Intra-European Migration and the Prospects of Integration

Abstract

Inquiries into the economic and general significance of intra-European migration were regarded as unimportant until recently, when interest began to be aroused in European integration and in the redistribution of population within the continent as an alternative to oversea migration. This is not a criticism of previous work in this field. First of all, mention must be made of the chapters in Dudley Kirk’s study, Europe’s Population in the Inter-War Years (League of Nations, 1946). It is not easy to think of an idea on the subject which is not to be found in that book. No synthesis based on recent research has been published; years of co-ordinated study by many scholars will be required before any new generalizations can be formulated concerning the history and future possibilities of European migration. The present paper is intended merely as an outline for discussion and a stimulus to further work.