Introduction: the past and future of labour mobility

Rikard H. Eriksson and Høgni Kalsø Hansen

Chapter 1 in Handbook of Labour Mobility, 2026, pp 1-19 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the theoretical trajectories of labour mobility and its relationship to urban and regional development. It examines key paradigms ranging from neoclassical equilibrium models to human capital, segmented labour market and structuralist approaches, and extends to contemporary perspectives linked to knowledge economies, digital platforms and green transitions. Historically situated in major economic transformations, labour mobility is shown to operate both as a response to spatial inequalities and as a constitutive force in generating innovation, knowledge spillovers and regional dynamism. At the same time, mobility reproduces uneven geographies through mechanisms of exclusion, precarity and institutional constraint. Emphasising multi-scalar and socially embedded dynamics, the chapter argues that the developmental outcomes of labour mobility are contingent upon institutional frameworks, socio-economic contexts and absorptive capacities. It thus situates labour mobility as a central, yet contested, process in shaping trajectories of spatial restructuring and economic adjustment.

Keywords: Labour Mobility; Regional Development; Knowledge Economy; Spatial Inequalities; Multi-scalar Processes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035331680
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