Geografie 2015, 120, 372-396

https://doi.org/10.37040/geografie2015120030372

Ukrainian migration in the EU: A comparative analysis of migration and remittance behaviour

Wadim Strielkowski1, Kateřina Hluštíková1, Olena Malynovska2, Zuzana Horváthová3

1Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Fakulta sociálních věd, Smetanovo nábřeží 6, 110 01 Praha 1, Czechia
2The National Institute for Strategic Studies, 7-a Pyrogova Street, Kyiv 01030, Ukraine
3Metropolitní univerzita Praha, katedra právních disciplín a veřejné správy, Dubečská 900/10, 100 31 Praha 10, Czechia

Received January 2014
Accepted March 2015

From the perspective of international migration, Ukraine represents a particularly interesting case because it is a country of emigration, immigration and transit migration; wherefore the movement of people occurs in all directions. Moreover, the country faces serious economic problems that are fuelled by political instability within the country. Nowadays, Ukraine is a country with fifth largest emigration in the world with the largest representation of emigrants in Czechia. This paper examines the remittance behaviour of Ukrainian labour migrants. We attempt to test the theory of dwindling remittances on the data on Ukrainian migration in seven European Union countries and to determine whether the time spent away from home actually has a negative effect of remittances. We use data from a recent project called MIRPAL (Migration and Remittance Peer Assisted Learnings) conducted by Ukrainian researchers in cooperation with the World Bank which maps in detail the economic and social situation of Ukrainian migrants in European Union.

References

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