The main question of the project is how, and to what extent life-style migration of European (pre)retirees (mainly from Germany and Austria) and (pre)retirement migration of ethnic Hungarian from Transcarpathia transform peripheral rural settings in Hungary.
The impacts of (pre)retirement migration may be perceived and evaluated as ambiguous by locals and migrant retirees as well as by experts. However, the researcher assume to identify rather positive effects in the peripheral areas which have been facing demographic, economic decrease and social challenges. In demographic terms, (pre)retirement migration might mitigate the speed, extent, and consequences of local population decline and selective outmigration. In the case of ethnic Hungarian elderly of Transcarpathia, (pre)retirement migration can indicate the migration and settlement of younger generations into Hungarian rural areas. In economic terms, the demand for public and private services and the expenditures of migrant (pre)retirees may generate (more) income for service providers and entrepreneurs, thus, (pre)retirement migration has the potential to sustain local/regional economy. In social terms, these economic effects can be grasped in the form of (at least) seasonal jobs provided by migrants for local Roma and non-Roma poor, which might mitigate poverty and in a long-term prevent (further) ghettoisation and exclusion of peripheral settlements.
Leader of the research group: Monika Mária Váradi
Members of the research group:
Gábriel Dóra
Bálint Koós
Krisztina Németh
András Vigvári
Tünde Virág
Duration of the project: 01.12.2021 – 30.11.2024
