The Panic to Leave

Economic Crisis and the “New Emigration” from Ecuador

Bibliographic Data

ID9953353
AuthorsBrad D Jokisch (0000-0003-3859-875X, Ohio University, corresponding author), Brad Jokisch, Jason Pribilsky (0009-0002-5469-6771, North Central College)
Year2002
Volume40
Issue4
Pages75-102
Publication date2002-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1468-2435.00206
OpenAlexW2069019276
LanguageEN
Citations received79
References cited11

Prior to the late 1990s, Ecuadorian international migration was directed primarily toward the United States. Of the estimated 400,000 Ecuadorians living in the United States, most are concentrated in metropolitan New York and many hail from the south–central highlands of Cañar and Azuay Provinces. In the mid– to late–1990s, Ecuador entered a political and economic crisis just as clandestine transportation to the United States became increasingly expensive and dangerous. Within two years Ecuadorian migration diversified radically and a “new emigration” formed. Many thousands of Ecuadorians from throughout the country migrated to Europe, mostly Spain, but also to France, Italy, and The Netherlands. Prior to 1998, few Ecuadorians lived in Europe, but now, Ecuadorians are the largest immigrant group in Madrid and one of the largest in Spain. The migrant stream was led by women and composed of people from a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Ecuadorians find themselves working in a variety of services (especially women) and negotiating a volatile, even hostile, social, and political environment. This “new emigration” has numerous implications for Ecuadorian families, the economy, and the nation–state. Understanding the implications requires a comparative approach that examines at least three aspects of the new emigration: the role of gender, the importance of transnational ties and connections, and the emerging roles of state and non–state actors in the formalization of migration

Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Emigration · Geography · Immigration · Metropolitan area · Political science · Politics · Population · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · State (computer science · Demography · Employment and Welfare Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy