Survey

The field data resulting from the survey carried out by the MIREM team allow a knowledge gap regarding the patterns of reintegration of returnees in the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) to be filled.

Existing statistical data do not sufficiently inform about return migration insofar as they do not take into consideration the factors and circumstances, in the former immigration country and in the origin country, which motivated return, nor do they allow the impact of returnees’ human and financial capital on the local economy and the household to be assessed. Moreover, they do not provide a thorough vision of the manifold sociodemographic characteristics of the returnees and of their various levels of contribution to development in the country of origin.

The empirical data stem from a long-standing team work mobilising all the institutional partners of the MIREM project. 992 interviews have been collected and processed following a methodological approach which was consensually defined and adopted by all the partners.

The field survey, based on a common questionnaire, started at the same time in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, from September 2006 and ended in January 2007. Three interrelated migratory stages structure the questionnaire:

1. The returnees’ conditions before they left for abroad;
2. The returnees’ experience of migration lived abroad;
3. The returnees’ post-return conditions in the country of origin.

Moreover, the numerous variables contained in the questionnaire allow the patterns of reintegration to be better grasped. Two different categories have been considered: migrants who decided to return independently to their country of origin and migrants who were forced to do so owing to unfavourable circumstances. This distinction has been applied to each of the following thematic areas:

• A. Socio-demographic characteristics of the interviewed returnees;
• B. Socio-professional situations and skills;
• C. Resources: Social and financial capital;
• D. Migration experiences lived abroad;
• E. Return and patterns of reintegration;
• F. Post-return conditions and perspectives.

Also available:

• The Database on Return Migrants to the Maghreb (DReMM).
• "Return Migrants to the Maghreb: Reintegration and Development Challenges", MIREM Global Report, RSCAS/EUI, January 2008.
• Return Migration and Working Choice
• Return Migration and Small Enterprise Development in the Maghreb
• Who Benefits Most from Migration? An Empirical Analysis Using Data on Return Migrants in the Maghreb 

For any information or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.