Citation

Plewa P. Int. Migr. 2007; 45(2): 3-36.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration [and] Research Group for European Migration Problems)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2435.2007.00402.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This essay reflects upon post-World War II and post-Cold War admissions of low-skilled temporary foreign workers to North America and Europe. The author's hope is that lessons from history can help Polish (and other new European Union immigration states) develop well-informed labour migration policy. The lessons from North America and Europe suggest that admissions of low-skilled temporary foreign workers lead to short-term economic benefits and long-term economic, political, and social costs. This, in turn, makes coherent and humane statecraft difficult to achieve.