Central European Papers 2014, 2(1):189-201 | DOI: 10.25142/cep.2014.013

Contemporary Challenges and Threats to the Development of Polish Regions in the Context of the Phenomena of Migration and Re-emigration

Krystian HEFFNER1, Brygida SOLGA2
1 Ústav středoevropských studií, Fakulta veřejných politik, Slezská univerzita v Opavě, Institute of Central-European Studies, Faculty of Public Policies, Silesian University in Opava, Hradecká 665/17, 746 01 Opava, Czech Republic, krystian.heffner@fvp.slu.cz
2 Katedra Polityki Regionalnej, Wydział Ekonomii i Zarządzania, Politechnika Opolska, Regional Policy, Department, Faculty of Economy and Management, Opole University of Technology, Luboszycka 7, 45-036 Opole, Poland, b.solga@po.opole.pl

After a decade of membership in the European Union and the opening of the European labor markets for Poles, the importance of foreign migration and its impact on the development of particular regions has grown significantly. The evaluation of foreign migration with regard to the opportunities and threats for regional development - even if not quite ambiguous - rightly puts foreign migration balance and their results in the context of risks to the region's development. Therefore, the following consequences of permanent negative migration balance are the most important for the development of the region: loss of human and social capital, decreasing population and rapid worsening of the age structure, growing labor deficit, shortages in educated personnel and skilled workforce within specific lines of business, reducing local budgets and generally decreasing the economic potential of the region. As a result, despite the significant transfer of income, increasing standards of living and wealth primarily in migrant families, decreasing unemployment and growing professional skills of the migrants resulting from migration - the impact of positive consequences of migration on a region's development is distinctly less visible.

Keywords: Foreign migration, migration region, social and economic consequences, regional development

Published: March 1, 2014  Show citation

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HEFFNER K, SOLGA B. Contemporary Challenges and Threats to the Development of Polish Regions in the Context of the Phenomena of Migration and Re-emigration. Central European Papers. 2014;2(1):189-201. doi: 10.25142/cep.2014.013.
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