The Rural Contribution to Emigration in 1990s Romania

Abstract

The article analyzes the connections between three social phenomena that have shaped life in postsocialist rural communities: land restitution, agricultural policies and migration. The article starts with an overview of land restitution policies, with a broader, comparative coverage, and then discusses direct and indirect effects of these measures on emigration, with a focus on the German minority living in Romanian villages. Agricultural policies have shaped the effects of the new property arrangements, and, in particular, they have influenced migration decisions. The paper concludes with comments on possible future configurations of migration and agriculture work in Romania, after the European integration.

Keywords

• property
• land restitution
• migration
• agricultural policy