Inequalities in the (De‐)Commodification of Labour

Immigration, the Nation State, and Labour Market Stratification

Bibliographic Data

ID12912955
AuthorsPatrick Mcgovern (0000-0003-3984-2080, London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume6
Issue6
Pages485-498
Publication date2012-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-9020 • E-ISSN: 1751-9020
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1751-9020.2012.00470.x
OpenAlexW1546283032
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited60

In an era when globalization has supposedly challenged the ability of the nation state to manage economic affairs, I shall argue that the state not only still matters but that it also plays a major role in processes of labour market stratification for migrant workers. Using the organizing concepts of commodification and de‐commodification I review the growing comparative literature on government policies for economic migration to show how skill‐based admissions policies, restrictions on freedom of employment, as well as differential access to social rights and citizenship generate durable forms of categorical inequality. What is perhaps unique about economic immigration is that these inequalities are underpinned by legislation and, in the case of the highly skilled, requirements for formal certification. The paper concludes by calling for further research within this rapidly growing field to explain how these complex patterns of inequality have emerged and whether they extend beyond the small number of cases that have been examined repeatedly in the existing literature

Citizenship · Commodification · Economics · Economy · Globalization · Immigration · Inequality · Legislation · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social inequality · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · State (computer science · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics

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