2,000 Families: identifying the research potential of an origins-of-migration study

ABSTRACT

Despite recent advances, critical areas in the analysis of European migration remain underdeveloped. We have only a limited understanding of the consequences of migration for migrants and their descendants, relative to staying behind; and our insights of intergenerational transmission is limited to two generations of those living in the destination countries. These limitations stem from a paucity of studies that incorporate comparison with non-migrants – and return migrants – in countries of origin and which trace processes of intergenerational transmission over multiple generations. This paper outlines the theoretical and methodological discussions in the field, design and data of the 2,000 Families study. The study comprises almost 50,000 members of migrant and non-migrant Turkish families across three family generations, living in Turkey and eight European countries. We provide indicative findings from the study, framed within a theoretical perspective of “dissimilation” from origins, and reflect on its potential for future migration research.

KEYWORDS:

• International migration
• Europe
• Turkish migration
• dissimilation from origins
• intergenerational transmission
• origins-of-migration study

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank NORFACE for providing the grant for this research and for the anonymous reviewers to improve this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. According to our combined statistics on the basis of Turkish and Eurostat figures. The Turkish figures are from the Turkish Ministry of Development, consulted on 27 March 2014: http://www.kalkinma.gov.tr/Pages/EkonomikSosyalGostergeler.aspx.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by NORFACE (New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Co-operation in Europe) under the grant number [235548]. The project was funded with the initial title of 500 Families: Migration Histories of Turks in Europe, Ayse Guveli (Principal Investigator), Harry Ganzeboom, Lucinda Platt and Bernhard Nauck (co-applicants) for the period 2009–14.