect TFP and output in Africa. Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation by providing conclusions, a summary of major results, and possible directions for future research.

This doctoral thesis commences with a meticulous examination on whether financial, social and institutional determinants associate with the migration performance in Europe and accordingly in Greece. Motivated by the intensity, the magnitude and the financial recession, this thesis presents three empirical chapters on the examination of the determinants that affect the phenomenon of migration. Prior to these three empirical studies a chapter introduces and defines all the variables used as well as the theoretical and methodological framework of the thesis. The first empirical chapter demonstrates a comprehensive sample of 15 European countries from 1990 – 2012, which have been divided into 3 groups (Weak-EMU, Strong-EMU and Non-EMU countries) in order to investigate the behaviour of each group during these periods. It follows a quantitative analysis of the economic and social determinants on migration, in order to comprehend their relationship with the phenomenon. The chapter concludes with the discussion of our results with an analytical review of the selected variables upon migration. Results reveal that Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are countries that are more exposed to the financial crisis, something that consequently affects negatively the behaviour of each employed economic variable. Additionally, results detect that one significant outcome is that the GDP growth rate, inflation and the imports of goods are related to migration, while on the other hand the 10-year government bond yield is not affiliated to the phenomenon. The second empirical chapter covers the financial, social and institutional determinants that motivate Greek nationals to leave their country and emigrate to wealthier destinations during the recent financial crisis. First, it reviews the theoretical explanations for the efficiency of the factors on migration. It then provides a survey on the relevant empirical studies and subsequently an analysis of the variables, which have a significant impact on labour migration. Based on the theories presented, the study develops a model to explain how financial, social and institutional factors are correlated with the economic downturn and lead to adverse financial and social shocks such as massive migration outflows of Greek nationals. More precisely, the second chapter indicates that Greece has been very exposed to the financial crisis, thus had a strong impact on the decision of Greek natives to emigrate. As conditions deteriorate, Greece was in a severe financial situation due to the financial crisis and was dependent on the monetary policy support, something that emerged the country to experience major and drastic changes on its social cohesion. Further, we can identify, that debt to GDP, exports of goods, ln of imports of goods, long term unemployment and population growth are positively related to emigration from Greece, while on the other hand cash surplus, foreign direct investment and bank capital are negatively associated to the phenomenon. Finally, we employed advanced techniques to model the factors that motivate the existing regular immigrants in Greece to abandon the country and return to their own during the economic crisis period (return-migration). The findings reveal details on the imbalances of the economic, social and political framework of Greece that consequently affected negatively the growth rate of the country and created a fragile economy with high rates of unemployment and inflation. Hence, it compares the economic, social and institutional factors, which are related to the literature of return migration. According to the estimated results, the phenomenon of return migration is neither related in a predetermined way with unemployment rates nor poverty levels, but with tax revenue, corruption and government debt. Consequently, this situation had a strong negative impact in the behaviour of each financial, social and institutional determinant, with immediate result to the migrant families who pursue an improved quality of life back to their home country.

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of children migrating to the United States without a parent. In Fiscal Year 2014 alone, U.S. immigration authorities apprehended and detained almost 70,000 unaccompanied children, compared to less than 9,000 in 2010. This rapid rise has been fueled primarily by children arriving from Central America, one of the world’s most violent regions. The available literature on unaccompanied children in the United States suggests that they are a vulnerable and underserved population, who are at risk for repeated exposure to extreme psychosocial adversities at every stage of their migration and frequently face many of these challenges alone. However, to date there has been little formal study of their mental health needs. The aim of this exploratory study was to obtain initial data regarding the psychosocial context, mental health presentation, and mental health service utilization of unaccompanied children released to guardians in the community pending immigration hearings to determine their eligibility to remain in the United States. The study employed a mixed methodology combining qualitative and quantitative data. The sample comprised 26 unaccompanied children and their guardians residing in the New York City metro area, interviewed between September 2013 and December 2014. Results showed that children in our sample had complex reasons for migration, frequently combining push factors such as fleeing gang violence and pull factors such as a desire for reunification with parents in the United States after long separations. Most had been exposed repeatedly to extreme psychosocial stressors prior to and during their migration, including almost two-thirds who had witnessed violence, serious injury, or death and over one-third who had witnessed domestic abuse or had been physically abused themselves. However, children also described benefitting from an array of supports that protected against stressors and promoted their wellbeing, and in their narratives they emphasized overcoming adversity rather than victimization. On a structured mental health diagnostic interview, the majority of children met criteria for one or more past-year anxiety and depressive disorders. Few received diagnoses for behavioral problems. Compared against these data, child-report measures screened more effectively for internalizing disorder diagnoses and guardian-report measures screened more effectively for externalizing disorder diagnoses. Despite the high rates of diagnosable disorders in the sample, most children appeared to be functioning well in family, social, and educational domains. No children were receiving formal mental health services at the time of their study interview, although several were being monitored by school counselors. Children presenting with mental health concerns were provided with referrals to mental health treatment services and contacted for a brief telephone follow-up interview three months later. At follow-up, a number of children had received counseling. Availability of school counselors and referral to therapists in the community through pediatricians were the primary facilitators of service access. Lack of knowledge of available, Spanish-speaking services and cost of treatment were common obstacles to seeking treatment. Some children and their guardians did not perceive a need for services, and most of these children appeared to be functioning well at follow-up. This study was designed to be largely descriptive and to provide data to inform future, theory-driven research. In the discussion section, social ecological models of risk and resilience and Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources theory are presented as potential paradigms for understanding unaccompanied children’s migration processes, with stressors and supportive factors interacting across systemic levels and over time to determine children’s access to resources and their mental health, functioning, and wellbeing. Finally, the implications of the study’s findings for future research, psychosocial intervention, and rights-based advocacy with unaccompanied children are considered.

No description available.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the changes in countries of origin and occupational groups of immigrants to the United States after the implementation of the 1965 Immigration Act. The basic policy change in the 1965 Immigration Act was essentially the abolition of the National Origins Quota System. The new law led to obvious changes in the origins of immigrants. The number of Southern European, Asian and Caribbean immigrants significantly increased since the implementation of the Act. The sources of the various occupational groups shifted to some extent. The number of immigrants in the professional and highly skilled categories increased significantly. The impact of the changes aggravated the "brain drain" problem.