The temporal dynamics of international migration in Europe: Recent trends

Abstract

Descriptive studies of international migration typically rely on measures of migrant stocks and migration rates to assess migration patterns. In this paper, we propose a third alternative. Using harmonized data on age-specific migration flows from and to countries in the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) from 2002-2007, we estimate the waiting time of international migration, i.e., the total time lived by migrants in receiving countries, on average, given period migration and mortality schedules. The results provide a window into the temporal dynamics of international migration in Europe, which are increasingly relevant given recent expansions of the EU.