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When the State Becomes Part of the Exploitation: Migrants’ Agency within the Institutional Constraints in Australia
Author(s) -
Li YaoTai,
Whitworth Katherine
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international migration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1468-2435
pISSN - 0020-7985
DOI - 10.1111/imig.12267
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , face (sociological concept) , ideal (ethics) , immigration , state (computer science) , work (physics) , cash , immigration policy , structure and agency , political science , outcome (game theory) , economics , political economy , labour economics , demographic economics , sociology , law , finance , mechanical engineering , social science , mathematical economics , algorithm , computer science , engineering , anthropology
Studies have shown the unequal treatments temporary migrants face in the processes of immigration. In Australia for a short period of time and not citizens, they face conditions that allow for employer exploitation. This article is interested in exploring how institutional structures shape and normalize the choices that migrants make to work in the cash economy or other exploitative conditions. To do this, we take PRC‐Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kongese temporary migrants who hold either a student or Working Holiday visa in Australia as an example. Focusing on the policymaking process, we argue that the policy outcomes produced by visa restrictions placed on international students and Working Holiday Makers sometimes do not reach an ideal outcome and at times even exacerbate problems identified in the input stage of the policy process. Such institutional effects result in a more vulnerable and exploitable situation for temporary migrants in Australia's labour market.