The Directions and Socio-Economic Effects of the External Migration from the Romanian Countryside

Against the backdrop of socio-economic phenomena in the post-communist era, as a risk management strategy, a true culture of migration toward the developed West has emerged in Romania. This study will explore the particularities of external migration in the rural areas. The main objective is to find what are the most important socio-economic phenomena that shaped the Romanian rural society. The methodology includes a vast documentary, quantitative, and statistical research. The rural areas have a very low quality of life: 5 in 10 people work in agriculture, which only contributes 4% to the GDP. The main beneficiary countries are Italy and Spain. Temporary migration provides a context for social learning. The most worrying effects are physicians' exodus, family abandonment and breakdown, forced modernization of rural areas, dropout rate, and youth exodus. There is a trend toward feminization of migration, due to a lack of opportunities home. Few migrants return home; 4 out of 10 people want to emigrate and 9 out of 10 know somebody abroad, half have relatives there. Authorities need to take measures at the macro, mezzo, and micro levels to slow down the emigration rate (organization of (re)qualification courses, investments in infrastructure, education and health, supporting medium-sized farms, and cooperatives).