The Structuring of Service-class Migration: English Migration to Scottish Cities

The paper explores the mobility implications of internationalisation and commercialisation of the service class. Theorisation of the survey points to five main issues: first, the role of migration of service workers as part of a network of flows linking the core of the state with regional economies; secondly, the disproportionate concentration of service-class migration in one particular city within a regional economy; thirdly, the inadequacy of a nested hierarchical model of service-class migration; fourthly, the functional disconnection of local service employment from the circuits of movement of new service-class migrants; and, finally, the necessity of professional transient migration for the successful economic performance of the wider regional economy. The study is based on analysis of English migrants living in four Scottish urban areas.