Who Needs Migrant Workers?

• Contributions and analysis from experts who have advised the UK's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on the nature and determinants of staff shortages and immigration policy
• Highlights how demand for migrant workers can be linked to wider policies and economic/social systems that are heavily influenced by the state, and are outside the direct control of employers and workers
• Helps the reader identify the key conceptual issues and questions in the debate about shortages and immigration policy
• Includes quantitative and qualitative approaches within a unified conceptual framework
• Includes commentaries on main chapters provided by leading academics

Readership: Academics and researchers interested in labour economics, immigration, sociology, public policy, and human geography. Policy-makers in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and Europe. The general reader with an interest in immigration, public policy, and employment and economic issues in specific sectors.

Edited by Martin Ruhs, Senior Economist, Centre on Migration, Policy & Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford, UK, and Bridget Anderson, Senior Researcher, Centre on Migration, Policy & Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford, UK

"Who Needs Migrant Workers? should be highly recommended to anybody interested not only in immigration but in the governance of modern economies and labour markets in general." - Alexandre Afonso, Swiss Political Science Review

"The books chapters alongside short commentaries, which follow them, provide an authoritative and valuable source for industrial relations scholars interested in migration." - Zinovijus Ciupijus, British Journal of Industrial Relations

"The volume is excellent, and the sectoral studies provide a wealth of data on the unique character of labour demand in each. The editors provide a thoughtful and careful meditation on the complexities." - Nigel Harris, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

"Highly welcome... probably the most accessible set-piece introduction to migrant work in the UK yet published... Population scientists and practitioners will find this volume exceptionally helpful...the book both explicitly and implicitly provides valuable insights for both sending and receiving countries the world over." - Stuart Basten, European Journal of Population

"A masterful volume on the role of immigration policy in addressing current and future labor shortages. Drawing on a stellar group of experts, the edited volume addresses the employment of foreign workers in a wide range of industries at all skill levels. This comprehensive review of migrant worker programs is a welcome compendium for academics, practitioners and policy makers alike." - Susan Martin, Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

"Ruhs and Anderson have put together a terrific team to analyse immigration for work in the UK. An excellent overview by the editors is followed by detailed studies of six sectors: health; social-care; hospitality; food production; construction; and financial services. This is the definitive research on the demand for migrant workers and will inform the debate for years to come." - David Metcalf, CBE, Emeritus Professor, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics

"How labour migration can and should be regulated is one of the most pressing issues of our time. This excellent book is a feasibility study dealing with perceived staff shortages. It provides substantial insights by an outstanding group of scientists and contributes significantly to our understanding of an extremely contentious policy problem." - Klaus F. Zimmermann, Director IZA and Professor of Economics, University of Bonn

"In good times many people profit from the goods and services produced by migrant workers. In times if crisis the same people see them as unfair competitors. This masterly written and edited book fights prejudices with empirical evidence from the UK on labour shortage and the ways in which such gaps can be filled. This is of significance well beyond the UK. It is a must read for everyone interested in migration policy development and the evolution of labour markets." - Rainer Münz, Erste Bank and Hamburg Institute of International Economics

"Who Needs Migrant Workers? presents both a rigorous analytical methodology to measure labor shortages and a practical conceptual framework to assess whether migrants should be imported to fill those shortages Who Needs Migrant Workers? is must reading for all who are interested in this important subject." - Ray Marshall, US Secretary of Labor and Emeritus, University of Texas

"Those searching for a proper sense of perspective on [the debate over migrant workers] will welcome this volume." - Don Flynn, Chartist.

1: Martin Ruhs and Bridget Anderson: Introduction
2: Bridget Anderson and Martin Ruhs: Migrant workers: who needs them? A framework for the analysis of shortages, immigration, and public policy
Commentary by Ken Mayhew
3: Vanna Aldin, Dan James and Jonathan Wadsworth: The changing shares of migrant labour in different sectors and occupation in the UK economy: An overview
4: Stephen Bach: Achieving a self-sufficient workforce? The utilization of migrant labour in healthcare
Commentary by Robert Elliott
5: Jo Moriarty: Competing with myths: migrant labour in social care
Commentary by Alessio Cangiano
6: Rosemary Lucas and Steven Mansfield: The use of migrant labour in the hospitality sector: current and future implications
Commentary by Linda McDowell
7: Andrew Geddes and Sam Scott: UK food businesses' reliance on low-wage migrant labour: A case of choice or constraint?
Commentary by Ben Rogaly
8: Paul Chan, Linda Clarke and Andy Dainty: The dynamics of migrant employment in construction: Can supply of skilled labour ever match demand?
Commentary by Howard Gospel
9: Andrew Jones: Immigration and the UK labour market in financial services: A case of conflicting policy challenges?
Commentary by Jonathan Beaverstock
10: Philip Martin: A need for migrant labour? UK-US comparisons

Guardian article by Bridget Anderson and Martin Ruhs