substantially revised version published as 'Circular and Repeat Migration: Counts of Exits and Years Away from the Host Country' in: Population Research and Policy Review, 2011, 30 (4), 495-515
The economic literature has largely overlooked the importance of repeat migration. This
paper studies repeat or circular migration as it is manifested by the frequency of exits of
migrants living in Germany, and by the number of years being away from the host country
using count data models. More than 60% of the guestworker generation currently living in
Germany, the largest European immigration country, are indeed repeat migrants. The
findings indicate that immigrants from European countries, the less educated, those with
weak labor market attachments, the younger and the older people (excluding the middle
ages), and the newcomers and the more seasoned are significantly more likely to engage in
circular migration and to stay out of Germany for longer. Males exit more frequently than
females but do not differ in the time spent out. Those migrants with family in the home
country remain out longer but are not more frequently out.
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