The limits of the rational actor paradigm in understanding ...

The limits of the rational actor
paradigm in understanding
contemporary A8 migration to the
UK: Should I go or should I stay?
John Eade
CRONEM
Surrey/Roehampton

Rational Actor Paradigm:
Political Discourse
British political debates concerning
internal labour migration since 1979 –
neo-liberalism, individual interest, rational
calculation and ‘get on your bike’
Those staying in areas of high
employment – the importance on non-
material factors, such as social and
cultural ties with family, friends etc linked
to emotional intimacy

Migration to Britain and the
Numbers Game
Political debates about immigration had
another focus on rational calculation –
how many were here and how many more
could come?
Yet political debates driven by more than
materialist means/ends considerations –
M. Thatcher’s s 1979 ‘swamping’ speech
and subsequent debates about
‘integration’, ‘social cohesion’ and
‘community’:: belonging, commitment,
patriotism and citizenship

EU Labour Market
and Migration Analysis
The collapse of the ‘Iron Curtain’,
preparing for 2004 and the limits of
nation-state controls
Migration analysis dominated by
emphasis on material calculations by
individuals about choosing to stay or
return

Calculating Non-Material Factors
and Beyond Rational Calculation
Linked to the numbers game and
impact on local labour markets not
just in traditional urban centres
Ignores the importance of calculating
social and cultural factors which
involve feelings (affectual(
action)
and non-reflexive influences

Characteristics of Workers in the WRS,
May 2004-December 2005
Age and Gender: : Mostly male (57%) and young
(44% aged 18-24; 39% aged 25-34)
Region: : Much less likely than previous cohorts to
reside in London (only 15%; compared to 16% in
Anglia, 12% in Midlands, 10% in Central etc)
Industrial sector: : 32% (33(
33%) in admin., bus. & mgmt,
22% (23(
23%) in hospitality & catering, 12% (11(
11%) in
agriculture & 8% (8%)(
in manufacturing
Note: Emboldened figures in parentheses are for Poles only

ESRC Project
Methodology
Qualitative research –
complementary to quantitative
Participant observation
Multi-local local ethnography
50 in-depth interviews with Polish
migrants in London
14 interviews with family and friends
of migrants in 5 locations in Poland
(urban/rural areas)

ESRC 2005-2006 2006 Study
23 F, 27 M
28% below 25
58% 25-40
10% 40 up
22% high edu, , 68% sec’y edu, , 10%
students
28% rural, 40% below 50k town,
32% 50k up

Chain Migration and Social Ties
60% have arranged
employment/accommodation or
useful tips for newcomers (migration
chain brokers)
40% have received such help at the
beginning
Polish end of the research – growing
readiness to migrate, family and
other ties, information and
remittance flows

Transnational Europeans –
Calculating Economic and Social Changes
in Both Countries
Circular, temporal, open-ended ended migrations
80% make frequent (sometimes up to 10 times a
year) visits to Poland checking out the situation
70% of respondents maintain strong economic
and life interest in their home community
24% have bought or are just about to buy a flat
or house in Poland from money earned in London

Storks
circular migrants who are found mostly in low
paid occupations (catering, construction industry,
domestic service)
They include different types of seasonal
migrants:
farmers commuting to London’s s building sites in
winter
students working during the summer in the
catering industry in London to pay for their
tuition fees in Poland
others working in London but returning to their
Polish universities, sometimes twice a month.

Storks
Usually stay between 2 and 6 months
Mostly arrange employment and
accommodation through their Polish
relatives or friends
Tend to be clustered in dense Polish social
networks which sometimes encourage
suspicion and competition between co-
ethnics.

Hamsters
Treat their move as a one-off off act to
acquire enough capital to invest in
Poland
Compared with Storks their stays in the
UK are longer and uninterrupted.
Like Storks, they tend to treat their
migration as only a capital-raising activity

Hamsters
They also tend to cluster in
particular low-earning occupations
and are often embedded in Polish
networks
See their migration as a source of
social mobility back home
Storks and hamsters comprise only 36%
of those interviews

Searchers
42% – those who keep their options
deliberately open
This group consists predominantly of young,
individualistic and ambitious migrants
They occupy a range of occupational positions
from low-earning to highly skilled and
professional jobs
They emphasise the unpredictability of their
migratory plans – a strategy we have termed
intentional unpredictability

Stayers
22% – those who have been in the UK for
some time and intend to remain for good
This group also represents respondents
with strong social mobility ambitions
Only group which explicitly stresses the
existence of social class in Britain and its
role in determining social mobility

Should I stay or should I go….?
20% say that they are definitely
going to go back soon to live in
Poland
14% say that they will definitely not
return to Poland
And the rest?

Staying?
How long do you think you will
stay in the UK?
(WRS question)
50% 50% – NOT STATED!
(total answers: 175,507 between May
2004 and Dec 2005)

Intentional Unpredictability
most common statements:
“Hard to answer that question. Being there [in
Poland] last time for the first time I felt that I
would like to stay there… so I don’t t know…”
(INT9Lon.Laura)
“I I don’t t know. No clue. Maybe yes, maybe not;
maybe in three months maybe in ten years. I
don’t t know…”
(INT30Lon.Kordian)
“I I don’t t know…I’m m not able to say now…”
(INT4Lon.Pawel)
“I I want to come back… but don’t t know when”
(INT20Lon.Wojciech)

Individual Calculation of Material
and Non-Material Factors
Intentional unpredictability adapted to:
Deregulated, flexible, contractual
London service economy and UK
labour market in general
Socio-economic situation in Poland
Allows to shift their plans accordingly
Helps to keep the best of both worlds

Limitations of Rational
Calculating Actor Model:
Methodology and Reflexivity
Indecision may be due to other factors such as
methodological problem of asking people to
reflect on their future
Related to feelings which may be difficult to
express/reflect on
Familiar problem of gap between what people
say and do

Limitations of Rational
Calculating Actor Model:
Methodology and Reflexivity
High degree of individualism evident
among those we interviewed may
reflect our networks and London
Even here the rational calculating
model of the individual actor has to
balanced by awareness of their social
and cultural ties in both the UK and
Poland

Limitations of Rational
Calculating Actor Model:
Temporal Dimension
Migration research is predominantly
synchronic – ‘snapshot’
Need for diachronic research –
interview same people after a few
years