Whereas the issue of immigration has been topical in studies on CEE, this is different from the topic of emigration. This is insofar striking, as the impact of large-scale emigration has significant implications for national politics and economic development. To map the field of studies on emigration, this paper conducts a meta-analysis of existing studies on emigration in CEE. The dataset (n=676) categorizes journal articles and book chapters according to academic disciplines, country of origin, analyzed aspects of emigration, and key findings.
This paper finds that emigration has been primarily analyzed by economists that focus primarily on labor market issues. This narrow conceptualization of emigration risks leaving out several other dimensions that are of theoretical but also political concern, and thereby omit other critical factors such as the rise of populism and national growth strategies. The lack of comprehensive studies that account for the multi-dimensionality of migration highlights the need for linking immigration with emigration flows and contextualizing them in national political systems and economies.
