ABSTRACT
Changing perceptions of migration to Europe are shaping migration aspirations of Moroccans. In the context of the European economic crisis, involuntary non-migrants in Morocco tend to become voluntary non-migrants, as the lack of opportunities to migrate negatively affects people’s aspiration to migrate. The analysis presented in this paper shows how ideas and information on migration are pro-
cessed by non-migrants and trigger direct and indirect feedback loops from the perspective of the sending regions. Indeed, Moroccan migrants’ experiences in Europe shape non-migrants’ perceptions and aspirations to migrate. Through direct feedback loops, migrants’ experiences can impact future migration decisions – for instance, when changed perceptions lead migrants to choose alternative migration destinations. Through indirect feedback loops, changed perceptions of migration can influence feelings of relative deprivation and satisfaction when non-migrants compare their situation to that of their migrant peers in Europe. This in turn impacts their migration and life aspirations at the individual level, as well as the value attributed to migration at the community level. Over the last six decades, Moroccan emigration has increased despite economic and policy
changes in the European immigration environment. The uncertain European economic context has, however, reduced opportunities for Moroccan migrants, and interviews revealed that although irregular migration is still considered feasible, in most cases informants preferred immobility to this type of migration. Also, empirical evidence collected by the EUMAGINE survey indicates that those respondents who had previous international migration experience were more likely to have more negative perceptions of life in Europe. Nonetheless, migration is still considered by many Moroccan non-migrants as the way to get
a better life in terms of economic improvement, well-being and personal fulfilment. This paper showed that these continued emigration aspirations are partly explained by the lack of sufficient changes in Morocco and in the regions of residence. Furthermore, even for those who perceive more opportunities in Morocco than in Europe, such as students, migration is still positively valued as a means of increasing their chances in their country of residence upon
D. Jolivet568
