Bilaterale Wanderungsverträge und die Entwicklung eines internationalen Arbeitsmarktes in Europa 1919-1974 (Bilateral Labour (Recruitment) Agreements and the Evolution of an International Labour Market in Europe between 1919 and 1974)

Bilateral agreements characterized the international migration of labour within Western Europe in the 20th century. They regulated the temporary recruitment of mostly unqualified workers, their transfer and conditions of employment as well as the terms of their stay and secured a demand-tailored supply of foreign labour for the receiving countries. This essay discusses the institutional roots of bilateral labour agreements and their propagation, which resulted in an international labour market of multiply linked partners. Special analytical attention is given to the effect of competition for work or workers in the emerging multipolar system on the terms set out in individual treaties.