Charlotta Hedberg - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

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Papers by Charlotta Hedberg

The present study explores data on transfers of gifts/economic support to relatives from a recent... more The present study explores data on transfers of gifts/economic support to relatives from a recent Swedish Household Income Survey (HEK) compiled by Statistics Sweden. It provides the first analysis of demographic determinants of remittances from Sweden based on official household survey and register data. By exploring a data set that also includes non-migrant households, it presents a unique comparison of patterns of gift-giving and intra-family support between migrant and non-migrant households. We argue that data from the Household Income Survey can be used to obtain an empirically based estimation of the determinants of remittances from Sweden. According to our results, the flows of remittances to developing countries from Sweden appear to be relatively small in comparison with remittance flows from other developed countries. The article analyses these transfers of gifts/economic support in relation to different kinds of income, education, age, time since migration, acquisition o...

Migration Studies, 2021

Migrant brokers constitute a substantial node in the industries that underpin contemporary global... more Migrant brokers constitute a substantial node in the industries that underpin contemporary global migration processes, including seasonal labour migrants in agri-food businesses. This article adds a translocal perspective to the role of migrant brokers, while emphasising the multi-sited embeddedness of brokers in sending and receiving countries, and their role in sustaining transnational migration flows. The example of the Swedish wild berry industry shows how two groups of translocal brokers operate in multi-sited space, first, Thai women brokers residing in rural Sweden, and second, local brokers, residing in rural Thailand. This article emphasises how translocal brokers are giving migration industries access to multi-sited embeddedness, both at the site of recruitment in Thai villages and at the site of work in Sweden. The translocal embeddedness is noticed in how moral economies and trust are at play in recruitment processes, and how moral economies are then transferred across s...

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2021

It is now widely held that a variety of intermediary actors, including recruitment and staffing a... more It is now widely held that a variety of intermediary actors, including recruitment and staffing agencies, multinational corporations and local brokers, shape labour migration. This paper argues that in order to better understand the global circulation of labour it is necessary to explore the involvement of these actors in the production of the regulatory spaces through which migrant labour is brokered. Indeed, migration intermediaries do not only navigate borders on behalf of their migrant clients. Nor is 'the state' primarily a backdrop against which the understanding of the role of intermediaries may be developed. Instead, we argue, regulatory spaces of labour migration are made and remade through direct and indirect exchanges and interactions between intermediaries and state actors. Through an analysis of three moments of regulatory change in Sweden, the paper shows that such interaction does not take place in an even landscape but, rather, that the ability of migration intermediaries to influence the regulation of migration lies in the capacity to form close relationships or establish a powerful presence. A focus on the dynamic co-production of regulatory spaces by intermediaries and state actors, in our view, offers a more nuanced account of how labour migration currently is brokered and regulated.

Urban Studies, 2012

An important debate in current research and policy focuses on the role of urban residential segre... more An important debate in current research and policy focuses on the role of urban residential segregation on the social mobility of immigrants. Much focus has been on ‘neighbourhood effects’ and on how spatial variations within the city affect individual careers. This paper adds the analysis of variations of labour market incorporation between cities. The labour market careers of one migrant cohort to Sweden are analysed, where the analysis of ‘neighbourhood effects’ and ‘city effects’ are studied jointly, using a longitudinal database and discrete-time event history analysis. The results show that labour market participation increases slowly over time and there are large variations due to migrant origin, gender and education. Both ‘neighbourhood effects’ and ‘city effects’ were significant, but whereas the former decreased over time, the ‘city effect’ was robust. Accordingly, contextual aspects of the individual city need to be included in the analysis of neighbourhood effects.

framtidsstudier.se

Migration är både en naturlig del av människors livsprojekt, i samhällsutvecklingen och en politi... more Migration är både en naturlig del av människors livsprojekt, i samhällsutvecklingen och en politiskt laddad fråga. I en globaliserad värld blir det allt vanligare att både varor, pengar, information, tjänster och personer flyttar över gränser. Framtidens migrationsströmmar bestäms av demografiska trender, hur efterfrågan på arbetskraft utvecklas i olika länder, och av politiska faktorer. I rapporten Den stora utmaningen: Internationell migration i en globaliserad värld beskrivs tre huvudtrender: att färre länder kommer att ha stora ...

Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 2014

ABSTRACT The global network economy involves intensive interactions and flows between places. In ... more ABSTRACT The global network economy involves intensive interactions and flows between places. In this paper, we define a theoretical framework of labour migration in the global economy in which we propose the importance of transnational spaces ‘from above’ and how formal organisations develop networks for migration processes. This theoretical framework is employed on an empirical study that investigates the increasing flows of highly-skilled labour migration from India to Sweden within the ICT-sector. The paper illustrates how transformations and acting in formal institutions in the political and private sectors have a strong impact on the transnational migration of highly-skilled labour. By integrating theories from migration studies, institutional theory and economic geography the theoretical framework has been able to conceptualise factors that are less visible in migration studies ‘from below’. Thereby this paper contributes to a more multi-sided understanding of transnational migration processes.

