Migration potential in Slovakia

This paper argues that there is little danger of a flood of migrants from Slovakia once the country has joined the EU. Slovak migration generally fits into a new pattern of migration in Central & Eastern Europe, ie, one of short-term border crossings to shop, study, or earn money, rather than permanent migration. The article undertakes further analysis of the 1998 Migration Potential Survey & the New Democracies Barometer for the same year, comparing Slovakia with other neighboring accession countries of Poland, Hungary, & the Czech Republic. The authors consider both pull & push factors along with reasons for not migrating ("keep" factors). They find that in Slovakia, very few people (less than 10%) are seriously interested in migrating & for these, pull factors are more important than push factors. However, there are very strong ties that keep Slovak citizens from going abroad for any length of time. Younger & more educated Slovaks show the most interest in migrating. Reasons why migration potential from the Slovak Republic is so low, despite the low wages there relative to neighboring Germany & Austria, are considered. It is concluded that Slovakia is increasingly being drawn into global & transnational forms of migration & migration policies. 6 Tables, 3 Charts, 28 References. Adapted from the source document.