Cross-border working is a phenomenon that has concerned a growing number of people in Europe since the beginning of the 2000s. Lorraine, which constitutes a large labour pool and until the recent territorial reform was the only French region with borders with three countries, is concerned by large-scale flows into Luxembourg and to a lesser extent into Germany, and therefore represents a pertinent area to study to identify the geographical and economic dimensions of cross-border working. Cross-border working is analysed as a factor in regulating the job market through its heterogeneity, but also the legal standardisation of the status of the cross-border worker.
The working paper covers the thematic field “work and economic development” by describing the challenges inherent to territorial development in the Greater region. It specifically focuses on industrial history as well as on employment and cross-border work within the Greater Region.
In this article, we concentrate on the sensitivity of the labour market to financial crises in Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a global financial centre specialising in banking, investment funds and insurance. This specialisation partly conditions the labour market in Luxembourg. Specialisation in financial activities requires a highly qualified workforce. Luxembourg is a small country that suffers from labour shortages and needs migrant workers. Against this background, we will show that cross-border workers are at greater risk of losing their jobs than native workers.
A special feature of the greater region is in its shared labour market, which leads to strong cross-border mobility among employees. The goal of this study is characterising the information on the group of cross-border commuters. An econometrical model was chosen for this. This model shows that the cross-border commuters are, on average, younger than other employees. Gender and education also apparently plays a role. The model shows that cross-border commuters do not form any homogeneous group in terms of region of origin.
These themed dossier looks at the question of local and regional labour markets, whether cross-border or not, through some multidisciplinary quantitative examples concerning the determinants, stakes and impacts of these particular forms of mobility, according to the different units of analysis and/or time periods.
In this way, different comparisons are made on different markets in order to understand how cross-border workers are different to non-cross-border workers (and even migrants) within the different geographical areas of the local and regional labour markets. With the aim of answering these different questions, four articles are selected to try and provide some answers.
The book essentially questions the way spaces can be described and empirically studied within or as cross-border relations. To do this, the author focuses on border dwellers in the Greater Region of SaarLorLux, insofar as its circular mobility structure and its presence in multiple neighbouring areas may be considered exemplary for cross-border life realities. The book hypothesises that spaces, rather than being pre-existing, allow for the development of subjectively significant spatial relations through cross-border activities. The concept of space therefore describes the significant social relations developed through border dweller practices, which are partially operationalised and studied empirically through socio-cultural questions.
Based on a wide-ranging survey carried out in 2010 and 2011 with a representative sample of cross-border workers in Luxembourg, the CEPS/INSTEAD has published, in conjunction with Forum EUROPA, the University of Strasbourg and the CNRS, a collection of articles devoted to the everyday lives of cross-border workers. It contains 13 sections on a range of complementary topics, which together form a synthesis of the main findings on the mobility of cross-border workers. One of the main findings of the survey is the significant increase in the use of public transport as a main means of commuting, even though car use continues to dominate. The quality of the public transport offer (journey time, services, reliability, comfort, etc.) plays a decisive role in cross-border workers' choice of transport mode, as do parking facilities at the place of work. Cross-border workers live an average of 44 km from their place of work and take 53 minutes to get to work. This distance from the place of work means that half of cross-border workers leave home before 7 am. 60% of car drivers say that they are satisfied or very satisfied with their commuting arrangements. Cross-border workers who take the train are generally more satisfied, with 74% saying they are satisfied or very satisfied. Furthermore, it is among those who take the train that fatigue makes itself felt the least compared to everyday perceptions in the different modes of transport. If 73% of cross-border households have at least two cars, generally opinions about cars are quite contrasted. But cross-border workers' mobility is not only limited to commuting for work, since one person in five crossing the border goes to Luxembourg for a non-work-related activity, mainly to eat out or to go shopping. On average, people crossing the border spend 2 hours a day and cover 100 km for all their movements.
The Interregional Labour Market Observatory (IBA) is a network of specialized labor market institutes, all of which operate in the Greater Region. On behalf of the Summit of the Greater Region, the IBA collects data on labor markets in the Greater Region. This data is used to write reports on the labor market situation in the Greater Region. In addition to structural reporting based on comparable statistical data from the sub-regions of the Greater Region, the publication contains qualitative information on thematic focus areas.
Border work has an indisputable influence on the development of areas on both sides of the border. This article summarizes the impact and policy responses to the steady increase in the number of cross-border workers, with an emphasis on the Lorraine villages and cities where most of the cross-border commuters to Luxembourg live. After a presentation of the evolution of the number of cross-border workers in Lorraine, the perception of the impact of this trend on territorial development on local, inter-municipal, regional, national, and European policies is summarized. Under the title “local dynamics,” the improvement of the accessibility of the territories, the increase in housing construction, the development of services and facilities, as well as financial and tax support are discussed. It is noted that the impact varies by area and creates strong disparities. Reflections on development prospects are presented.
Luxembourg has the highest number of cross-border commuters in the EU. They commute daily to the trilingual country from the neighboring countries of Germany, France or Belgium. This results in multifaceted linguistic and cultural constellations of cooperation. This article examines how multilingualism and interculturality are experienced and handled by cross-border commuters in the country. The resulting typologies are based on interviews, interaction analyses and surveys.
