Predictors of Self-Employment upon Return Migration: A Study among Young Returnees from Latvia, Romania, and Slovakia

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 10, Issue: 1, pp. 37-53

Date: May 2019

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract: The novelty of the study is linked to a specific interest in revealing how the migratory experience affects young Latvian, Romanian and Slovakian return migrants’ chances for engaging in self-employment. Individuals’ characteristics and features of the migratory experiences are used for understanding migrants’ employment decisions upon return. Along with conventional predictors for returnees’ self-employment (e.g. gender, education, previous employment status, the length of the migration experience, return motivations), this paper tests the effects of subjectively evaluated new skills and formal qualifications acquired through migration. Logistic regression models reveal that these two dimensions of human capital have opposing effects on youth migrants’ chances to be self-employed. A migration experience that is important for learning new skills increases individuals’ odds for self-employment while formal qualifications diminish their chances for this independent work status.

Keywords: Return Migration; Self-Employment; Human Capital; Youth Migration; Intra-European Migration.