Collective versus mass behavior: a conceptual framework for temporary and permanent migration in Western Europe and...

"Present theories treat migration as one basic movement. [In the present paper,] conceptualization of economic migration as collective rather than mass behavior has been proposed to overcome present theoretical inadequacies and facilitate empirical analyses. Permanent migration has been correctly regarded as statistically aggregated, institutionalized behavior. Temporary international labor migration is, however, a different phenomenon--one that is more accurately portrayed as a collective product. It is the culmination of nontraditional interactions between three major groups: the migrants, their employers and host nation-states. The development of collective behavior, including a noninstitutionalized role of the state, may be illustrated by Western European guestworkers and United States illegal aliens. Advantages of the conceptualization include easier cross-cultural comparisons, guidelines for predictability and recognition of the dual role of the state as both major actor in the migration process and social control agent."