The Emigration-Region Concept, Emergence Mechanism and Characteristics: A Case Study of the Opolskie Voivodeship

• Published in: Central and Eastern European Migration Review 2024, Vol.13 (1), p.129-149
• Main Authors: Heffner, Krystian, Solga, Brygida
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: emigration region; Ethnic Minorities Studies; migration outflow; regional development; Rural and urban sociology
• ISSN: 2300-1682; 2300-1682
• DOI: 10.54667/ceemr.2024.07

This paper presents the concept of the emigration region that emerged as a result of wide researchidentifying the causes of emigration and migration networks, as well as the demographic and socio-economicconsequences of significant emigration for particular regions. It is an overview based on long-standing researchby the authors and draws heavily on numerous contributions that address the links between regionaldevelopment and long-term migration outflow. The hypothesis is that an emigration region is formed underthe influence of long-term and mass emigration resulting in progressive depopulation and characterisedby a set of economic, social and cultural features clearly distinguishing it from regions where such a pattern ofrelationships is either missing or incidental. Identified features of emigration regions include a well-establishedtradition of emigration, the long-term nature of emigration, a significant quantitative dimension ofemigration, well-developed networks of social relationships between the countries of outflow and inflow,the complex socio-political and economic reasons for emigration and the specific consequences of it,observed both at the individual (micro) level and at the level of local and regional communities (the mesolevel). The concept of an emigration region is illustrated by the example of the Opolskie Voivodeship(Poland, a NUTS-2 region). The concept of an emigration region emerged as a result of many years ofresearch by the authors, implemented mainly in the Opolskie Voivodeship. The research methods werediverse (including quantitative and qualitative social research) and the research was conducted among theentities involved to varying degrees in broadly understood migration processes (emigrants, re-emigrants,regional and local governments, entrepreneurs).