ABSTRACT
The Iberian Peninsula currently receives a considerable number of immigrants from developing countries. The international immigration, internal migration and emigration were the two distinctive population movements in Iberia in the 1960s. With the exception of eligibility for unemployment benefit, Blanchard and Jimeno did not find substantial differences between Portugal and Spain. Contrary to their argument, other scholars believe that the peculiarities of the welfare state and of industrial relations in Spain cause rigidities in labour markets which in turn provoke high unemployment. Differences in labour market outcomes may arise depending on immigrants' origin or nationality. To provide a full picture of the reasons for African employment, the information is contrasted with insights from key informants, as well as observer participation in the studied areas; namely, Girona, Algarve and Setubal. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
