The dynamic welfare habitus and its impact on Brazilian migration to Lisbon and Barcelona, 2021
Little is known on how people’s way of thinking and doing around welfare provision – what we call... more Little is known on how people’s way of thinking and doing around welfare provision – what we call the welfare habitus – plays a role in migration and how such cultural references change over the migration process. Through an empirical case study on Brazilian migration to Southern Europe, this article explores the dynamism of the welfare habitus focusing on three elements. First, the welfare-related resource environment in the countries of origin and destination. Second, the role of the welfare habitus in shaping migration aspirations. Third, the transformative learning process taking place during the life course and the migration experience. The article draws on a literature review, the analysis of secondary quantitative data and 24 in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews collected in 2016 in Lisbon and Barcelona among men and women born in Brazil selected at different stages of the life course –young people without children, parents of school-aged children and people aged 55 or more. Drawing on practice theory the paper looks at the interaction between external structures, habitus and everyday actions around welfare provision in contexts of migration. Doing so, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the effect of welfare provisions in the country of origin on migration focusing on the temporal perspective.
In a short period of time, Ukrainians became the second largest foreign community living in Portu... more In a short period of time, Ukrainians became the second largest foreign community living in Portugal. Without historical ties linking the two countries, the ‘migration industry’ as well as positive feedback and assistance provided through pioneers’ social networks were decisive for the constitution and rap-id expansion of the flow. However it slowed down in only few years and the economic crisis affecting Portugal since 2008 has introduced new limits to a possible future expansion. The goal of the paper is to provide insights with respect to the evolution of the flow, particularly looking at mechanisms of as-sistance and feedback provided and received within social networks, including the role of the ‘migra-tion industry’. We explored quantitative and qualitative data collected through questionnaires applied to 306 Ukrainians and interviews conducted with 31 Ukrainians in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in 2011 and 2012. The research confirms the importance of assistance received throu...
This paper analyses processes of replacement faced by immigrant workers in the labour market by l... more This paper analyses processes of replacement faced by immigrant workers in the labour market by looking at the two most relevant economic activities for the integration of immigrant women: cleaning and domestic service. For most of its immigration history, Portugal relied on immigrants from Lusophone African (PALOP) countries—mostly from Cape Verde—to supply the workforce necessary to complement native workers in these activities. However, as the immigration scenario changed at the end of the 1990s with the arrival of Eastern European and Brazilian women, so did the hiring options available to employers. At the same time, immigration from PALOP countries underwent a consolidation process, with implications for the immigrants’ own working preferences and integration processes. The objective of this paper is to address the changes that occurred in the integration of immigrant workers in these two low-skilled activities between 1998 and 2006 and in the light of both employers’ and workers’ preferences and their respective labour market strategies. The underlying hypothesis is that the prevailing working conditions in each of these activities condition both employers’ and workers’ preferences and their implementation, thereby producing different outcomes in terms of processes of replacement migration and the substitution of workers.
The dynamic welfare habitus and its impact on Brazilian migration to Lisbon and Barcelona, 2021
Little is known on how people’s way of thinking and doing around welfare provision – what we call... more Little is known on how people’s way of thinking and doing around welfare provision – what we call the welfare habitus – plays a role in migration and how such cultural references change over the migration process. Through an empirical case study on Brazilian migration to Southern Europe, this article explores the dynamism of the welfare habitus focusing on three elements. First, the welfare-related resource environment in the countries of origin and destination. Second, the role of the welfare habitus in shaping migration aspirations. Third, the transformative learning process taking place during the life course and the migration experience. The article draws on a literature review, the analysis of secondary quantitative data and 24 in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews collected in 2016 in Lisbon and Barcelona among men and women born in Brazil selected at different stages of the life course –young people without children, parents of school-aged children and people aged 55 or more. Drawing on practice theory the paper looks at the interaction between external structures, habitus and everyday actions around welfare provision in contexts of migration. Doing so, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the effect of welfare provisions in the country of origin on migration focusing on the temporal perspective.
In a short period of time, Ukrainians became the second largest foreign community living in Portu... more In a short period of time, Ukrainians became the second largest foreign community living in Portugal. Without historical ties linking the two countries, the ‘migration industry’ as well as positive feedback and assistance provided through pioneers’ social networks were decisive for the constitution and rap-id expansion of the flow. However it slowed down in only few years and the economic crisis affecting Portugal since 2008 has introduced new limits to a possible future expansion. The goal of the paper is to provide insights with respect to the evolution of the flow, particularly looking at mechanisms of as-sistance and feedback provided and received within social networks, including the role of the ‘migra-tion industry’. We explored quantitative and qualitative data collected through questionnaires applied to 306 Ukrainians and interviews conducted with 31 Ukrainians in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in 2011 and 2012. The research confirms the importance of assistance received throu...
This paper analyses processes of replacement faced by immigrant workers in the labour market by l... more This paper analyses processes of replacement faced by immigrant workers in the labour market by looking at the two most relevant economic activities for the integration of immigrant women: cleaning and domestic service. For most of its immigration history, Portugal relied on immigrants from Lusophone African (PALOP) countries—mostly from Cape Verde—to supply the workforce necessary to complement native workers in these activities. However, as the immigration scenario changed at the end of the 1990s with the arrival of Eastern European and Brazilian women, so did the hiring options available to employers. At the same time, immigration from PALOP countries underwent a consolidation process, with implications for the immigrants’ own working preferences and integration processes. The objective of this paper is to address the changes that occurred in the integration of immigrant workers in these two low-skilled activities between 1998 and 2006 and in the light of both employers’ and workers’ preferences and their respective labour market strategies. The underlying hypothesis is that the prevailing working conditions in each of these activities condition both employers’ and workers’ preferences and their implementation, thereby producing different outcomes in terms of processes of replacement migration and the substitution of workers.
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