Spanish skilled migration in France and Germany

Abstract

Despite the interest in the phenomenon of migration, it is difficult to find qualified data which allows for a detailed analysis of the factors upon which this mobility is conditioned. The Spanish case shows an important example of qualitative modification in the composition of migrations from the south to the north of Europe since Spain’s introduction into the European Community. No mass migration of low skilled workers was experienced. Nonetheless, the composition underwent drastic changes: The migration of low skilled workers was replaced by that of highly skilled workers from Spain to Germany and France. This migration went unnoticed due to the mass arrival of immigrants in Spain. An analysis was made of the differences in the conditions of migration and mobility between the two types of migrants, highly and low skilled, using the data obtained in the EIMSS survey.