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Framing brain drain : between solidarity and skills in European labor mobility

Hasselbalch, Jacob A. LU orcid (2019) In Review of International Political Economy 26(6). p.1333-1360
Abstract

How do crisis perceptions interrelate with the emergence and re-constitution of policy problems? By using a novel combination of interviews with a content and network analysis of hand-coded parliamentary questions, this article maps the emergence of brain drain as a policy problem at the level of the European Union and follows the evolution of the issue over the last four parliamentary periods (from 1999 to 2019). I identify a skills storyline (emphasizing reform of vocational and educational training to address skills mismatches) and a solidarity storyline (emphasizing worker conditions, rights, and wages) as the main contending narratives that define the contours of the debate. The article analyzes how each of these storylines... (More)

How do crisis perceptions interrelate with the emergence and re-constitution of policy problems? By using a novel combination of interviews with a content and network analysis of hand-coded parliamentary questions, this article maps the emergence of brain drain as a policy problem at the level of the European Union and follows the evolution of the issue over the last four parliamentary periods (from 1999 to 2019). I identify a skills storyline (emphasizing reform of vocational and educational training to address skills mismatches) and a solidarity storyline (emphasizing worker conditions, rights, and wages) as the main contending narratives that define the contours of the debate. The article analyzes how each of these storylines interacted over time with changes in the perception of crisis urgency facing the European Union in ways that run counter to what we would expect. I explain this by examining the capacity of each storyline to problematize or de-problematize the movement of labor, as well as their institutionalization over time. The article contributes to the study of the political economy of labor mobility with an original case study from the EU’s Single Market, and challenges conventional wisdom regarding the role of framing during times of crisis.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Brain drain, crisis, European Union, labor markets, migration, skills
in
Review of International Political Economy
volume
26
issue
6
pages
1333 - 1360
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85068672403
ISSN
0969-2290
DOI
10.1080/09692290.2019.1626755
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f06d59fa-cb8c-4c63-b3b7-88792ab4cea0
date added to LUP
2019-07-24 13:49:59
date last changed
2022-04-26 03:20:50
@article{f06d59fa-cb8c-4c63-b3b7-88792ab4cea0,
  abstract     = {{<p>How do crisis perceptions interrelate with the emergence and re-constitution of policy problems? By using a novel combination of interviews with a content and network analysis of hand-coded parliamentary questions, this article maps the emergence of brain drain as a policy problem at the level of the European Union and follows the evolution of the issue over the last four parliamentary periods (from 1999 to 2019). I identify a skills storyline (emphasizing reform of vocational and educational training to address skills mismatches) and a solidarity storyline (emphasizing worker conditions, rights, and wages) as the main contending narratives that define the contours of the debate. The article analyzes how each of these storylines interacted over time with changes in the perception of crisis urgency facing the European Union in ways that run counter to what we would expect. I explain this by examining the capacity of each storyline to problematize or de-problematize the movement of labor, as well as their institutionalization over time. The article contributes to the study of the political economy of labor mobility with an original case study from the EU’s Single Market, and challenges conventional wisdom regarding the role of framing during times of crisis.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hasselbalch, Jacob A.}},
  issn         = {{0969-2290}},
  keywords     = {{Brain drain; crisis; European Union; labor markets; migration; skills}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{1333--1360}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Review of International Political Economy}},
  title        = {{Framing brain drain : between solidarity and skills in European labor mobility}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2019.1626755}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/09692290.2019.1626755}},
  volume       = {{26}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}