Variation in transnationalism among Eastern European migrants in Italy: the role of duration of residence and integration

Abstract

Transnationalism of first-generation migrants, usually considered as a core element of their migratory projects, is nowadays taken somewhat for granted. Our aim in this paper is to examine empirically the relations of transnationalism with duration of residence and integration of Eastern European migrants in Italy, a country which evolved into a mass immigration one since the 1980s. Data come from the Integrometro survey 2008–2009, encompassing more than 4500 Eastern European migrants. We chose this group of migrants because East Europeans now constitute half of the foreign population in Italy and these nationalities have been overlooked by migration research on transnational topics. Our results show a positive relationship between migrants’ economic integration and transnationalism, suggesting that economic resources facilitate the maintenance and development of cross-border ties. Being more integrated socio-culturally, however, is accompanied with weaker transnational practices. Moreover, the level of transnational behaviour decreases the more years Eastern European migrants spend in Italy, which cannot be fully attributed to a higher level of socio-cultural integration.

Keywords:

• migration
• transnationalism
• integration
• Eastern Europe
• Italy

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank the ISMU foundation for providing us with the Integrometro dataset.

Notes

1. Personal income, the objective measurement of income available in the survey, was not included for two reasons: respondents’ personal income variable was categorical, thus impeding the calculation of an exact income, and included many missing values.

2. The respondents were asked to what extent they are in favour of six lifestyle aspects of the Italians, namely the way they (a) raise their children; (b) work; (c) go through the family relationships, (d) dress; (e) spend their leisure time; and (f) their food. The response categories ranged from ‘don’t like at all (including don’t have information about it)’ to ‘like it very much’. The scores on these six items were converted into one summary scale, reflecting the degree of sympathy for the Italian lifestyle.

3. The rather low factor loading of educational attainment on economic integration is likely to be related to a severe mismatch between migrants’ skills and jobs. This is a contextual factor due to the Italian legislation (and lack of bilateral agreements with origin countries) that does not recognize migrants’ qualifications, resulting in their embeddedness in low-skilled and low-paid jobs without possibility of upward mobility. At the same time, the factor loading of educational attainment on socio-cultural integration is rather high, which is not surprising given that highly educated people generally have a more secular and open worldview and that highly skilled migrants are likely to experience fewer class and attitudinal differences with native-born populations and to face less discrimination (Fokkema and de Haas 2011).