ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the exchange of labour among member states through international migration. It explores the results of studies that have tried to explain movements of labour to and in the European Union (EU). To control the international exchange of labour, most governments use permits as a tool, forbidding all immigration without a permit. In both a free labour movement area (FLMA) and a labour market union (LMU), employed persons are free to accept a job in any of the partner countries. In the period between 1958 and 1973, the labour market was tight in all member states except Italy. That was one reason why the number of foreign workers originating from other EU member states remained, in general, limited. Labour costs can be cut only if labour can be imported and effectively paid lower wages than those prevailing in other sections of the industry.
