A Multi-Level Migration System Between Regions of Origin and the European Hexagon of Attraction

Abstract

International migration systems are, usually, addressed from the perspective of networks between migration flows that have countries of origin and destination as units of analysis. This paper proposes a complementary approach in which the units restricting migration networks are national sub-regions at origin and countries at destination. What gives specificity to such migration systems based on a kind of conditional selectivity of emigration? How can the validity of such systems be tested? The methodology we propose to answer such questions is applied to the case of emigration from Romania. Regions of origin and six countries of destination of recent migration are linked through flows that structure the analysed migration system. The analysis highlights changes between emigration flows to Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain, France and Austria, during the 2011–2021 intercensary period. Recent emigration flows are specified by reference to NUTS 3 regions, differentiated by urban and rural residential areas. Emigration contexts are highlighted by multiple regression analyses and factor analysis.