This dissertation examines the role in the migration process between Sweden and Finland of the Sw... more This dissertation examines the role in the migration process between Sweden and Finland of the Swedish-speaking minority group, the Finland Swedes. The causes underlying migration, as well as the integration of the group in Sweden, constitute the main focuses of the study.It is concluded that Finland Swedes are over-represented in the total migration process from Finland to Sweden. As such, the process is culturally embedded in the group’s ethnic identity, which causes migration both through the practical minority situation in Finland, and through ethnic affinity with Sweden. Further causes include the substantial, circular networks of cultural, social and economic contacts between Sweden and Finland. In the integration process, the transformation of the group’s ethnic identity is the central area of analysis. Initially, the ethnic affinity with Sweden is transformed into strengthened loyalties to Finland. As early as the first generation of migrants, however, the Finland Swedes ent...

This chapter offers a much-needed exploration of downshifting in the context of lifestyle migrati... more This chapter offers a much-needed exploration of downshifting in the context of lifestyle migration and tourism entrepreneurship. Analysing results from 12 interviews with Dutch tourism entrepreneurs in rural Sweden, it draws attention to gender issues in male and female reasoning around motivations for migration and their daily business practices. It illustrates gender differences in downshifting, since more women work in tourism, while men find employment in other sectors and in less rural areas. The authors relate this with social and spatial inequality in the Swedish welfare state. They conclude with reflections on implications of increased downshifting practices for Sweden, and suggestions for future research.

Labour markets in welfare states are structured along the lines of gender and immigrant & minorit... more Labour markets in welfare states are structured along the lines of gender and immigrant & minority statuses. This paper brings novel insights into the issue of ethnic entrepreneurship as a means of sustainable inclusion of immigrants into the labour market by adding a gender dimension. Based on unique longitudinal data, the paper analyses the division of labour and the work incomes of female immigrant entrepreneurs in contrast with male immigrants and native-born Swedes. The results indicate that the division of labour is structured along the lines of both gender and immigrant status. At first glance, a gender perspective on ethnic entrepreneurship acknowledges persistent inequalities in the labour market. Analysis of entrepreneurship within niches such as the health care sector, however, indicates greater complexity in the entrepreneurial landscape. The paper identifies implications of a nuanced analysis of entrepreneurial research, which recognises diversity along the axes of both...

Rapporten ar en oversikt over hur rorlighet pa arbetsmarknaden har behandlats inom svensk kulturg... more Rapporten ar en oversikt over hur rorlighet pa arbetsmarknaden har behandlats inom svensk kulturgeografisk forskning. Rapporten ger exempel pa geografiska infallsvinklar och empirisk forskning, dar ...

Migration Studies, 2021

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2021

Urban Studies, 2012

framtidsstudier.se

Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 2014

Every year, around 5000 berry pickers travel from Thailand to Sweden to pick wild berries. This r... more Every year, around 5000 berry pickers travel from Thailand to Sweden to pick wild berries. This report describes the system and regulatory framework that surrounds the berry pickers, and analyses their costs and earnings. The report has a comparative approach, and compares the Thai berry pickers with other types of international labour migration and with their alternative earnings in Thailand. It also describes the workers demographic background and their use of the earnings from berry picking. The report is uniquely based on 165 standardized interviews with Thai berry pickers, which were performed in Thailand on behalf of this study.

The main conclusion is that the costs surrounding berry picking are relatively high, as seen against the background of the short berry picking season and the time that the workers are spending in Sweden. On average, a berry picker pays around 4000 USD to work in Sweden for a period of 70 days. This means that, for the average worker, it takes 1,6 months to earn enough money to cover these costs, and thereafter remains only a limited time window to earn enough money to bring back to Thailand. Around 50 percent of the costs incurred are paid to Thai staffing agencies, and the other half is paid to Swedish berry companies as a daily fee for accommodation, food and access to a car. After the deduction of all costs, the average berry picker returns to Thailand with around 2000 USD from one season in Sweden. This figure is roughly three times that of what the average worker would normally earn in Thailand during the same amount of time. The worker with the highest net earnings from berry picking in Sweden, however, could make as much as 12 times more than what he or she would make in Thailand. The report also shows that the berry pickers, who often are men working as farmers in north-eastern Thailand where they also have their families, are travelling to Sweden repeatedly. A majority of the workers in the study had travelled to Sweden seven times or more, whereas the most frequent worker had travelled as much as 26 times. According to the study, there is no positive relationship between the frequency of work in Sweden and the size of the earnings. The earnings from berry picking are being used for daily consumption and investments in farming, housing and children’s’ education.

In the report we discuss the motives behind the perpetuation of the migration system despite the relatively high costs. One explanation could be that the workers are being paid on a piece rate, meaning that they are aspiring, and believing that they can achieve, the same high earnings as the most successful workers. However, the payment system also implies that the workers are at high risk, since almost 50 percent note that they have earned less than the guaranteed wage that they are entitled to according to Swedish collective agreements. Another reason why berry pickers travel to Sweden repeatedly could be that it’s associated with relatively low social costs. The berry season in Sweden occurs at a suitable time in the Thai growing season, and the berry pickers are spending a relatively short time away from their families.

The system surrounding berry picking can be seen both as it’s solution and it’s problem. On the one hand, Thai staffing agencies and Swedish berry companies are providing the infrastructure that sustains the system across time, thus enabling the workers to invest in their children’s futures, etc. On the other hand, the report shows a lack of transparency in relation to the costs, which might be excessive, while the costs and risks are put on the individual worker. The practice of using staffing agencies has been enacted as a way to avoid taxes and social responsibility in Sweden. As an alternative, it is possible that experienced berry pickers could use their own social networks to travel to Sweden, while starting up a cooperative and in that way, reduce the costs.