The “Research Handbook on Migration and Employment” brings together interdisciplinary perspectives to further understanding of the complex relationship between migration and labour markets. The editor of the handbook is Guglielmo Meardi, Professor of Sociology of Work and Economy and Dean of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy. The handbook assembles contributions from scholars across disciplines such as economics, business, sociology, migration studies, employment relations, geography, political science, labour law, and related fields to examine how migration intersects with labour market policies, employment demands, business strategies, and different actors across sectors and regions of the world, also considering increasing digitization and technological advancements.
The handbook is divided into five main parts. The chapters in the section “Migration and Labour Markets” introduce the field, while those in “Migration: The Actors” adopt the perspectives of various actors involved in migration and employment, such as institutional agencies and trade unions. The part “Sectoral Perspectives” offers in-depth insights into migrant workers in the care sector, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. The section “Regional Perspectives” focuses on migrants in Europe, the Americas, and Africa, while the final part, “Regulation and Politics”, addresses issues such as irregular migration and labour market policies.
Through this structure, the book offers a comprehensive analysis of labour migration dynamics. This broad perspective is also the publication’s key strength, as it enables readers to understand how different phenomena are connected, for example, how supply factors (demographics, skills, and economic drivers) intersect with demand factors such as labour market needs.
Several chapters illustrate these dynamics particularly well. The chapter by Alderotti and De Santis discusses how demographic changes and skill distributions influence migrant labour supply, while Anne Green’s contribution critically engages with demand-side factors in the context of economic innovation (Green, 2024). Fellini interrogates the effects and dynamics of migration beyond the labour market, discussing processes of replacement, substitution, complementarity, and segmentation, and emphasizing the multifaceted ways migration reshapes both labour and community structures (Fellini, 2024). Fellini’s chapter also challenges persistent myths about migration, for example by stating that “mostly, immigrants replace the native labour force rather than compete with them (or substitute them in strict economic terms)” (Fellini, 2024, p. 44). Addressing such persistent myths is particularly important in a handbook, given that migration remains a highly politicized and contested topic (de Haas, 2023).
The closing chapter by Neergaard and Selberg unpacks the contested notion of (ir)regular labour migration, demonstrating how irregularity is co-produced by labour market structures and legal systems in context-specific ways (Neergaard & Setberg, 2024).
The handbook’s interdisciplinary scope and global author base are major assets of this publication. However, one limitation of this volume is that some regions, particularly Asia and the Middle East, are underrepresented. Although the chapters on Africa, the Americas, and Europe provide valuable insights, the absence of dedicated discussions on labour migration dynamics in rapidly changing labour markets in Asia and the Middle East remains noticeable. Furthermore, the chapter on the European labour market focuses primarily on EU regulations and could be strengthened by including labour market dynamics in European countries outside the EU, such as Norway, the UK or the Faroe Islands. Expanding the handbook’s regional scope, potentially in collaboration with scholars based in underrepresented regions, could further strengthen future editions.
Another limitation is that while the handbook “was largely planned and written during the Covid-19 pandemic” (Meardi, 2024, p. 9), and the impact of this period is briefly discussed in several chapters, the Covid-19 pandemic and the broader current poly-crisis moment would have made possible encouraged a more sustained and dedicated engagement, potentially in the form of a separate chapter.
To conclude, the Research Handbook on Migration and Employment is a comprehensive and well-structured resource for scholars, students, and policymakers seeking to understand the intersections of migration and labour markets. The chapters can serve as valuable material for both introductory and advanced university courses, for example, in economics or sociology. Both experienced researchers and students will find this handbook insightful, and I, as the author of this review, am pleased to now own a copy and to use it as a reference for concepts and further sources in my own research.
References
de Haas, H. (2023). How migration really works: The facts about the most divisive issue in politics. Penguin Books.
Fellini, I. (2024). Employment effects: replacement, substitution, complementarity and segmentation. In G. Meardi (Ed.), Research handbook on migration and employment (pp. 42–61). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Green, A. (2024). Demand factors: demography, economy and innovation. In G. Meardi (Ed.), Research handbook on migration and employment (pp. 27–41). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Meardi, G. (2024). Introduction. In G. Meardi (Ed.), Research handbook on migration and employment (pp. 1–11). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Neergaard, A., & Selberg, R. (2024). Unpacking (ir)regular labour migration. In G. Meardi (Ed.), Research handbook on migration and employment (pp. 338–358). Edward Elgar Publishing.