Migration policies from origin perspective in the case of Romania. Testing a definition

Abstract

Recently, the effort of investigating migration policies and the role they play in international migration development has consistently increased. The most consistent part of this interest is related to immigration and associated policies to manage it. Just few studies approach the issues from the origin side perspective. This paper addresses the gap by discussing how migration policies from the origin perspective may be defined and operationalized and trying to test one such a definition/operationalization schema on the case of Romania. With a consistent out migration, a democratic country, EU member, Romanian case is assessed here as a proper research site for this type of investigation. The paper is based on a policy on paper approach to migration policies. Relevant pieces of legislation are identified and codified according to a systems of codes designed to register the changes in time. The time span of the analysis is 1990-2013. All changes in legislation during 1990-2013, according to dimensions and sub-dimensions of the operationalization schema are analyzed (using graphic means) in order to observe to internal consistency and connections with international migration developments. On the specific case of Romania, the paper points to one consistent connection of sub-dimensions for emigration and return migration related interventions, but a poor internal consistence in the case of diaspora related interventions. The same weak connection seems to relate diaspora related interventions (when treated together) to the other two dimensions: emigration and return migration related interventions.