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Why High School Students Aspire to Emigrate: Evidence from Greece

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Abstract

This paper investigates why Greek high school students aspire to emigrate, in relation to their educational and socio-economic background. Through fieldwork research conducted at three specialist high schools in Thessaloniki, three main conclusions have been drawn. Firstly, potential emigrants are ambitious, with high educational and professional expectations and a clear migration plan. Secondly, they are middle and upper middle class and excel at school—in socio-economic and educational terms, they therefore constitute the most dynamic Greek youths. Thirdly, in a period of recession on a European level, the alarming fact is that student emigration can undermine recovery for a country in crisis such as Greece. That is, middle-class shrinkage caused by the recession can be aggravated by emigration, which in turn might cost the loss of developmental human resources for Greece and a deepening of the recession. This can further stimulate migration, resulting in a vicious circle between crisis and emigration. Furthermore, if potential emigrants do not return because temporary emigration for studies becomes permanent migration for work, the economic crisis is worsened, and Greece’s prospects for development are further undermined.

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Notes

  1. The OECD (2002) argues that economic downturns usually lead to skilled migration abroad. Indeed, the recession in Latin America between the 1970s and 1990s led to the mass emigration of craftsmen and professionals mainly to the USA. As in the case of Greece, the impoverishment of the middle class and the devaluation of labour have fuelled the migration movement abroad as a means of upward social mobility (Pellegrino 2001). Similarly, the economic crisis in Portugal had the same effect on skilled migration (Delicado 2010).

  2. See also Becker et al. 2004 for Italy.

  3. It was not possible for the fourth school to participate due to relocation within the centre of the cityduring the fieldwork period.

  4. In 2014, 52.3 % of high school students in the Regional Unity of Thessaloniki were males and 47.7 % females (EL.STAT. Unpublished data). In 2012, the per capita GDP was 15,007 euros (EL.STAT. 2012). The average annual labour income of the students’ parents of our sample is 14,580 euros. In 2011, the professional stratification in the Regional Unity of Thessaloniki includes: 6.5 % employers, 26.0 % professionals and self-employed and 67.5 % employees (EL.STAT. 2011). The corresponding rates for our sample are 7.1, 28.5 and 64.4 %. However, there is a difference regarding the educational level. In 2011, the rates of primary, secondary and tertiary education graduates in the Regional Unity of Thessaloniki are 23.3, 53.7 and 23 %, respectively (EL.STAT. 2011). The corresponding rates for our sample are 7.6, 22.9 and 69.5 %. It seems that parents who encourage their children to study in the specific type high schools have a high educational level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Macedonia, 156 Egnatia St, 540 06, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Lois Labrianidis & Theodosis Sykas

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  1. Lois Labrianidis
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  2. Theodosis Sykas
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Correspondence to Theodosis Sykas.

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Table 3 The list of independent variables
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Labrianidis, L., Sykas, T. Why High School Students Aspire to Emigrate: Evidence from Greece. Int. Migration & Integration 18, 107–130 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-015-0468-3

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