ABSTRACT
Migration is one of the main features of the human geography of southern Europe and indeed of much of the Mediterranean Basin. The 'migration model' only works if there are continuous possibilities for employment abroad so that generations of migrants from the Mezzogiorno can find work and sustenance for their families. The post-war period, in particular the period between the late 1950s and the early 1970s, has seen an emigration boom, sparked off partly by the labour requirements of Western Europe's industrial economies, and partly by the continuing poverty of areas such as southern Italy, northern Greece and rural Iberia. Economists have pointed to return migration as a possible dynamic force for the development of migrants' countries and regions of origin. Returnees, it is postulated, bring in capital in the form of remittances and savings, as well as new ideas and experience of different types of work from their period abroad.
