ABSTRACT
International debate focusing upon the national effects of migration obscures the fact that the contemporary movement of migratory labor is ultimately a regional problem. One of the reasons for this past blind spot in migration studies resides in the basic assumptions of neo-classical economic theory concerning the role migration plays in a self-adjusting equilibrium model. The relationship between migration and socioeconomic development is of particular interest in the case of Spain and Portugal. Since 1959 emigration was consciously incorporated into Spain’s stabilization plans as a means of easing unemployment and acquiring badly needed foreign currencies. The metropole’s own economic growth during the Second and Third Development Plans required a “secured” labor force. Combined with the international energy crisis and major internal political changes were the problems of falling foreign investments, a slowdown in growth, spiraling inflation, mushrooming unemployment, and rising deficits in the international balance of payments. Andalusia is the second largest cultural-historical region on the Iberian Peninsula.
