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Since 1990, an irregular migration industry has flourished in different cities of Indian Punjab because of the eagerness among young men to emigrate at any cost and increased border controls imposed by the European Union. In Europe, the majority of irregular immigrants from Punjab end up in Spain or Italy due to continuous regularisation programmes, support from social networks and the availability of informal jobs. In this paper, with a thematic analysis of 72 in-depth interviews with irregular immigrants from Punjab in Italy or Spain, their relatives in Punjab and members of the host community, this paper explores the main causes and consequences of Punjabi irregular immigration in Italy and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the Spanish case as a departure point, this paper explores a variety of causes for the slowdown in female employment growth in Italy over recent years. The paper analyses the peculiarities of the Italian labour market, with a higher propensity to inactivity than in other countries, as well as the generally low educational levels among the Italian population and the pervasive presence of the black economy. It goes on to examine institutional and political features, such as the organisation of social policies, the political weakness of feminism, the role of the Catholic Church, family networks and the North–South duality (which is particularly extreme with regard to gender equality). The features studied relate to each other in a logic which could account for the divergent paths of the social position of women in Italy and Spain. The article is based in Labour Force and Multiscopo surveys, as well as on interviews with Italian social policy experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the connection between European migration policies and digital technologies, with a look at the significant changes that have affected the formation and meaning of borders on the continent. Particular attention is paid to the primary digital surveillance systems (SIS II, VIS, EURODAC) in Italy and Spain, importantly 'Europe's gatekeepers' over the last decade. The results of the research contradict the thesis that there is persistence non-compliance with surveillance systems in the Southern European member states, and also highlight important areas of divergence between the two countries' migration policy pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]