Regional Profiles Of Return Migration

Return has been traditionally described as the final movement bringing migrants back to their origin departure. However, migration scholars have discarded this simplistic definition to underline the complexity of return movements and its inferences with spatial dimensions. Using the origin-destination spatial perspective, the study aims at the assessment of differences in return migration by examining the population systems at regional levels. The multiregional model is applied to simulate the spatial population dynamics, composed by Italian origin regions (Lombardy,[1] Latium, Sicily) and Belgian destination ones (Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels-Capital-Region), over the 2001-2006 period, when the adoption of the free-movement regime consolidated historical migration links within the European Union. Results reveal regional profiles of return that remain hidden when the national dimension is adopted. Among the Italian origin regions, specificities are evident for returnees from Sicily, and, among the Belgian regional destinations, for those residing in the Brussels-Capital-Region. The analysis contributes to the growing body of scholarship that advocates for a multilevel regional-based approach to model population dynamics, by qualifying return migration in the European-policy framework as a circular migratory movement between the region of destination and the region of departure. Findings give new empirical insights to support the regional governance of the European-Union, attempting to achieve the balanced territorial development envisaged by the European Territorial-Cohesion Agenda.