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Guido Tintori

28 October 2013 @ 12:45

 

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Date:
28 October 2013
Time:
12:45
Event Category:

“Facts vs Narrative. A New Trend or More of the Same? A Critical Discussion on Recent Emigration from Italy”

abstract

According to media reports and raw official data, the economic crisis of 2008/9 has led to the recurrence of emigration from Italy. Emigration thus seems a path-dependent response in times of economic difficulty. In recent decades, Italy became countries of immigration. Significantly, a closer look at official statistics shows that immigrants returning home or moving on to other countries less affected by the crisis have made up a substantial proportion of the people leaving Italy over the last ten years. Nevertheless, many immigrants have remained in both countries and have been united in recent years with their family members as they settle down. This has led to considerable immigration taking place at the same time as extensive emigration is reoccurring.

By examining who is leaving Italy today, why they are departing and, when possible, where they are going, this communication will build up a profile of an important group of people who have yet to be studied in any real detail and will provide a timely overview of contemporary developments. In addition to underlining parallels with past emigration, this communication critically discusses how the Italian state discursively framed expatriation at various points in time and how these institutional perceptions were translated into policies; to what extent the conventional narrative that describes past emigration as mainly formed by labourers, often unskilled, and the more recent one as “brain drain” is empirically grounded; for what reasons the historical tradition of “going away”, with its waxes and wanes, is so a persistently present option for Italy’s workforce; to what extent the international dimension, both in terms of foreign relations policy and participation in the development of an international economy, played a role in defining Italy’s emigration policies.